IB 

Union Calendar No. 291 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1759 

[Report No. 110–467] 

To establish guidelines and incentives for States to establish arsonist registries 

and to require the Attorney General to establish a national arsonist 

registry and notification program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 29, 2007 

Mrs. BONO (for herself and Mr. SCHIFF) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

DECEMBER 4, 2007 

Additional sponsors: Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. DREIER, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. MARIO DIAZBALART of Florida, Mr. KELLER of Florida, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. DANIEL

E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. CRENSHAW, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. LEWIS

of California, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. PUTNAM, 

Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. FILNER, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. ISSA, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. CAMPBELL of California, Mr. ROGERS of Michigan, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. GINGREY, Mr. BACA, Mr. 

BLUMENAUER, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. PATRICK MURPHY of Pennsylvania, 

Mr. COBLE, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. BISHOP of 

New York, Mr. WEINER, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. HUNTER, Ms. 

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. 

SNYDER, Mr. HOLDEN, and Mr. SHERMAN

DECEMBER 4, 2007 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 


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[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 29, 2007] 

A BILL 

To establish guidelines and incentives for States to establish 

arsonist registries and to require the Attorney General 

to establish a national arsonist registry and notification 

program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Managing Arson 

5 Through Criminal History (MATCH) Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ARSONIST REGISTRATION AND NOTIFICATION PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR JURISDICTIONS.— 

9 (1) JURISDICTION TO MAINTAIN A REGISTRY.— 

10 Each jurisdiction shall establish and maintain a ju11 risdiction-wide arsonist registry conforming to the re12 quirements of this section. 

13 (2) GUIDELINES AND REGULATIONS.—The Attor14 ney General shall issue guidelines and regulations to 

15 interpret and implement this section. 

16 (b) REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR CRIMINAL

17 ARSONISTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—A criminal arsonist shall reg2 ister, and shall keep the registration current, in each 

3 jurisdiction where the arsonist resides, where the ar4 sonist is an employee, and where the arsonist is a stu5 dent. For initial registration purposes only, a crimi6 nal arsonist shall also register in the jurisdiction in 

7 which convicted if such jurisdiction is different from 

8 the jurisdiction of residence. 

9 (2) INITIAL REGISTRATION.—The criminal ar10 sonist shall initially register— 

11 (A) before completing a sentence of impris12 onment with respect to the offense giving rise to 

13 the registration requirement; or 

14 (B) not later than 5 business days after 

15 being sentenced for that offense, if the criminal 

16 arsonist is not sentenced to a term of imprison17 ment. 

18 (3) KEEPING THE REGISTRATION CURRENT.—A 

19 criminal arsonist shall, not later than 10 business 

20 days after each change of name, residence, employ21 ment, or student status, appear in person in at least 

22 one jurisdiction involved pursuant to paragraph (1) 

23 and inform that jurisdiction of all changes in the in24 formation required for that arsonist in the arsonist 

25 registry involved. That jurisdiction shall immediately 


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1 provide the revised information to all other jurisdic2 tions in which the arsonist is required to register. 

3 (4) APPLICATION OF REGISTRATION REQUIRE4 MENTS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 guidelines under subparagraph (B), the require7 ments of this section, including the duties to reg8 ister and to keep a registration current, shall 

9 apply only to a criminal arsonist who was con10 victed of a criminal offense involving arson on or 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

12 who was notified of such duties and registered in 

13 accordance with subsection (f). 

14 (B) APPLICATION TO CRIMINAL ARSONISTS

15 UNABLE TO COMPLY WITH PARAGRAPH (2).— 

16 (i) GUIDELINES.—The Attorney Gen17 eral shall establish guidelines in accordance 

18 with the provisions of this subparagraph for 

19 each jurisdiction for the application of the 

20 requirements of this section to criminal 

21 arsonists convicted before the date of the en22 actment of this Act or the date of its imple23 mentation in such a jurisdiction, and shall 

24 prescribe rules for the registration of any 


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1 such criminal arsonists who are otherwise 

2 unable to comply with paragraph (2). 

3 (ii) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE IN4 CLUDED IN REGISTRY.—With respect to 

5 each criminal arsonist described in clause 

6 (i) convicted during the 10-year period pre7 ceding the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 the guidelines under clause (i) shall provide 

9 for the inclusion in the arsonist registry of 

10 each applicable jurisdiction (and, in accord11 ance with subsection (j), the provision by 

12 such jurisdiction to each entity described in 

13 such subsection) of the following informa14 tion: 

15 (I) The name of the arsonist (in16 cluding any alias used by the arson17 ist). 

18 (II) The Social Security number 

19 of the arsonist. 

