[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11875-11878]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS, PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICE, AND COURT 
          SERVICES AND OFFENDER SUPERVISION AGENCY ACT OF 2014

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 4185) to revise certain authorities of the District of Columbia 
courts, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the 
District of Columbia, and the Public Defender Service for the District 
of Columbia, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4185

       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 ``District of Columbia Courts, 
     Public Defender Service, and Court Services and Offender 
     Supervision Agency Act of 2014''.

[[Page 11876]]



     SEC. 2. AUTHORITIES OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS.

       (a) Authorization To Collect Debts and Erroneous Payments 
     From Employees.--
       (1) In general.--Chapter 17 of title 11, District of 
     Columbia Official Code, is amended by adding at the end of 
     subchapter II the following new section:

     ``Sec. 11-1733. Collection, compromise, and waiver of 
       employee debts and erroneous payments

       ``(a) Collection of Debts and Erroneous Payments Made to 
     Employees.--
       ``(1) Authority to collect.--If the Executive Officer 
     determines that an employee or former employee of the 
     District of Columbia Courts is indebted to the District of 
     Columbia Courts because of an erroneous payment made to or on 
     behalf of the employee, or any other debt, the Executive 
     Officer may collect the amount of the indebtedness in 
     accordance with this subsection.
       ``(2) Timing of collection.--Any debt authorized to be 
     collected under this subsection may be collected in monthly 
     installments or at officially established regular pay period 
     intervals, by deduction in reasonable amounts from the 
     current pay of the employee.
       ``(3) Source of deductions.--Deductions described in 
     paragraph (2) may be made from any wages, salary, 
     compensation, remuneration for services, or other authorized 
     pay, including but not limited to incentive pay, back pay, 
     and lump sum leave payments, but not including retirement 
     pay.
       ``(4) Limit on amount.--The amount deducted with respect to 
     an employee for any period may not exceed 20 percent of the 
     employee's disposable pay, except that a greater percentage 
     may be deducted upon consent of the employee involved.
       ``(5) Collections after employment.--If an employee's 
     employment ends before collection of the amount of the 
     employee's indebtedness is completed, deductions may be made 
     from later non-periodic government payments of any nature due 
     the former employee, except retirement pay, and such 
     deductions may be made without regard to the limit under 
     paragraph (4).
       ``(b) Notice and Hearing Required.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (3), 
     prior to initiating any proceedings under subsection (a) to 
     collect any indebtedness of an individual, the Executive 
     Officer shall provide the individual with--
       ``(A) a minimum of 30 days written notice, informing such 
     individual of the nature and amount of the indebtedness 
     determined by the District of Columbia Courts to be due, the 
     intention of the Courts to initiate proceedings to collect 
     the debt through deductions from pay, and an explanation of 
     the rights of the individual under this section;
       ``(B) an opportunity to inspect and copy Court records 
     relating to the debt;
       ``(C) an opportunity to enter into a written agreement with 
     the Courts, under terms agreeable to the Executive Officer, 
     to establish a schedule for the repayment of the debt; and
       ``(D) an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with 
     paragraph (2) on the determination of the Courts concerning 
     the existence or the amount of the debt, and in the case of 
     an individual whose repayment schedule is established other 
     than by a written agreement pursuant to subparagraph (C), 
     concerning the terms of the repayment schedule.
       ``(2) Procedures for hearings.--
       ``(A) Availability of hearing upon request.--A hearing 
     under this paragraph shall be provided if the individual, on 
     or before the fifteenth day following receipt of the notice 
     described in paragraph (1)(A), and in accordance with such 
     procedures as the Executive Officer may prescribe, files a 
     petition requesting such a hearing.
       ``(B) Basis for hearing.--Unless the hearing officer 
     determines that the existence or the amount of the debt turns 
     on an issue of credibility or veracity or cannot be resolved 
     by a review of the documentary evidence, the hearing shall be 
     on the written submissions.
       ``(C) Stay of collection proceedings.--The timely filing of 
     a petition for hearing shall stay the commencement of 
     collection proceedings.
