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United States · Bill · S

S. 697 (116th)

Next Step Act of 2019

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

7 March 2019

Last action

7 March 2019 · Introduced

Status

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Sponsors

Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

10 August 2026

Summary

Next Step Act of 2019 This bill revises sentencing guidelines, addresses prison conditions and prisoner reentry, and addresses law enforcement training. First, it eliminates increased and mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses involving mixtures or substances which contain cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine). It decriminalizes marijuana by (1) removing marijuana from the list of scheduled substances; (2) eliminating criminal penalties for an individual who imports, exports, manufactures, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute marijuana; and (3) expunging convictions for marijuana use or possession. It reduces the mandatory minimum prison term for defendants who manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Additionally, the bill requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide videoconferencing free of charge to prisoners; prohibits federal agencies from requesting that applicants disclose their criminal history before receiving a conditional offer of employment; restricts the use of criminal records to disqualify individuals from employment, occupational licensing, or occupational certification; creates a mechanism by which certain eligible individuals may file a petition to seal federal criminal records for certain nonviolent offenses; reinstates the right to vote in federal elections for persons convicted of criminal offenses; revises requirements for the BOP to help prisoners obtain identification documents prior to their release; establishes and revises certain grants; requires a state or tribe that receives certain funding to report on use-of-force incidents involving a law enforcement officer and a civilian; and prohibits racial profiling by law enforcement.

This text is taken from the official record. PoliticalRepo does not editorialize.

Timeline

  1. 7 March 2019

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 7 March 2019

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Introduced in Senate (text)

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  • Introduced in Senate (text)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 7 March 2019

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

  • Introduced in Senate (PDF)

    Introduced in Senate · EN · 7 March 2019

    ViewDownloadOpen at official source

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  • Introduced in Senate

    summary · EN · 7 March 2019

    Open at official source

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Sponsors

Related records

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Sources

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