S. 2795: FIRST STEP Act

115th Congress · introduced 2018-05-07 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR 5/9/2018 S2580-2581; text of measure as introduced: CR S2518-2527)

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Where it came from: introduced 2018-05-07 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR 5/9/2018 S2580-2581; text of measure as introduced: CR S2518-2527) Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

FIRST STEP Act

Plain summary

Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act or the FIRST STEP Act This bill amends various provisions of law and sets forth new provisions: to require the Department of Justice to establish and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to implement a risk and needs assessment system to assess prisoner recidivism risk; guide housing, grouping, and program assignments; and incentivize and reward participation in and completion of recidivism reduction programs and productive activities; to modify the computation of good time credit; to allow federal correctional officers to securely store and carry concealed firearms on BOP premises outside the security perimeter of a prison; to limit the use of restraints on federal prisoners who are pregnant or in postpartum recovery; to require a prisoner to be placed at a facility not more than 500 driving miles away from the prisoner's primary residence; to require low-risk prisoners to be placed on home confinement for the maximum amount of time permitted; to reauthorize through FY2022 and modify eligibility for an elderly offender early release pilot program; to require the BOP to help prisoners obtain identification documents prior to release, to incorporate de-escalation procedures into training programs, and to make tampons and sanitary napkins available free of charge; to repeal the National Institute of Corrections; to authorize Federal Prison Industries to sell products to additional markets; to require probation and pretrial services officers to perform court-directed supervision of sex offenders conditionally released from civil commitment; to require auditors who monitor compliance with national prison rape standards be certified; and to require the BOP to establish pilot programs on youth mentorship and service to abandoned, rescued, or vulnerable animals.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

FIRST STEP Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tim Scott (R-SC)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] reported raising $8.6 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (3)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s2795.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s2795 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115