       ``(D) Independent officer.--A hearing under this paragraph 
     shall be conducted by an independent hearing officer 
     appointed in accordance with regulations promulgated under 
     subsection (e).
       ``(E) Deadline for decision.--The hearing officer shall 
     issue a final decision regarding the questions covered by the 
     hearing at the earliest practicable date, but not later than 
     60 days after the hearing.
       ``(3) Exception.--Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to 
     routine intra-Courts adjustments of pay that are attributable 
     to clerical or administrative errors or delays in processing 
     pay documents that have occurred within the 4 pay periods 
     preceding the adjustment and to any adjustment that amounts 
     to $50 or less, if at the time of such adjustment, or as soon 
     thereafter as practical, the individual is provided written 
     notice of the nature and the amount of the adjustment and a 
     point of contact for contesting such adjustment.
       ``(c) Compromise.--
       ``(1) Authority to compromise claims.--The Executive 
     Officer may--
       ``(A) compromise a claim to collect an indebtedness under 
     this section if the amount involved is not more than 
     $100,000; and
       ``(B) suspend or end collection action on such a claim if 
     it appears that no person liable on the claim has the present 
     or prospective ability to pay a significant amount of the 
     claim or if the cost of collecting the claim is likely to be 
     more than the amount recovered.
       ``(2) Effect of compromise.--A compromise under this 
     subsection is final and conclusive unless gotten by fraud, 
     misrepresentation, presenting a false claim, or mutual 
     mistake of fact.
       ``(3) No liability of official responsible for 
     compromise.--An accountable official is not liable for an 
     amount paid or for the value of property lost or damaged if 
     the amount or value is not recovered because of a compromise 
     under this subsection.
       ``(d) Waiver of Claim.--
       ``(1) Authority to waive claims.--Upon application from a 
     person liable on a claim to collect an indebtedness under 
     this section, the Executive Officer may, with written 
     justification, waive the claim if collection would be--
       ``(A) against equity;
       ``(B) against good conscience; and
       ``(C) not in the best interests of the Courts.
       ``(2) Limitations on authority.--The Executive Officer may 
     not exercise the authority under this subsection to waive a 
     claim if--
       ``(A) in the Executive Officer's opinion, there exists, in 
     connection with the claim, an indication of fraud, 
     misrepresentation, fault, or lack of good faith on the part 
     of the employee, former employee, or any other person having 
     an interest in obtaining a waiver of the claim; or
       ``(B) the application for waiver is received in the 
     Executive Officer's office after the expiration of 3 years 
     immediately following the date on which the erroneous payment 
     was discovered or 3 years after the date of the enactment of 
     this section, whichever is later, except if the claim 
     involves money owed for Federal health benefits, Federal life 
     insurance, or Federal retirement benefits.
       ``(3) Denial of application for waiver.--A decision by the 
     Executive Officer to deny an application for a waiver under 
     this subsection shall be the final administrative decision of 
     the District government.
       ``(4) Refund of amounts already collected against claim 
     subsequently waived.--If the Courts have been reimbursed for 
     a claim under this section in whole or in part, and a waiver 
     of the claim is then granted, the employee or former employee 
     shall be entitled to a refund of the amount of the 
     reimbursement upon application for that refund, so long as 
     the application is received not later than 2 years after the 
     effective date of the waiver.
       ``(5) Effect on accounts of courts.--In the audit and 
     settlement of accounts of any accountable official, full 
     credit shall be given for any amounts with respect to which 
     collection by the Courts is waived under this subsection.
       ``(6) Validity of payments.--An erroneous payment or debt, 
     the collection of which is waived under this subsection, is a 
     valid payment for all purposes.
       ``(7) No effect on other authorities.--Nothing contained in 
     this subsection shall be construed to affect in any way the 
     authority under any other statute to litigate, settle, 
     compromise, or waive any claim of the District of Columbia.
       ``(e) Regulations.--The Executive Officer's authority under 
     this section shall be subject to regulations promulgated by 
     the Joint Committee on Judicial Administration.''.
       (2) Clerical amendment.--The table of contents of chapter 
     17 of title 11, District of Columbia Official Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 
     subchapter II the following new item:

