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Drug-Free Neighborhoods Act

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Sep 8, 1998

TABLE OF CONTENTS: Title I: Drug-Free Borders Title II: Protecting Our Neighborhoods and Schools from Drugs Subtitle A: Drug-Free Teen Drivers Subtitle B: Drug-Free Schools Subtitle C: Drug-Free Student Loans Subtitle D: Drug-Free Workplaces Subtitle E: Drug-Free Communities Subtitle F: Banning Free Needles for Drug Addicts Title III: Defeating the Drug Mafia Title IV: National Drug Control Strategy Drug-Free Neighborhoods Act - Title I: Drug-Free Borders - Drug-Free Borders Act of 1998 - Authorizes additional appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003 for the United States Customs Service, Coast Guard, and Department of Defense to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. (Sec. 103) Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and set penalties for committing (or attempting to commit) a crime of violence during and in relation to: (1) eluding customs, immigration, or agriculture inspection or failing to stop at the command of an officer of customs, immigration, or animal and plant and health inspection services; or (2) an intentional violation of specified arrival, reporting, entry, or clearance requirements (provides for authorizing the imposition of a death sentence if death results). Specifies that if two or more persons conspire to commit such an offense, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be punishable as a principal, except that the death sentence may not be imposed. (Sec. 104) Increases from two to five years the penalty for entry of goods by means of false statements. (Sec. 105) Establishes civil penalties for failure to comply with vessel boarding. (Sec. 106) Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to direct the Attorney General, in each of FY 1999 through 2003, to increase by not less than 1,500 the number of positions for full-time, active-duty border patrol agents within the Immigration and Naturalization Service above the number of such positions for which funds were allotted for the preceding fiscal year, to achieve a level of 15,000 positions by FY 2003. (Sec. 107) Prohibits a border patrol agent from ceasing pursuit of an alien suspected of unlawfully entering, or of an individual unlawfully importing a narcotic into, the United States, until State or local law enforcement authorities are in pursuit and have the alien or individual in their visual range. (Sec. 108) Amends Federal law to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer: (1) up to five percent of the customs officers employed as of the beginning of each fiscal year to new duty stations in that fiscal year on a permanent basis; and (2) customs officers to temporary duty assignments for not more than 90 days. (Sec. 109) Amends Federal law to express the sense of the Congress that collective bargaining agreements should not have any adverse impact on the ability of the Customs Service to interdict contraband, including controlled substances. Requires the parties to meet to address the issue if the Commissioner of the Customs Service or an exclusive representative of Customs Service employees determines that any collective bargaining agreement between the parties has an adverse impact upon the interdiction of contraband. Authorizes either party to enlist the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service if the parties do not reach agreement within 90 days of the adverse impact determination, and to pursue any impasse with the Federal Service Impasses Panel. Title II: Protecting Our Neighborhoods and Schools From Drugs - Subtitle A: Drug-Free Teen Drivers - Drug Free Teenage Drivers Act - Directs: (1) the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to establish a demonstration program in several States to provide voluntary drug testing for all teenage applicants (or other first time driver's license applicants) for a driver's license; (2) that information respecting an applicant's choice not to take the drug test or the result of the test be made available to the applicant's automobile insurance company; and (3) the State in which the program is established, if an applicant tests positive, to refrain from issuing a license to the applicant and to require the applicant to complete a State drug treatment program and to not test positive in a drug test before reapplying for a license. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish an incentive grant program to assist the States in improving their laws relating to controlled substances and driving. Sets forth grant requirements, including regarding the use of grant funds. (Sec. 204) Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Subtitle B: Drug-Free Schools - Chapter 1: Victim and Witness Assistance Programs for Teachers and Students - Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 to authorize an eligible crime victim compensation program to expend appropriated funds to offer compensation to elementary and secondary school students or teachers who are victims of school violence. Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make a grant for a demonstration project or for training and technical assistance services to a program that: (1) assists State and local educational agencies in developing, establishing, and operating programs to protect victims of and witnesses to incidents of elementary and secondary school violence; or (2) supports a student safety toll-free hotline that provides students and teachers in such schools with confidential assistance relating to the issues of school crime, violence, drug dealing, and threats to personal safety. Chapter 2: Innovative Programs to Protect Teachers and Students - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to States, and State and local educational agencies, to develop, establish, or conduct innovative programs to improve unsafe elementary or secondary schools. Provides priorities for programs that: (1) provide prompt parent and teacher notification of certain school incidents; (2) provide annual reports to parents and teachers regarding such incidents; and (3) enhance school security measures. