Jeanna's Act
Public Law 106-560 · S. 1898 · 106th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Bill Clinton (D) on Dec 21, 2000 · Crime and Law Enforcement
Sponsor: Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
Cosponsors (9): Sen. John Ashcroft, Sen. Patrick Leahy,
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Interstate Transportation of Dangerous Criminals Act of 2000 or Jeanna's Act - Directs the Attorney General, in consultation with the American Correctional Association and the private prisoner transport industry, to promulgate regulations relating to the transportation of violent prisoners in or affecting interstate commerce which shall include: (1) minimum standards for background checks and pre-employment drug testing (in accordance with applicable State laws) for potential employees of private prisoner transport companies, including requiring criminal background checks to disqualify persons with a felony or domestic violence conviction from eligibility for employment; (2) minimum standards for the length and type of training that employees must undergo before they can transport prisoners, not to exceed 100 hours of pre- service training focusing on the transportation of prisoners; (3) restrictions on the number of hours that employees can be on duty during a given time period (which shall not be more stringent than current applicable rules and regulations promulgated under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act); (4) minimum standards for the number of personnel that must supervise violent prisoners (which shall provide the transport entity with appropriate discretion and, absent more restrictive requirements contracted for by the procuring government entity, shall not exceed a requirement of one agent for every six violent prisoners); (5) minimum standards for employee uniforms and identification that require wearing of a uniform with a badge or insignia identifying the employee as a transportation officer; (6) standards establishing categories of violent prisoners required to wear brightly colored clothing clearly identifying them as prisoners, when appropriate; (7) minimum requirements for the restraints that must be used when transporting violent prisoners, including leg shackles and double-locked handcuffs, when appropriate; (8) a requirement that when transporting violent prisoners, companies notify local law enforcement officials 24 hours in advance of any scheduled stops in their jurisdiction; (9) a requirement that in the event of an escape by a violent prisoner, company officials immediately notify appropriate law enforcement officials in the jurisdiction where the escape occurs and the governmental entity that contracted with the company for the transport of the escaped violent prisoner; and (10) minimum standards for the safety of violent prisoners in accordance with applicable Federal and State law.
Requires that, with the exception of the violent prisoner clothing requirement, regulations promulgated under this Act shall not provide stricter standards with respect to companies than are applicable to the United States Marshals Service, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service when transporting violent prisoners under comparable circumstances.
(Sec. 5) Provides civil penalties of $10,000 for each violation of such regulations, in addition to the costs of prosecution. Mandates restitution to any entity of the United States, a State, or a subdivision thereof, which expends funds for the purpose of apprehending any violent prisoner who escapes from a company as the result of a violation of regulations promulgated under this Act.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Judiciary Committee · House · discharged from, referred toSubcommittee: Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 15 actions.
- Dec 21, 2000Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 106-560.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Dec 15, 2000PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Dec 7, 2000FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On passage Passed without objection.
- FloorFloor · Mr. McCollum asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.
- FloorFloor · Considered by unanimous consent.
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from House Judiciary Committee
- Oct 27, 2000CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee
- Oct 26, 2000CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Judiciary Committee
- Oct 25, 2000FloorFloor · Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Sep 28, 2000CommitteeCommittee · Reported by Senate Judiciary Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Markup by Senate Judiciary Committee
- Nov 10, 1999CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee
- Nov 9, 1999IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the Senate
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.