[§§ 4201 to 4218. Repealed. [Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 218(a)(5)](/us/pl/98/473/tII/s218/a/5), Oct. 12, 1984, [98 Stat. 2027](/us/stat/98/2027)]

[§§ 4201 to 4218. Repealed. Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 218(a)(5), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2027]

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of Repeal; Chapter To Remain in Effect After November 1, 1987

Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 235(a)(1), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2031, set out in an Effective Date; Savings Provision note under section 3551 of this title, provided that the repeal of this chapter is effective Nov. 1, 1987, and applicable only to offenses committed after the taking effect of such repeal. Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 235(b)(1)(A), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2032, provided that the provisions of this chapter in effect before Nov. 1, 1987, would remain in effect for 5 years after Nov. 1, 1987, as to an individual who committed an offense or an act of juvenile delinquency before Nov. 1, 1987, and as to a term of imprisonment during the period described in section 235(a)(1)(B) of Pub. L. 98–473.

Provisions further extending the period that this chapter would remain in effect after Nov. 1, 1987, were contained in the following:

Pub. L. 118–15, div. A, § 123, Sept. 30, 2023, 137 Stat. 78, as amended by Pub. L. 118–22, div. A, § 101(5), Nov. 17, 2023, 137 Stat. 113, extended the period from 36 years to 36 years and 94 days.

Pub. L. 117–328, div. O, title VIII, § 801(b), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5232, extended the period from 35 years and 46 days to 36 years.

Pub. L. 117–180, div. C, title I, § 103(b), Sept. 30, 2022, 136 Stat. 2133, extended the period from 35 years to 35 years and 46 days.

Pub. L. 116–159, div. D, title II, § 4202, Oct. 1, 2020, 134 Stat. 741, extended the period from 33 years to 35 years.

Pub. L. 115–274, § 2, Oct. 31, 2018, 132 Stat. 4160, extended the period from 31 years to 33 years.

Pub. L. 113–47, § 2, Oct. 31, 2013, 127 Stat. 572, extended the period from 26 years to 31 years.

Pub. L. 112–44, § 2, Oct. 21, 2011, 125 Stat. 532, extended the period from 24 years to 26 years.

Pub. L. 110–312, § 2, Aug. 12, 2008, 122 Stat. 3013, extended the period from 21 years to 24 years.

Pub. L. 109–76, § 2, Sept. 29, 2005, 119 Stat. 2035, extended the period from 18 years to 21 years.

Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title I, § 11017(a), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1824, extended the period from 15 years to 18 years.

Pub. L. 104–232, § 2(a), Oct. 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 3055, extended the period from 10 years to 15 years.

Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 316, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5115, extended the period from 5 years to 10 years.

Text of Chapter in Effect Prior to Repeal

The provisions of this chapter as in effect prior to repeal, and as amended subsequent to repeal, read as follows:

§ 4201. Definitions

As used in this chapter—

(1) “Commission” means the United States Parole Commission;

(2) “Commissioner” means any member of the United States Parole Commission;

(3) “Director” means the Director of the Bureau of Prisons;

(4) “Eligible prisoner” means any Federal prisoner who is eligible for parole pursuant to this title or any other law including any Federal prisoner whose parole has been revoked and who is not otherwise ineligible for parole;

(5) “Parolee” means any eligible prisoner who has been released on parole or deemed as if released on parole under section 4164 or section 4205(f); and

(6) “Rules and regulations” means rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission pursuant to section 4203 and section 553 of title 5, United States Code.

(Added Pub. L. 94–233, § 2, Mar. 15, 1976, 90 Stat. 219.)

§ 4202. Parole Commission created

There is hereby established, as an independent agency in the Department of Justice, a United States Parole Commission which shall be comprised of nine members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President shall designate from among the Commissioners one to serve as Chairman. The term of office of a Commissioner shall be six years, except that the term of a person appointed as a Commissioner to fill a vacancy shall expire six years from the date upon which such person was appointed and qualified. Upon the expiration of a term of office of a Commissioner, the Commissioner shall continue to act until a successor has been appointed and qualified, except that no Commissioner may serve in excess of twelve years. Commissioners shall be compensated at the highest rate now or hereafter prescribed for grade 18 of the General Schedule pay rates (5 U.S.C. 5332).

