PUBLIC LAW 115–36—JUNE 2, 2017 131 STAT. 849 

Public Law 115–36 

115th Congress 

An Act 

To require adequate reporting on the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program, 

and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Public Safety Officers’ Benefits 

Improvement Act of 2017’’. 

SEC. 2. REPORTS. 

Section 1205 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796c) is amended— 

(1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘Rules, regulations, and 

procedures issued under this part may include regulations 

based on standards developed by another Federal agency for 

programs related to public safety officer death or disability 

claims.’’ before the last sentence; 

(2) in subsection (b)— 

(A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘In making’’; and 

(B) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(2) In making a determination under section 1201, the Bureau 

shall give substantial weight to the evidence and all findings of 

fact presented by a State, local, or Federal administrative or investigative agency regarding eligibility for death or disability benefits. 

‘‘(3) If the head of a State, local, or Federal administrative 

or investigative agency, in consultation with the principal legal 

officer of the agency, provides a certification of facts regarding 

eligibility for death or disability benefits, the Bureau shall adopt 

the factual findings, if the factual findings are supported by substantial evidence.’’; and 

(3) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(e)(1)(A) Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 

of this subsection, the Bureau shall make available on the public 

website of the Bureau information on all death, disability, and 

educational assistance claims submitted under this part that are 

pending as of the date on which the information is made available. 

‘‘(B) Not less frequently than once per week, the Bureau shall 

make available on the public website of the Bureau updated 

information with respect to all death, disability, and educational 

assistance claims submitted under this part that are pending as 

of the date on which the information is made available. 

‘‘(C) The information made available under this paragraph shall 

include— 

‘‘(i) for each pending claim— 

Deadlines. 

Web posting. 

Consultation. 

Certification. 

Determination. 

Public Safety 

Officers’ Benefits 

Improvement Act 

of 2017. 

42 USC 3711 

note. 

June 2, 2017 

[S. 419] 

131 STAT. 850 PUBLIC LAW 115–36—JUNE 2, 2017 

‘‘(I) the date on which the claim was submitted to 

the Bureau; 

‘‘(II) the State of residence of the claimant; 

‘‘(III) an anonymized, identifying claim number; and 

‘‘(IV) the nature of the claim; and 

‘‘(ii) the total number of pending claims that were submitted to the Bureau more than 1 year before the date on 

which the information is made available. 

‘‘(2) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

this subsection, the Bureau shall publish on the public website 

of the Bureau a report, and shall update such report on such 

website not less than once every 180 days thereafter, containing— 

‘‘(A) the total number of claims for which a final determination has been made during the 180-day period preceding the 

report; 

‘‘(B) the amount of time required to process each claim 

for which a final determination has been made during the 

180-day period preceding the report; 

‘‘(C) as of the last day of the 180-day period preceding 

the report, the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau 

on or before that date for which a final determination has 

not been made; 

‘‘(D) as of the last day of the 180-day period preceding 

the report, the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau 

on or before the date that is 1 year before that date for which 

a final determination has not been made; 

‘‘(E) for each claim described in subparagraph (D), a 

detailed description of the basis for delay; 

‘‘(F) as of the last day of the 180-day period preceding 

the report, the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau 

on or before that date relating to exposure due to the September 

11th, 2001, terrorism attacks for which a final determination 

has not been made; 

‘‘(G) as of the last day of the 180-day period preceding 

the report, the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau 

on or before the date that is 1 year before that date relating 

to exposure due to the September 11th, 2001, terrorism attacks 

for which a final determination has not been made; 

‘‘(H) for each claim described in subparagraph (G), a 

detailed description of the basis for delay; 

‘‘(I) the total number of claims submitted to the Bureau 

relating to exposure due to the September 11th, 2001, terrorism 

attacks for which a final determination was made during the 

180-day period preceding the report, and the average award 

amount for any such claims that were approved; 

‘‘(J) the result of each claim for which a final determination 

was made during the 180-day period preceding the report, 

including the number of claims rejected and the basis for any 

denial of benefits; 

‘‘(K) the number of final determinations which were 

appealed during the 180-day period preceding the report, 

regardless of when the final determination was first made; 

‘‘(L) the average number of claims processed per reviewer 

of the Bureau during the 180-day period preceding the report; 

‘‘(M) for any claim submitted to the Bureau that required 

the submission of additional information from a public agency, 

and for which the public agency completed providing all of 

Deadlines. 

Web posting. 

Time periods. 

Determinations. 

Claims. 

