U.S. Sentencing Commission votes to publish proposed amendments on supervised release, drug offenses and fentanyl

At its January meeting, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to publish three items for public comment: a proposed amendment on supervised release, a multipart proposed amendment addressing drug offenses, and a separate issue for comment focused on fentanyl, fentanyl analogs and other opioids.

The commission’s general counsel told the panel, “You have before you a proposed amendment on supervised release,” and outlined that the supervised-release proposal would amend Part D of Chapter 5 and Part B of Chapter 7 of the guidelines manual. The commission adopted a motion to publish that proposal with an original comment period closing March 3, 2025, and a reply comment period closing March 18, 2025, and granted staff technical and conforming amendment authority. The record states at least three commissioners voted in favor of the motion; no roll-call vote with individual names was entered into the record.

The commission next voted to publish a multipart proposed amendment addressing drug offenses. The general counsel described five parts (parts a through e) that would, among other things, propose changes to §2D1.1’s highest base offense level, add a specific-offense characteristic to address low‑level trafficking functions, address offenses involving ICE…