``11-1733. Collection, compromise, and waiver of employee debts and 
              erroneous payments.''.
       (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
     shall apply with respect to erroneous payments made and debts 
     incurred before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act.
       (b) Authorization To Purchase Uniforms for Personnel.--
     Section 11-1742(b), District of Columbia Official Code, is 
     amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 
     ``Under the authority of the previous sentence, the Executive 
     Officer may purchase uniforms to be worn by nonjudicial 
     employees of the District of Columbia Courts whose 
     responsibilities warrant the wearing of uniforms, so long as 
     the cost of furnishing a uniform to an employee during a year 
     does not exceed the amount applicable for the year under 
     section 5901(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code (relating 
     to the uniform allowance for employees of the Government of 
     the United States).''.

     SEC. 3. AUTHORITIES OF COURT SERVICES AND OFFENDER 
                   SUPERVISION AGENCY.

       (a) Authority To Develop and Operate Incentive Programs for 
     Sentenced Offenders.--Section 11233(b)(2)(F) of the National 
     Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 
     1997 (sec. 24-133(b)(2)(F), D.C. Official Code) is amended by 
     striking ``sanctions'' and inserting ``sanction and 
     incentive''.
       (b) Permanent Authority To Accept Gifts.--Section 
     11233(b)(3)(A) of such Act

[[Page 11877]]

     (sec. 24-133(b)(3)(A), D.C. Official Code) is amended to read 
     as follows:
       ``(A) Authority to accept gifts.--The Director may accept, 
     solicit, and use on behalf of the Agency any monetary or 
     nonmonetary gift, donation, bequest, or use of facilities, 
     property, or services for the purpose of aiding or 
     facilitating the work of the Agency.''.
       (c) Permanent Authority To Accept and Use Reimbursements 
     From District Government.--Section 11233(b)(4) of such Act 
     (sec. 24-133(b)(4)) is amended by striking ``During fiscal 
     years 2006 through 2008, the Director'' and inserting ``The 
     Director''.

     SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES OF PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICE.

       (a) Acceptance and Use of Services of Volunteers.--Section 
     307(b) of such Act (sec. 2-1607(b), D.C. Official Code) is 
     amended by striking ``the Service may accept public grants 
     and private contributions made to assist it'' and inserting 
     ``the Service may accept and use public grants, private 
     contributions, and voluntary and uncompensated (gratuitous) 
     services to assist it''.
       (b) Treatment of Members of Board of Trustees as Employees 
     of Service for Purposes of Liability.--
       (1) In general.--Section 303(d) of such Act (sec. 2-
     1603(d), D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking 
     ``employees of the District of Columbia'' and inserting 
     ``employees of the Service''.
       (2) Effective date.--The amendment made by paragraph (1) 
     shall take effect as if included in the enactment of the 
     District of Columbia Courts and Justice Technical Corrections 
     Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-274).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Gosar) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  This legislation, introduced by Ms. Norton, would provide increased 
flexibility to the District of Columbia courts and related entities.
  Among other provisions, H.R. 4185 would allow the D.C. courts to 
collect outstanding employee debts or overpayments, and authorizes its 
executive officer to purchase and provide uniforms for employees whose 
responsibilities warrant wearing uniforms.
  The bill authorizes the Court Services and Offender Supervision 
Agency to develop and operate incentive programs for sentenced 
offenders, such as vocational and educational training, and it allows 
the Public Defender Service to accept volunteer service.
  I want to thank Ms. Norton for all of her work on this bill, and I 
urge all Members to support this.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of the District of Columbia Courts, Public Defender 
Service, and Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency Act of 
2014, or H.R. 4185.
  First, I want to thank my good friends--the chairman of the full 
committee, Mr. Issa, and our ranking member, Mr. Cummings--for their 
work together with me on this bill, especially Chairman Issa for seeing 
to it that this bill got to the House floor today.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill makes, really, quite minor changes, but they 
are important to the District of Columbia and to the Federal agencies 
involved. They happen to be Federal agencies that uniquely serve the 
District of Columbia.