20 (III) The most recent known ad21 dress of the residence at which the ar22 sonist has resided. 

23 (IV) A physical description of the 

24 arsonist. 


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1 (V) The text of the provision of 

2 law defining the criminal offense re3 lated to arson for which the arsonist is 

4 convicted. 

5 (VI) A set of fingerprints and 

6 palm prints of the arsonist. 

7 (VII) A photocopy of a valid driv8 er’s license or identification card 

9 issued to the arsonist by a jurisdiction, 

10 if available. 

11 (VIII) Any other information re12 quired by the Attorney General. 

13 (iii) NOTICE REQUIRED.—The guide14 lines under clause (i) shall provide notice to 

15 each criminal arsonist included in an ar16 sonist registry pursuant to this subpara17 graph of such inclusion. 

18 (5) STATE PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO COMPLY.— 

19 Each jurisdiction, other than a federally recognized 

20 Indian tribe, shall provide a criminal penalty that 

21 includes a maximum term of imprisonment that is 

22 greater than one year for the failure of a criminal ar23 sonist to comply with the requirements of this section. 

24 (6) AUTHORITY TO EXEMPT CERTAIN CRIMINAL

25 ARSONISTS FROM REGISTRY REQUIREMENTS.—A juVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:59 Dec 05, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1759.RH H1759

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1 risdiction shall have the authority to exempt a crimi2 nal arsonist who has been convicted of the offense of 

3 arson in violation of the laws of the jurisdiction in 

4 which the offense was committed or the United States 

5 for the first time from the registration requirements 

6 under this section in exchange for such arsonist’s sub7 stantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution 

8 of another person who has committed an offense. The 

9 Attorney General shall assure that any regulations 

10 promulgated under this section include guidelines 

11 that reflect the general appropriateness of exempting 

12 such an arsonist from the registration requirements 

13 under this section. 

14 (c) INFORMATION REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION.— 

15 (1) PROVIDED BY THE ARSONIST.—A criminal 

16 arsonist shall provide the following information to the 

17 appropriate official for inclusion in the arsonist reg18 istry of a jurisdiction in which such arsonist is re19 quired to register: 

20 (A) The name of the arsonist (including 

21 any alias used by the arsonist). 

22 (B) The Social Security number of the ar23 sonist. 

24 (C) The address of each residence at which 

25 the arsonist resides or will reside. 


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1 (D) The name and address of any place 

2 where the arsonist is an employee or will be an 

3 employee. 

4 (E) The name and address of any place 

5 where the arsonist is a student or will be a stu6 dent. 

7 (F) The license plate number and a descrip8 tion of any vehicle owned or operated by the ar9 sonist. 

10 (G) Any other information required by the 

11 Attorney General. 

12 (2) PROVIDED BY THE JURISDICTION.—The ju13 risdiction in which a criminal arsonist registers shall 

14 ensure that the following information is included in 

15 the registry for such arsonist: 

16 (A) A physical description of the arsonist. 

17 (B) The text of the provision of law defining 

18 the criminal offense for which the arsonist is reg19 istered. 

20 (C) The criminal history of the arsonist, in21 cluding the date of all arrests and convictions; 

22 the status of parole, probation, or supervised re23 lease; registration status; and the existence of 

24 any outstanding arrest warrants for the arsonist. 

25 (D) A current photograph of the arsonist. 


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1 (E) A set of fingerprints and palm prints 

2 of the arsonist. 

3 (F) A photocopy of a valid driver’s license 

4 or identification card issued to the arsonist by a 

5 jurisdiction. 

6 (G) Any other information required by the 

7 Attorney General. 

8 (d) DURATION OF REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT; 

9 EXPUNGING REGISTRIES OF INFORMATION FOR CERTAIN

10 JUVENILE CRIMINAL ARSONISTS.— 

11 (1) DURATION OF REGISTRATION REQUIRE12 MENT.—A criminal arsonist shall keep the registra13 tion information provided under subsection (c) cur14 rent for the full registration period (excluding any 

15 time the arsonist is in custody). For purposes of this 

16 subsection, the full registration period— 

17 (A) shall commence on the later of the date 

18 on which the arsonist is convicted of an offense 

19 of arson in violation of the laws of the jurisdic20 tion in which the offense was committed or the 

21 United States, the date on which the arsonist is 

22 released from prison for such conviction, or the 

23 date on which such arsonist is placed on parole, 

24 supervised release, or probation for such convic25 tion; and 


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1 (B) shall be— 

2 (i) five years for an arsonist who has 

3 been convicted of such an offense for the 

4 first time; 

5 (ii) ten years for an arsonist who has 

6 been convicted of such an offense for the sec7 ond time; and 

8 (iii) for the life of the arsonist for an 

9 arsonist who has been convicted of such an 

10 offense more than twice. 