PUBLIC LAW 115–36—JUNE 2, 2017 131 STAT. 851 

the required information during the 180-day period preceding 

the report, the average length of the period beginning on the 

date the public agency was contacted by the Bureau and ending 

on the date on which the public agency submitted all required 

information to the Bureau; 

‘‘(N) for any claim submitted to the Bureau for which 

the Bureau issued a subpoena to a public agency during the 

180-day period preceding the report in order to obtain information or documentation necessary to determine the claim, the 

name of the public agency, the date on which the subpoena 

was issued, and the dates on which the public agency was 

contacted by the Bureau before the issuance of the subpoena; 

and 

‘‘(O) information on the compliance of the Bureau with 

the obligation to offset award amounts under section 1201(f)(3), 

including— 

‘‘(i) the number of claims that are eligible for compensation under both this part and the September 11th Victim 

Compensation Fund of 2001 (49 U.S.C. 40101 note; Public 

Law 107–42) (commonly referred to as the ‘VCF’); 

‘‘(ii) for each claim described in clause (i) for which 

compensation has been paid under the VCF, the amount 

of compensation paid under the VCF; 

‘‘(iii) the number of claims described in clause (i) for 

which the Bureau has made a final determination; and 

‘‘(iv) the number of claims described in clause (i) for 

which the Bureau has not made a final determination. 

‘‘(3) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 

this subsection, and 2 years thereafter, the Comptroller General 

of the United States shall— 

‘‘(A) conduct a study on the compliance of the Bureau 

with the obligation to offset award amounts under section 

1201(f)(3); and 

‘‘(B) submit to Congress a report on the study conducted 

under subparagraph (A) that includes an assessment of whether 

the Bureau has provided the information required under 

subparagraph (B)(ix) of paragraph (2) of this subsection in 

each report required under that paragraph. 

‘‘(4) In this subsection, the term ‘nature of the claim’ means 

whether the claim is a claim for— 

‘‘(A) benefits under this subpart with respect to the death 

of a public safety officer; 

‘‘(B) benefits under this subpart with respect to the disability of a public safety officer; or 

‘‘(C) education assistance under subpart 2.’’. 

SEC. 3. AGE LIMITATION FOR CHILDREN. 

Section 1212(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796d–1(c)) is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘No child’’ and inserting the following: 

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), no child’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(2) DELAYED APPROVALS.— 

‘‘(A) EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE APPLICATION.—If a claim 

for assistance under this subpart is approved more than 

1 year after the date on which the application for such 

assistance is filed with the Attorney General, the age 

Claims. 

Time periods. 

Definition. 

Assessment. 

Study. 

Deadlines. 

131 STAT. 852 PUBLIC LAW 115–36—JUNE 2, 2017 

limitation under this subsection shall be extended by the 

length of the period— 

‘‘(i) beginning on the day after the date that is 

1 year after the date on which the application is filed; 

and 

‘‘(ii) ending on the date on which the application 

is approved. 

‘‘(B) CLAIM FOR BENEFITS FOR DEATH OR PERMANENT

AND TOTAL DISABILITY.—In addition to an extension under 

subparagraph (A), if any, for an application for assistance 

under this subpart that relates to a claim for benefits 

under subpart 1 that was approved more than 1 year 

after the date on which the claim was filed with the 

Attorney General, the age limitation under this subsection 

shall be extended by the length of the period— 

‘‘(i) beginning on the day after the date that is 

1 year after the date on which the claim for benefits 

is submitted; and 

‘‘(ii) ending on the date on which the claim for 

benefits is approved.’’. 

SEC. 4. DUE DILIGENCE IN PAYING BENEFIT CLAIMS. 

Subpart 1 of part L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.) is amended 

by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘SEC. 1206. DUE DILIGENCE IN PAYING BENEFIT CLAIMS. 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau, with all due diligence, shall 

expeditiously attempt to obtain the information and documentation 

necessary to adjudicate a benefit claim filed under this part, 

including a claim for financial assistance under subpart 2. 

‘‘(b) SUFFICIENT INFORMATION UNAVAILABLE.—If a benefit claim 

filed under this part, including a claim for financial assistance 

under subpart 2, is unable to be adjudicated by the Bureau because 

of a lack of information or documentation from a third party, 

such as a public agency, and such information is not readily available to the claimant, the Bureau may not abandon the benefit 

claim unless the Bureau has utilized the investigative tools available to the Bureau to obtain the necessary information or documentation, including subpoenas.’’. 

SEC. 5. PRESUMPTION THAT OFFICER ACTED PROPERLY. 

Section 1202 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796a) is amended— 

(1) by striking ‘‘No benefit’’ and inserting the following: 

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No benefit’’; and 

(2) by adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(b) PRESUMPTION.—In determining whether a benefit is payable under this part, the Bureau— 

‘‘(1) shall presume that none of the limitations described 

in subsection (a) apply; and 

‘‘(2) shall not determine that a limitation described in subsection (a) applies, absent clear and convincing evidence.’’. 

SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICABILITY. 

The amendments made by this Act shall— 

(1) take effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and 

42 USC 3796a 

note. 

Determinations. 

42 USC 3796c–3. 

PUBLIC LAW 115–36—JUNE 2, 2017 131 STAT. 853 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 419: 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 163 (2017): 

May 16, considered and passed Senate. 

May 17, considered and passed House. 

Æ 

(2) apply to any benefit claim or application under part 

L of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.) that is— 

(A) pending before the Bureau of Justice Assistance 

on the date of enactment; or 

(B) received by the Bureau on or after the date of 

enactment of this Act. 

Approved June 2, 2017.