                              {time}  1600

  I will not bore the House with all of the elements of this bill 
because they will seem quite minor to the House, though, as I indicate, 
they are of some considerable importance to the agencies that are 
involved.
  For example--and I will use examples only--for the courts, it allows 
the courts to collect debts owed to the courts by employees, such as 
debts for loss or damage to property and improper credit card payments. 
This is the kind of authority the court would now have.
  Where there were erroneous payments to employees, those employees 
would get a hearing before any such collection was charged to them.
  The courts would have the authority to purchase uniforms, as an 
example. As you can imagine, Mr. Speaker, in our courts, it would be 
important that everyone who has the authority to enter the courts have 
the same kind of uniform, given the kinds of secure hearings that take 
place here in the District of Columbia, even more so than in most other 
courts--Federal courts of the United States.
  As an example, for the Public Defender Service, the board of trustees 
should be treated as Federal employees or Public Defender Service 
employees. They were formerly treated as District of Columbia employees 
because this used to be a District of Columbia agency.
  As an example, from the Court Services administration, which serves 
our offenders who are under court supervision, there is an important 
section, as an example, to allow CSOSA--as we call it--to use 
incentives-based programming and not alone sanctions because all of the 
documentation shows that incentives, along with sanctions--not 
sanctions alone--are best to get compliance with supervision.
  There are a number of others. I thank the committee for bringing this 
bill, important to the District of Columbia, to the floor before the 
end of the August recess.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the District of Columbia Courts, 
Public Defender Service, and Court Services and Offender Supervision 
Agency Act of 2014 (H.R. 4185).
  I would like to thank Chairman Issa and Ranking Members Cummings for 
their work together to assist me with this bill, and Chairman Issa for 
seeing to it that the bill would be on the floor today. This bill makes 
minor changes, but they are important, to the authorities of the 
District of Columbia Courts (Courts), the Public Defender Service for 
the District of Columbia (PDS) and the Court Services and Offender 
Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA), placing these 
entities in the same position as their federal counterparts for more 
effective management and operation.
  This bill would allow the Courts to collect debts owed to the Courts 
by its employees, such as debts from loss or damage to property, 
improper credit card payments, erroneous payments to employees and the 
like. The Courts would have to provide employees with at least 30 
days's written notice regarding the debt collection, and employees 
would have the right to a hearing conducted by an independent officer. 
The bill would also give the Courts the authority to purchase uniforms 
to ensure the safety of its building engineers, maintenance workers and 
main personnel. These service employees must regularly access buildings 
run by the Courts at all hours. The increase in the number of security 
incidents in courthouses throughout the country as well as the location 
of the Courts here in the nation's capital require visual security and 
uniformity of staff to help ensure that unauthorized persons do not 
enter secure areas.
  The bill also would allow PDS to accept and use public grants and 
both voluntary and uncompensated services, such as unpaid law clerks 
and interns, as well as private contributions made to advance PDS's 
work. It would allow the members of the PDS board of trustees to be 
treated as PDS employees instead of District of Columbia employees for 
purposes of liability. Under current law, due to an apparent drafting 
error, the members of the board are treated as District of Columbia 
employees for purposes of any action brought against board members. PDS 
employees are not District of Columbia employees. PDS has the authority 
to indemnify its board. This bill would rectify this oversight.
  Finally, this bill would allow CSOSA to develop and implement 
incentive-based programming to accompany its current sanction policies. 
Combining both sanctions and incentives has proven to be more effective 
than only compliance with supervision. The bill also would authorize 
CSOSA to solicit, receive and use gifts for the purpose of advancing 
its work, and would require the CSOSA to keep detailed records on its 
use of this gift authority. It would also permit the Director to enter 
into cost-reimbursement agreements with the D.C. government for space 
or services provided. The D.C. government is a frequent partner of 
CSOSA's due to its location in D.C. and

[[Page 11878]]

CSOSA's mandate to assist in the reintegration of D.C. Code offenders 
into society. Giving CSOSA the authority to enter into reimbursable 
agreements with the District is necessary to assist CSOSA in its daily 
work.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  I urge all Members to join me in support of this bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the bill, H.R. 4185.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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