[House Report 112-198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    112-198

======================================================================



 
                 DEATH IN CUSTODY REPORTING ACT OF 2011

                                _______
                                

 September 7, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

       Mr. Smith of Texas, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R.2189]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 2189) to encourage States to report to the Attorney 
General certain information regarding the deaths of individuals 
in the custody of law enforcement agencies, and for other 
purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     1
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     2
Hearings.........................................................     2
Committee Consideration..........................................     2
Committee Votes..................................................     2
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     2
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................     2
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................     3
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................     3
Advisory on Earmarks.............................................     4
Section-by-Section Analysis......................................     4

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 2189 reauthorizes the Death in Custody Reporting Act 
of 2000 which expired in 2006. This legislation will require 
the submission of information regarding deaths occurring in law 
enforcement custody at the Federal, state and local levels. The 
legislation also provides for reductions of up to 10 percent of 
Federal Byrne JAG grant funds at the discretion of the Attorney 
General, in the event of a state's non-compliance with the 
reporting requirements. H.R. 2189 also requires a study and 
report of information on deaths in custody.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    The Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics 
(``BJS'') collects and disseminates data on deaths that occur 
in local jails, state prisons, and during the process of 
arrests by state and local law enforcement agencies through its 
Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (``DCRP''). This program 
was initiated by the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000, 
Public Law 106-297, which required the collection of individual 
death records for these fatalities. Federal prisons were not 
covered by this law. Prior to the passage of the law, BJS had 
historically collected aggregate counts of deaths in 
correctional facilities. The collection of individual-level 
data has provided BJS with the ability to perform detailed 
analyses of comparative death rates across demographic 
categories, offense types and facility/agency characteristics. 
While the Death in Custody Reporting Act expired in 2006, BJS 
has continued to collect these data, as they represent a unique 
national resource for understanding mortality in the criminal 
justice system. BJS has published both in-depth analytical 
reports and online statistical tables from these various DCRP 
collections.

                                Hearings

    The Committee on the Judiciary held no hearings on H.R. 
2189.

                        Committee Consideration

    On July 29, 2011, the Committee met in open session and 
ordered the bill H.R. 2189 favorably reported without 
amendment, by voice vote, a quorum being present.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that there 
were no recorded votes during the Committee's consideration of 
H.R. 2189.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee advises that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives is inapplicable because this legislation does 
not provide new budgetary authority or increased tax 
expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 2189, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, August 19, 2011.
Hon. Lamar Smith, Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2189, the ``Death 
in Custody Reporting Act of 2011.''
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz.
            Sincerely,
                                      Douglas W. Elmendorf,
                                                  Director.

Enclosure

cc:
        Honorable John Conyers, Jr.
        Ranking Member
H.R. 2189--Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2011.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2189 would have no 
significant cost to the Federal Government. Enacting the bill 
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    H.R. 2189 would require Federal law enforcement agencies 
and states that receive certain Federal funds to report to the 
Department of Justice (DOJ) any deaths of persons arrested or 
detained by law enforcement personnel under their jurisdiction. 
The bill would direct DOJ to prepare a report, within two years 
of enactment, on the information provided by Federal agencies 
and states and on ways to reduce the number of such deaths. 
Based on the costs of similar activities currently carried out 
by DOJ, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2189 would not 
significantly affect spending by the department or by other 
Federal law enforcement agencies.
    H.R. 2189 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on State, local, or tribal governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz. 
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    The Committee states that pursuant to clause 3(c)(4) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, H.R. 
2189, reauthorizes the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2000 
which expired in 2006 and will require the submission of 
information regarding deaths occurring in law enforcement 
custody at the Federal, state and local levels.

                          Advisory on Earmarks

    In accordance with clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, H.R. 2189 does not contain any 
congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of Rule XXI.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    The following discussion describes the bill as reported by 
the Committee.
Sec. 1: Short Title
    Section 1 provides that the short title of H.R. 2189 is the 
``Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2011.''
Sec. 2: State Information Regarding Individuals Who Die in the Custody 
        of Law Enforcement
    Section 2 requires states to report to the Attorney General 
on a quarterly basis certain information regarding the death of 
any person who is detained, arrested, en route to 
incarceration, or incarcerated in state or local facilities or 
a boot camp prison. This section imposes penalties of up to a 
10% reduction of Federal Byrne JAG funding, at the discretion 
of the Attorney General, on states that fail to comply with 
such reporting requirements. The section also requires the 
study and report of information by the BJS as it relates to 
state and local deaths in custody.
Sec. 3: Federal Law Enforcement Death in Custody Reporting Requirement
    Section 3 requires the head of each Federal law enforcement 
agency to report annually to the Attorney General certain 
information regarding the death of any person who is detained 
or arrested by any officer of such agency (or by any state or 
local law enforcement officer for purposes of a Federal law 
enforcement operation); or is en route to be incarcerated or 
detained, or is incarcerated or detained, at any Federal 
correctional facility or Federal pretrial detention facility 
located within the United States or any other facility pursuant 
to a contract with or used by such agency.

                                  
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