Parole Commission Phaseout Act of 1996

The Parole Commission Phaseout Act of 1996, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton, is one of a series of laws that narrowed the scope, power, and authority of the U.S. Parole Commission. Although the 1996 act contains several key provisions, the most important extended the commission beyond the date it was supposed to have been disbanded. Despite numerous legal challenges, the commission continues to this day. The commission has the sole authority to determine, with some limitations, which federal prisoners are eligible for early release into the community, following a hearing held for that purpose, and for monitoring them for the duration of their parole.

The U.S. Parole Commission was first created in 1930 (then named the U.S. Board of Parole), and its basic duties and responsibilities remained largely unchanged for almost 54 years. The initial blow came with the Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) of 1984, which is part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 that President Ronald Reagan signed into law to stem rising crime rates. The SRA fundamentally altered federal parole law by removing from parole consideration any non-military individual who had committed a federal crime after November 1, 1987. Federal judges were now required to use sentencing guidelines when determining the punishment of those found guilty, including the number of years to be served in a federal prison. The SRA also sought to end the U.S. Parole Commission by requiring its termination five years later, on November 1, 1992. The Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, however, extended the commission's life by an additional five years, to November 1, 1997.

It was within this context that the Parole Commission Phaseout Act of 1996 became law. While the new law continued the earlier pattern of delaying the U.S. Parole Commission's termination date by adding another five years to its life (this time extending it to November 1, 2002), three other provisions [Page 293]of the Phaseout Act revealed a seriousness on the part of Congress to limit the commission's role and influence. The first two provisions reduced the members of the commission to two by December 1, 1999, and to one (the commission chair) by December 31, 2001. Under the third provision, the U.S. attorney general was required to report to Congress annually, on May 1 from 1998 until 2002, on a number of issues regarding the Parole Commission, including whether maintaining the commission would be effective, worthwhile, and practical.

Between 2002 and 2008, Congress passed four laws that delayed the date on which the commission was supposed to have come to an end. The first was the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act of 2002, which set the date at November 1, 2005; this law also questioned, but did not resolve, whether those individuals who violated District of Columbia law should remain under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Parole Commission. The next termination date was set at November 1, 2008, by the United States Parole Commission Extension and Sentencing Commission Authority Act of 2005. The Parole Commission Extension Act of 2008, in turn, further delayed the U.S. Parole Commission's final day of operation.

...