Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025

Senate Bill

S. 234

119th Congress

Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 23, 2025

Primary Sponsor

John Kennedy

R - LA

Cosponsors

1

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary

This bill requires prosecutors in jurisdictions over 360,000 people receiving Byrne JAG funds to report data on criminal case outcomes for serious offenses. Reports must cover referrals, declinations, plea agreements, and policy-based non-prosecutions. Compliant prosecutors receive priority JAG funding. The bill also prohibits JAG funds to jurisdictions that ban cash bail for firearm offenses.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Introduced1/23/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

ChamberSenate

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Vote Prediction

Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025

This bill requires prosecutors in jurisdictions over 360,000 people receiving Byrne JAG funds to report data on criminal case outcomes for serious offenses. Reports must cover referrals, declinations, plea agreements, and policy-based non-prosecutions. Complia

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This bill requires prosecutors in jurisdictions over 360,000 people receiving Byrne JAG funds to report data on criminal case outcomes for serious offenses. Reports must cover referrals, declinations, plea agreements, and policy-based non-prosecutions. Compliant prosecutors receive priority JAG funding. The bill also prohibits JAG funds to jurisdictions that ban cash bail for firearm offenses.

Bill Number: 234
Introduced: 1/23/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Policy Area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025
Bill Number: 234
Sponsor: No sponsor
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced: 1/23/2025
Summary: This bill requires prosecutors in jurisdictions over 360,000 people receiving Byrne JAG funds to report data on criminal case outcomes for serious offenses. Reports must cover referrals, declinations, plea agreements, and policy-based non-prosecutions. Compliant prosecutors receive priority JAG fund

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill requires prosecutors in jurisdictions over 360,000 people receiving Byrne JAG funds to report data on criminal case outcomes for serious offenses. Reports must cover referrals, declinations, plea agreements, and policy-based non-prosecutions. Compliant prosecutors receive priority JAG funding. The bill also prohibits JAG funds to jurisdictions that ban cash bail for firearm offenses.

Last updated: 1/4/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025 This bill requires certain state and local prosecutors to report data on criminal referrals and outcomes of cases involving murder or non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson, or any offense involving the illegal use or possession of a firearm.The reporting requirement applies to state and local prosecutors in a jurisdiction that has 360,000 or more persons and receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. The report must contain data on<ul><li>cases referred for prosecution,</li><li>cases the prosecutor declined to prosecute or refer for diversion,</li><li>cases for which the prosecutor declined to reach a plea agreement,</li><li>cases that resulted in a plea agreement or referral for diversion, and</li><li>offenses the prosecutor did not prosecute due to an internal policy.</li></ul>If a state or local prosecutor complies with these requirements, the bill requires (1) the Department of Justice to give priority in disbursing Byrne JAG program funds to the local government served by the prosecutor, and (2) the local government to ensure that the prosecutor receives a portion of the funds.Additionally, the bill prohibits states and local governments from receiving funds under the Byrne JAG program if they have in effect a policy that prohibits the use of cash bail for a defendant in a case involving the illegal use or illegal possession of a firearm.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Mandatory reporting for prosecutors in large jurisdictions
Covers murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, arson, firearm offenses
Tracks declined prosecutions and plea agreements
Priority funding for compliant prosecutors
Prohibits JAG funds to jurisdictions banning cash bail for gun crimes

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This legislation targets so-called progressive prosecutors by requiring transparency on prosecution decisions and penalizing jurisdictions that eliminate cash bail for firearm offenses. Supporters argue it promotes public safety accountability. Critics contend it interferes with local prosecutorial discretion and uses federal funding as leverage to impose policy preferences on local jurisdictions.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Crime and Law Enforcement

Related Subjects

Assault and harassment offenses

Congressional oversight

Crimes against property

Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation

Criminal justice information and records

Criminal procedure and sentencing

Firearms and explosives

Government information and archives

Intergovernmental relations

Law enforcement administration and funding

+3 more

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

234, 119th Congress (2025). "Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-234

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