(Added Pub. L. 94–233, § 2, Mar. 15, 1976, 90 Stat. 219.)

United States Parole Commission Extension

Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title I, § 11017, Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1824, provided that: “(a) Extension of the Parole Commission.—For purposes of section 235(b) of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 [Pub. L. 98–473, set out as a note under section 3551 of this title] (98 Stat. 2032) as such section relates to chapter 311 of title 18, United States Code, and the Parole Commission, each reference in such section to ‘fifteen years’ or ‘fifteen-year period’ shall be deemed to be a reference to ‘eighteen years’ or ‘eighteen-year period’, respectively. “(b) Study by Attorney General.—The Attorney General, not later than 60 days after the enactment of this Act [Nov. 2, 2002], should establish a committee within the Department of Justice to evaluate the merits and feasibility of transferring the United States Parole Commission’s functions regarding the supervised release of District of Columbia offenders to another entity or entities outside the Department of Justice. This committee should consult with the District of Columbia Superior Court and the District of Columbia Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency, and should report its findings and recommendations to the Attorney General. The Attorney General, in turn, should submit to Congress, not later than 18 months after the enactment of this Act, a long-term plan for the most effective and cost-efficient assignment of responsibilities relating to the supervised release of District of Columbia offenders. “(c) Service as Commissioner.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the final clause of the fourth sentence of section 4202 of title 18, United States Code, which begins ‘except that’, shall not apply to a person serving as a Commissioner of the United States Parole Commission when this Act takes effect [Nov. 2, 2002].”

Parole Commission Phaseout

Pub. L. 104–232, §§ 1–3, Oct. 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 3055, 3056, as amended by Pub. L. 105–33, title XI, § 11231(d), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 745, provided that: “SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.“This Act [enacting and amending provisions set out as notes under section 3551 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Parole Commission Phaseout Act of 1996’. “SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF PAROLE COMMISSION.“(a) In General.—For purposes of section 235(b) of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 [Pub. L. 98–473, set out as a note under section 3551 of this title] (98 Stat. 2032) as it related to chapter 311 of title 18, United States Code, and the Parole Commission, each reference in such section to ‘ten years’ or ‘ten-year period’ shall be deemed to be a reference to ‘fifteen years’ or ‘fifteen-year period’, respectively. “(b) Powers and Duties of Parole Commission.—Notwithstanding section 4203 of title 18, United States Code, the United States Parole Commission may perform its functions with any quorum of Commissioners, or Commissioner, as the Commission may prescribe by regulation. “(c) The United States Parole Commission shall have no more than five members. “SEC. 3. REPORTS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.“(a) In General.—Beginning in the year 1998, the Attorney General shall report to the Congress not later than May 1 of each year through the year 2002 on the status of the United States Parole Commission. Unless the Attorney General, in such report, certifies that the continuation of the Commission is the most effective and cost-efficient manner for carrying out the Commission’s functions, the Attorney General shall include in such report an alternative plan for a transfer of the Commission’s functions to another entity. “(b) Transfer Within the Department of Justice.—“(1) Effect of plan.—If the Attorney General includes such a plan in the report, and that plan provides for the transfer of the Commission’s functions and powers to another entity within the Department of Justice, such plan shall take effect according to its terms on November 1 of that year in which the report is made, unless Congress by law provides otherwise. In the event such plan takes effect, all laws pertaining to the authority and jurisdiction of the Commission with respect to individual offenders shall remain in effect notwithstanding the expiration of the period specified in section 2 of this Act. “(2) Conditional repeal.—Effective on the date such plan takes effect, paragraphs (3) and (4) of section 235(b) of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 [Pub. L. 98–473, set out as a note under section 3551 of this title] (98 Stat. 2032) are repealed.”

References in Other Laws to GS–16, 17, or 18 Pay Rates

References in laws to the rates of pay for GS–16, 17, or 18, or to maximum rates of pay under the General Schedule, to be considered references to rates payable under specified sections of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, see section 529 [title I, § 101(c)(1)] of Pub. L. 101–509, set out in a note under section 5376 of Title 5.

