To repeal the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022 and the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act of 2016.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would undo two existing laws that apply to Washington, D.C.'s criminal justice system. Specifically, it would repeal the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act of 2016 and the Second Chance Amendment Act of 2022, both of which were passed by the D.C. Council and deal with how sentences are handled for people who were convicted as juveniles or young adults and have served significant time in prison.

The two laws being repealed currently allow certain people who were sentenced as juveniles or young adults — some of whom may have received very long or life sentences — to go before a judge and request a reduced sentence after serving a set number of years. The laws were designed to give courts the ability to reconsider lengthy sentences in light of a person's growth, rehabilitation, and changed circumstances over time. If this bill passes, that legal pathway for sentence review would no longer exist for D.C. residents.

This bill primarily affects people currently incarcerated in the D.C. system who were convicted of crimes committed when they were young and who were hoping to use these laws to seek a reduced sentence. It also affects their families, victims, and the broader D.C. community. Because Congress has oversight authority over Washington, D.C., federal lawmakers have the power to repeal locally passed D.C. laws, which is what this bill proposes to do.

The bill has passed out of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on a relatively close vote (24–20) and has been placed on the calendar for a potential full House vote. No Senate action has been reported yet.