S. 3482 — First Step Implementation Act of 2025

This section defines covered offenses as (1) violations of federal criminal statutes with penalties modified by sections 401 or 403 of the First Step Act of 2018 committed on or before December 21, 2018, or (2) violations with penalties modified by this section; defines "serious violent felony" by reference to 21 U.S.C. 802; and amends penalty enhancement provisions in the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(C), (D), (E)(ii), (2), (3)) and Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960(b)(3)) to limit prior conviction triggers to a "serious drug felony or serious violent felony" (from "felony drug offense"). The section applies those amendments to any sentence imposed on or after the date of enactment, regardless of offense date; authorizes a sentencing court, upon motion by specified parties, to impose a reduced sentence for a covered offense as if the First Step Act changes and these amendments were in effect when committed, after considering 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors, danger to persons or the community, crime victims, and defendant post-sentencing conduct; subjects such proceedings to the Crime Victims' Rights Act (18 U.S.C. 3771), which affords victims rights including reasonable protection from the accused, notice of proceedings, and to be heard (Thus, victims gain enforceable rights in resentencing hearings); and requires the government to conduct a particularized factual inquiry into the original sentencing for each motion.

This section authorizes courts to waive the criminal history requirements of the safety valve provision (i.e., 18 U.S.C. §3553(f)(1), which permits sentences below statutory minimums for certain nonviolent drug trafficking offenses if defendants meet five criteria) if reliable information shows those requirements substantially overrepresent the defendant's criminal history seriousness or likelihood of committing further crimes. Courts must provide prior notice to the government and specify reasons in writing; the waiver is prohibited for defendants convicted of a serious drug felony or serious violent felony (as defined in 21 U.S.C. §802).

This section establishes a judicial process to reduce terms of imprisonment for defendants convicted as adults for offenses committed and completed before age 18, provided they have served at least 20 years and the court finds—after considering specified factors including those under 18 U.S.C. §3553(a), defendant's maturity and rehabilitation, victim statements, family circumstances, and juveniles' diminished culpability—that the defendant poses no danger to public safety and the interests of justice warrant modification. Any reduction requires at least five years of supervised release under standard terms of 18 U.S.C. §3583. Applications are limited to three per defendant (initial, second not earlier than five years after the first final order, and final not earlier than five years after the second), with mandatory hearings (defendant present or by video teleconference, appointed counsel if needed), and the Bureau of Prisons required to notify eligible defendants, courts, U.S. attorneys, and defenders after 19 years served (with U.S. attorney notifying victims per 18 U.S.C. §3771).

This section replaces 18 U.S.C. §5031 with comprehensive definitions for terms used in the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act (FJDA), including "adjudication," "conviction," "destroy," "expunge," "juvenile nonviolent offense" (i.e., non-serious arrests, dismissals, or adjudications excluding criminal homicide, forcible sex offenses, kidnapping, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary of an occupied structure, arson, drug trafficking with a firearm, federal terrorism crimes, or misdemeanor domestic violence), "juvenile record" (i.e., court, probation, law enforcement, social, medical, educational, and other government records related to juvenile delinquency proceedings, excluding fingerprints and DNA samples), "seal," "sealing petition," and "expungement petition"; the definitions of "juvenile" (under age 18, or under 21 for FJDA proceedings and disposition) and "juvenile delinquency" (violation of federal law before age 18 that would be a crime if committed by an adult, or violation of 18 U.S.C. §922(x)) remain substantively unchanged. This section also amends 18 U.S.C. §5038 to (1) expand confidentiality protections for juvenile records to include participation in an educational system and (2) require district courts to take specified actions no later than seven days after exercising jurisdiction over a juvenile. In addition, this section adds a new §5044 to chapter 403 of title 18, U.S. Code, requiring automatic sealing of juvenile records (or portions thereof) related to a juvenile nonviolent offense three years after the individual completes all court-ordered probation, detention, or supervision terms, provided the individual has no subsequent convictions or delinquency adjudications and is not in active criminal or delinquency proceedings. (Thus, sealed records are closed to public view except by court order, mitigating employment, financial, educational, and other harms from juvenile records.)

This section amends 28 U.S.C. 534, which authorizes the Attorney General to acquire, collect, classify, preserve, and exchange federal criminal identification records (i.e., through FBI databases such as the National Crime Information Center), by adding subsection (g) to establish procedures ensuring the accuracy and completeness of such records exchanged for civil purposes including employment, housing, and credit. (1) The procedures require the Attorney General to correct inaccurate records; complete or verify incomplete records (including obtaining any arrest disposition within 10 days of a request); notify reporting jurisdictions of changes; allow applicants to review and challenge records upon a reasonable basis, with investigations completed within 30 days and prompt updates; and prohibit exchanging records of arrests over two years old without a disposition (except for law enforcement employment or national security/high-risk public trust positions), nonserious offenses as defined in regulations, or unclear arrest records. (2) The Attorney General may charge reasonable fees to cover costs. This section further directs the Attorney General to issue implementing regulations within one year of enactment and, within two years of enactment, to submit a report to Congress on the new requirements.