PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Oct 31, 1997
Fairness and Incarceration Responsibility (FAIR) Act - Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require a State, to be eligible for a violent offender incarceration grant, to have enacted and implemented a State law (victim damages law) providing that a victim (or in the case of a homicide, the family of the victim) of a crime of violence have a Federal cause of action in any U.S. district court against the State for the recovery of actual (but not punitive) damages resulting from the crime of violence, if the individual convicted of committing such crime: (1) had previously been convicted by the State of a crime of violence; (2) was released before serving the full sentence for that offense; and (3) committed the subsequent crime of violence at issue before the original term of imprisonment would have expired. (Sec. 4) Amends such Act to provide a State, to be eligible for a truth-in-sentencing incentive grant, to demonstrate that the State has: (1) implemented truth-in-sentencing laws that require or result in persons convicted of a part 1 violent crime serving 100 percent of the sentence imposed (currently, 85 percent); and (2) enacted and implemented a victim damages law.
People & committees
Sen. Dorgan, Byron L. [D-ND] · D–ND
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S11548-11549)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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