During U.S. Senate consideration of the "minibus" appropriations bill yesterday, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) offered S. 306, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2011 as an amendment. The amendment, which would authorize the creation of an independent National Criminal Justice Commission (NCJC), fell three votes short of the necessary 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. The amendment would have directed the NCJC to undertake a comprehensive review of federal, state, local and tribal governments’ criminal justice systems and recommend changes to policies, practices and laws. Senator Webb introduced the same legislation in the last Congress. A U.S. House companion measure introduced by Representative Bill Delahunt (D-MA) passed the House of Representatives last year. It was later incorporated into the Omnibus Appropriations Act, which was blocked for unrelated procedural reasons.

Link: S. 306