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 218) Sets forth application requirements. (Sec. 219) Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994 to authorize innovative voluntary random drug testing programs. Chapter 3: Parental Consent Drug Testing - Authorizes the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice to award grants to States, and State and local educational agencies, to develop, establish, or conduct programs for testing students for illegal drug use with prior parental consent. Sets forth provisions regarding program guidelines, subpoenas and discovery, and matching funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Subtitle C: Drug-Free Student Loans - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make a student who has been convicted of a Federal or State felony involving the possession or sale of a controlled substance ineligible to receive any Federal higher education grant, loan, or work assistance for a specified period. Allows a student whose eligibility has been suspended to resume eligibility upon satisfactory completion of a drug rehabilitation program that complies with criteria prescribed by the Secretary, including two unannounced drug tests. Subtitle D: Drug-Free Workplaces - Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1998 - Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) businesses should adopt drug-free workplace programs; and (2) States should consider financial incentives, such as reductions in workers' compensation premiums, to encourage businesses to adopt drug-free workplace programs. (Sec. 244) Amends the Small Business Act to establish a drug-free workplace demonstration program, under which the Small Business Administration may make grants to eligible intermediaries for the purpose of providing financial and technical assistance to small business concerns seeking to start a drug-free workplace program. Sets forth provisions regarding eligibility for participation and program requirements. Authorizes appropriations. (Sec. 245) Requires the services to be provided by small business development centers to include providing information and assistance to small business concerns with respect to developing drug-free workplace programs. (Sec. 246) Authorizes the Small Business Administrator to contract with and compensate Government and private agencies or persons for services related to carrying out this chapter. Subtitle E: Drug-Free Communities - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to authorize appropriations for the Office of National Drug Control Policy for FY 1999 through 2003, of which $10 million in each such fiscal year shall be used for volunteer grassroots drug prevention programs that mobilize parent action teams nationwide to conduct community teen drug awareness education and prevention activities that guarantee increased parental involvement. Subtitle F: Banning Free Needles for Drug Addicts - Prohibits any Federal funds for FY 1998 or 1999 from being made available or used to carry out any program of distributing sterile hypodermic needles or syringes to individuals for the injection of any illegal drug. Title III: Defeating the Drug Mafia - Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003 to: (1) the Drug Enforcement Administration for additional activities to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking organizations; and (2) to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to enhance investigative and intelligence gathering capabilities relating to illegal drugs. (Sec. 302) Directs the Attorney General to establish an incentive grant program to assist States in enacting laws that establish State registration programs for individuals convicted of criminal offenses involving drug trafficking. Sets forth provisions regarding registration requirements, penalties for failure to register, release of information, immunity of State officials for good faith conduct, fingerprints, and uses of grant funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY 1999 through 2003. Title IV: National Drug Control Strategy - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to require the President to submit to the Congress by: (1) April 1, 1999, a National Drug Control Strategy, setting forth a comprehensive two-year plan for reducing drug abuse and the consequences of drug use in the United States, by limiting the availability of and reducing the demand for illegal drugs; and (2) October 1, 2001, and quadrennially thereafter, a revised National Drug Control Strategy, setting forth a comprehensive four-year plan for reducing drug abuse and the consequences of drug use in the United States. Sets forth provisions regarding the handling of classified information, an annual Strategy report, a performance measurement system, and annual reports by the President to the Congress on the prevalence of illegal drug use by youth between the ages of 12 and 17.

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Who introduced it

Sen. Coverdell, Paul [R-GA] · R–GA

Committees

  • Judiciary Committee
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    1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

    2. Introduced in Senate

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