[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3971 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3971

     To encourage States to report to the Attorney General certain 
 information regarding the deaths of individuals in the custody of law 
                         enforcement agencies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 25, 2007

   Mr. Scott of Virginia (for himself and Mr. Forbes) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To encourage States to report to the Attorney General certain 
 information regarding the deaths of individuals in the custody of law 
                         enforcement agencies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Death in Custody Reporting Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. INFORMATION REGARDING INDIVIDUALS WHO DIE IN THE CUSTODY OF LAW 
              ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) In General.--For each fiscal year after the expiration of the 
period specified in subsection (b)(1) in which a State receives funds 
for a program referred to in subsection (b)(2), the State shall report 
to the Attorney General, on a quarterly basis and pursuant to 
guidelines established by the Attorney General, information regarding 
the death of any person who is under arrest or is in the process of 
being arrested, is en route to be incarcerated, or is incarcerated at a 
municipal or county jail, State prison, or other local or State 
correctional facility (including any juvenile facility) that, at a 
minimum, includes--
            (1) the name, gender, race, ethnicity, and age of the 
        deceased;
            (2) the date, time, and location of death; and
            (3) a brief description of the circumstances surrounding 
        the death.
    (b) Compliance and Ineligibility.--
            (1) Compliance date.--Each State shall have not more than 
        30 days from the date of enactment of this Act to comply with 
        subsection (a), except that--
                    (A) the Attorney General may grant an additional 30 
                days to a State that is making good faith efforts to 
                comply with such subsection; and
                    (B) the Attorney General shall waive the 
                requirements of subsection (a) if compliance with such 
                subsection by a State would be unconstitutional under 
                the constitution of such State.
            (2) Ineligibility for funds.--For any fiscal year after the 
        expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), a State 
        that fails to comply with subsection (a) shall not receive 10 
        percent of the funds that would otherwise be allocated for that 
        fiscal year to the State under subpart 1 of part E of title I 
        of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
        U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), whether characterized as the Edward Byrne 
        Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs, 
        the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, the 
        Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or 
        otherwise.
    (c) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated under a program referred 
to in subsection (b)(2) to a State for failure to fully comply with 
subsection (a) shall be reallocated under that program to States that 
have not failed to comply with such subsection.
    (d) Definition.--In this section, the term ``State'' has the same 
meaning given that term in section 901 of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3791).

SEC. 3. STUDY OF INFORMATION RELATING TO DEATHS IN CUSTODY.

    (a) Study Required.--The Attorney General shall, subject to the 
availability of appropriations under subsection (d), through grant or 
contract, provide for a study of the information reported under section 
2 (regarding the death of any individual who is under arrest or is in 
the process of being arrested, is en route to be incarcerated, or is 
incarcerated at a municipal or county jail, State prison, or other 
local or State correctional facility (including any juvenile facility)) 
to--
            (1) determine means by which such information can be used 
        to reduce the number of such deaths; and
            (2) examine the relationship, if any, between the number of 
        such deaths and the actions of management of such jails, 
        prisons, and other correctional facilities relating to such 
        deaths.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall prepare and submit to Congress 
a report that contains the findings of the study required by subsection 
(a).
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $500,000 for fiscal year 2009. 
Funds appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until 
expended.
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