Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 2.djvu/218

 110 STAT. 1321-71 PUBLIC LAW 104-134—APR. 26, 1996 "(c) The Attorney General shall personally sign any complaint filed pursuant to this section.". (b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. —Section 4 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1997b) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking "he" each place it appears and inserting "the Attorney General"; and (B) by striking "his" and inserting "the Attorney General's"; and (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows: "(b) The Attorney General shall personally sign any certification made pursuant to this section.". (c) INTERVENTION IN ACTIONS. — Section 5 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1997c) is amended— (1) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking "he" each place it appears and inserting "the Attorney General"; and (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: "(2) The Attorney General shall personally sign any certification made pursuant to this section."; and (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as follows: "(c) The Attorney General shall personally sign any motion to intervene made pursuant to this section,". (d) SUITS BY PRISONERS.—Section 7 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 7. SUITS BY PRISONERS. "(a) APPLICABILITY OF ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES.— No action shall be brought with respect to prison conditions under section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983), or any other Federal law, by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility until such administrative remedies as are available are exhausted. "(b) FAILURE OF STATE TO ADOPT OR ADHERE TO ADMINISTRA- TIVE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE. —The failure of a State to adopt or adhere to an administrative grievance procedure shall not constitute the basis for an action under section 3 or 5 of this Act. "(c) DISMISSAL.— (1) The court shall on its own motion or on the motion of a party dismiss any action brought with respect to prison conditions under section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983), or any other Federal law, by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility if the court is satisfied that the action is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. "(2) In the event that a claim is, on its face, frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief, the court may dismiss the underlying claim without first requiring the exhaustion of administrative remedies. "(d) ATTORNEY'S FEES. — (1) In any action brought by a prisoner who is confined to any jail, prison, or other correctional facility, in which attorney's fees are authorized under section 2 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1988), such fees shall not be awarded, except to the extent that— "(A) the fee was directly and reasonably incurred in proving an actual violation of the plaintiffs rights protected by a statute

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