Bill Sponsor
Senate Bill 820
116th Congress(2019-2020)
Debbie Smith Act of 2019
Active
Active
Passed Senate on May 16, 2019
Overview
Text
About Linkage
Multiple bills can contain the same text. This could be an identical bill in the opposite chamber or a smaller bill with a section embedded in a larger bill.
Bill Sponsor regularly scans bill texts to find sections that are contained in other bill texts. When a matching section is found, the bills containing that section can be viewed by clicking "View Bills" within the bill text section.
Bill Sponsor is currently only finding exact word-for-word section matches. In a future release, partial matches will be included.
About Linkage
Multiple bills can contain the same text. This could be an identical bill in the opposite chamber or a smaller bill with a section embedded in a larger bill.
Bill Sponsor regularly scans bill texts to find sections that are contained in other bill texts. When a matching section is found, the bills containing that section can be viewed by clicking "View Bills" within the bill text section.
Bill Sponsor is currently only finding exact word-for-word section matches. In a future release, partial matches will be included.
S. 820 (Introduced-in-Senate)


116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 820


To strengthen programs authorized under the Debbie Smith Act of 2004.


IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 14, 2019

Mr. Cornyn (for himself, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Ernst, Ms. McSally, Mr. Burr, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Klobuchar, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Hawley, Mr. Crapo, and Mr. Scott of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary


A BILL

To strengthen programs authorized under the Debbie Smith Act of 2004.

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 “Debbie Smith Act of 2019”.

SEC. 2. DNA Backlog Grant Program improvement.

Section 2 of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (34 U.S.C. 40701) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) in paragraph (2), by striking “including” and inserting “prioritizing, to the extent practicable consistent with public safety considerations”; and

(B) in paragraph (8), by striking “including” and inserting “in particular,”;

(2) in subsection (b)—

(A) in paragraph (6), by striking “and” at the end;

(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(8) provide assurances that the DNA section of the laboratory to be used to conduct DNA analyses has a written policy that prioritizes the analysis of, to the extent practicable consistent with public safety considerations, samples from homicides and sexual assaults.”;

(3) in subsection (c)(3)—

(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking “2014 through 2019” and inserting “2019 through 2024”; and

(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking “2014 through 2019” and inserting “2019 through 2024”;

(4) in subsection (g)—

(A) by redesignating paragraph (1), (2), and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), and adjusting the margins accordingly;

(B) by striking “Not later” and inserting the following:

“(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later”; and

(C) by adding at the end the following:

“(2) REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF GRANT PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after the date on which the Comptroller General of the United States issues the 2018 report on the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant Program, or 180 days after the date of enactment of the Debbie Smith Act of 2019, whichever date is later, the Attorney General shall submit a report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives that—

“(A) describes any action taken by the Department of Justice since the release of the 2018 report on the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant Program to improve the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant Program based on the recommendations of the Comptroller General; and

“(B) includes recommendations for reforms that could enhance the effectiveness of the program in reducing the backlog of unanalyzed DNA evidence in sexual assault cases.

“(3) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the end of the third fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act, and once every 3 fiscal years thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United States shall issue a report on the DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction Grant Program describing, by year—

“(A) the total number of new DNA requests;

“(B) the total number of cases, items, and offender and arrestee samples analyzed;

“(C) the total number of DNA profiles uploaded to the national DNA index;

“(D) the total number of matches and investigations aided by matches made by the national DNA index;

“(E) changes in total laboratory capacity to conduct DNA analyses as described in subsection (a)(3);

“(F) the number of open DNA cases at the end of each year and open DNA cases older than 30 days at the end of the year;

“(G) the number of sexual assault cases submitted to the laboratory during the year and the number of untested sexual assault cases older than 30 days at the end of the year;

“(H) whether the National Institute of Justice has defined DNA Capacity Enhancement and Backlog Reduction program-wide goals in clear, specific, and measurable terms; and

“(I) whether the Office of Justice Programs has fully established all appropriate controls related to lobbying.”; and

(5) in subsection (j), by striking “2015 through 2019” and inserting “2019 through 2024”.

SEC. 3. Training and education.

Section 303(b) of the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 (34 U.S.C. 40722(b)) is amended by striking “2015 through 2019” and inserting “2019 through 2024”.

SEC. 4. Sexual assault forensic exam grants.

Section 304(d) of the DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2004 (34 U.S.C. 40723(d)) is amended by striking “2015 through 2019” and inserting “2019 through 2024”.