Extension of Term of Commissioner

Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 235(b)(2), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2032, which provided that notwithstanding the provisions of section 4202 of this title as in effect on the day before Nov. 1, 1987 [set out above], the term of office of a Commissioner who is in office on Nov. 1, 1987, is extended to the end of the five-year period after Nov. 1, 1987, was repealed by Pub. L. 104–232, § 4, Oct. 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 3056. Pub. L. 101–650, title III, § 316, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5115, further extended the term of office of a Commissioner to a ten-year period after Nov. 1, 1987.

§ 4203. Powers and duties of the Commission

(a) The Commission shall meet at least quarterly, and by majority vote shall—

(1) promulgate rules and regulations establishing guidelines for the powers enumerated in subsection (b) of this section and such other rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out a national parole policy and the purposes of this chapter;

(2) create such regions as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter; and

(3) ratify, revise, or deny any request for regular, supplemental, or deficiency appropriations, prior to the submission of the requests to the Office of Management and Budget by the Chairman, which requests shall be separate from those of any other agency of the Department of Justice.

(b) The Commission, by majority vote, and pursuant to the procedures set out in this chapter, shall have the power to—

(1) grant or deny an application or recommendation to parole any eligible prisoner;

(2) impose reasonable conditions on an order granting parole;

(3) modify or revoke an order paroling any eligible prisoner; and

(4) request probation officers and other individuals, organizations, and public or private agencies to perform such duties with respect to any parolee as the Commission deems necessary for maintaining proper supervision of and assistance to such parolees; and so as to assure that no probation officers, individuals, organizations, or agencies shall bear excessive caseloads.

(c) The Commission, by majority vote, and pursuant to rules and regulations—

(1) may delegate to any Commissioner or commissioners powers enumerated in subsection (b) of this section;

(2) may delegate to hearing examiners any powers necessary to conduct hearings and proceedings, take sworn testimony, obtain and make a record of pertinent information, make findings of probable cause and issue subpenas for witnesses or evidence in parole revocation proceedings, and recommend disposition of any matters enumerated in subsection (b) of this section, except that any such findings or recommendations shall be based upon the concurrence of not less than two hearing examiners;

(3) may delegate authority to conduct hearings held pursuant to section 4214 to any officer or employee of the executive or judicial branch of Federal or State government; and

(4) may review, or may delegate to the National Appeals Board the power to review, any decision made pursuant to subparagraph (1) of this subsection except that any such decision so reviewed must be reaffirmed, modified or reversed within thirty days of the date the decision is rendered, and, in case of such review, the individual to whom the decision applies shall be informed in writing of the Commission’s actions with respect thereto and the reasons for such actions.

(d) Except as otherwise provided by law, any action taken by the Commission pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be taken by a majority vote of all individuals currently holding office as members of the Commission which shall maintain and make available for public inspection a record of the final vote of each member on statements of policy and interpretations adopted by it. In so acting, each Commissioner shall have equal responsibility and authority, shall have full access to all information relating to the performance of such duties and responsibilities, and shall have one vote.

(e)(1) The Commission shall, upon the request of the head of any law enforcement agency of a State or of a unit of local government in a State, make available as expeditiously as possible to such agency, with respect to individuals who are under the jurisdiction of the Commission, who have been convicted of felony offenses against the United States, and who reside, are employed, or are supervised in the geographical area in which such agency has jurisdiction, the following information maintained by the Commission (to the extent that the Commission maintains such information)—

(A) the names of such individuals;

(B) the addresses of such individuals;

(C) the dates of birth of such individuals;

(D) the Federal Bureau of Investigation numbers assigned to such individuals;

(E) photographs and fingerprints of such individuals; and

(F) the nature of the offenses against the United States of which each such individual has been convicted and the factual circumstances relating to such offense.

(2) Any law enforcement agency which receives information under this subsection shall not disseminate such information outside of such agency.

(Added Pub. L. 94–233, § 2, Mar. 15, 1976, 90 Stat. 220; amended Pub. L. 99–646, § 57(b), (c), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3611, 3612.)

§ 4204. Powers and duties of the Chairman

(a) The Chairman shall—

(1) convene and preside at meetings of the Commission pursuant to section 4203 and such additional meetings of the Commission as the Chairman may call or as may be requested in writing by at least three Commissioners;

(2) appoint, fix the compensation of, assign, and supervise all personnel employed by the Commission except that—

(A) the appointment of any hearing examiner shall be subject to approval of the Commission within the first year of such hearing examiner’s employment; and