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S. 234 119th Congress Senate

Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025

Official title: A bill to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct certain prosecutor's offices to annually report to the Attorney General, and for other purposes.

Introduced: January 23, 2025 Introduced by: John Kennedy Republican · Louisiana See on congress.gov
Crime and Law Enforcement Assault and harassment offensesCongressional oversightCrimes against propertyCriminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
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Criminal justice information and recordsCriminal procedure and sentencingFirearms and explosivesGovernment information and archivesIntergovernmental relationsLaw enforcement administration and fundingSex offensesState and local government operationsViolent crime
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 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Jan 23, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Jan 23, 2025
Introduced in Senate
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What's happening now January 23, 2025

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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

  • cases referred for prosecution,
  • cases the prosecutor declined to prosecute or refer for diversion,
  • cases for which the prosecutor declined to reach a plea agreement,
  • cases that resulted in a plea agreement or referral for diversion, and
  • offenses the prosecutor did not prosecute due to an internal policy.

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.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 11

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

  • STEPTOE LLP
    for PEACE OFFICERS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA · California · 3rd Quarter 2026 (July 1 - Sep 30)
  • STEPTOE LLP
    for PEACE OFFICERS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA · California · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)
  • STEPTOE LLP
    for PEACE OFFICERS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA · California · 1st Quarter 2026 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)
  • GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA, INC.
    for GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA INC · Virginia · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)
  • STEPTOE LLP
    for PEACE OFFICERS RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA · California · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)
  • GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA, INC.
    for GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA INC · Virginia · 3rd Quarter 2025 (July 1 - Sep 30)

Bodies those filers lobbied

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

See all 11 filings →
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Republican 1
R
Cruz, Ted
Texas · Jan 23, 2025
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 234: Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-234/
MLA
"S. 234: Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-234/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 234, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-234/.
Markdown link
[S. 234: Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-234/)
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