11 (2) EXPUNGING REGISTRIES OF INFORMATION

12 FOR CERTAIN JUVENILE CRIMINAL ARSONISTS.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a criminal 

14 arsonist described in subparagraph (B), a juris15 diction shall expunge the arson registry of such 

16 jurisdiction of information related to such crimi17 nal arsonist as of the date that is 5 years after 

18 the last day of the applicable full registration pe19 riod under paragraph (1). 

20 (B) CRIMINAL ARSONIST DESCRIBED.—For 

21 purposes of subparagraph (A), a criminal arson22 ist described in this subparagraph is a criminal 

23 arsonist who— 


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1 (i) was a juvenile tried as an adult for 

2 the offense giving rise to the duty to reg3 ister; and 

4 (ii) was not convicted of any other 

5 criminal felony during the period beginning 

6 on the first day of the applicable full reg7 istration period under paragraph (1) and 

8 ending on the last day of the 5-year period 

9 described in subparagraph (A). 

10 (C) APPLICATION TO OTHER DATABASES.— 

11 The Attorney General shall establish a process to 

12 ensure that each entity that receives information 

13 under subsection (j) with respect to a criminal 

14 arsonist described in subparagraph (B) shall ex15 punge the applicable database of such informa16 tion as of the date that is 5 years after the last 

17 day of the applicable full registration period 

18 under paragraph (1). 

19 (e) ANNUAL VERIFICATION.—Not less than once in 

20 each calendar year during the full registration period, a 

21 criminal arsonist required to register under this section 

22 shall— 

23 (1) appear in person at not less than one juris24 diction in which such arsonist is required to register; 


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1 (2) allow such jurisdiction to take a current pho2 tograph of the arsonist; and 

3 (3) while present at such jurisdiction, verify the 

4 information in each registry in which that arsonist is 

5 required to be registered. 

6 (f) DUTY TO NOTIFY CRIMINAL ARSONISTS OF REG7 ISTRATION REQUIREMENTS AND TO REGISTER.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—An appropriate official shall, 

9 shortly before release of a criminal arsonist from cus10 tody, or, if the arsonist is not in custody, imme11 diately after the sentencing of the arsonist for the of12 fense giving rise to the duty to register— 

13 (A) inform the arsonist of the duties of the 

14 arsonist under this section and explain those du15 ties in a manner that the arsonist can under16 stand in light of the arsonist’s native language, 

17 mental capability, and age; 

18 (B) ensure that the arsonist understands the 

19 registration requirement, and if so, require the 

20 arsonist to read and sign a form stating that the 

21 duty to register has been explained and that the 

22 arsonist understands the registration require23 ment; 

24 (C) if the arsonist is unable to understand 

25 the registration requirements, the official shall 


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1 sign a form stating that the arsonist is unable 

2 to understand the registration requirements; and 

3 (D) ensure that the arsonist is registered. 

4 (2) NOTIFICATION OF CRIMINAL ARSONISTS WHO

5 CANNOT COMPLY WITH PARAGRAPH (1).—The Attorney 

6 General shall prescribe rules to ensure the notification 

7 and registration of criminal arsonists in accordance 

8 with paragraph (1) who cannot be notified and reg9 istered at the time set forth in paragraph (1). 

10 (g) ACCESS TO CRIMINAL ARSONIST INFORMATION

11 THROUGH THE INTERNET.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

13 subsection, each jurisdiction shall make available on 

14 the Internet, in a manner that is readily accessible to 

15 law enforcement personnel and fire safety officers lo16 cated in the jurisdiction, all information about each 

17 criminal arsonist in the registry. The jurisdiction 

18 shall also include in the design of its Internet site all 

19 field search capabilities needed for full participation 

20 in the National criminal arsonist Internet site estab21 lished under subsection (i) and shall participate in 

22 that Internet site as provided by the Attorney General 

23 in regulations which comply with this paragraph. 


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1 (2) PROHIBITION ON ACCESS BY THE PUBLIC.— 

2 Such information about a criminal arsonist shall not 

3 be made available on the Internet to the public. 

4 (3) MANDATORY EXEMPTIONS.—A jurisdiction 

5 shall exempt from disclosure, with respect to informa6 tion about a criminal arsonist— 

7 (A) any information about the arsonist in8 volving conviction for an offense other than the 

9 offense or offenses for which the arsonist is reg10 istered; 

11 (B) any information about the arsonist if 

12 the arsonist is participating in a witness protec13 tion program and the release of such information 

14 could jeopardize the safety of the arsonist or any 

15 other individual; and 

16 (C) any other information identified as a 

17 mandatory exemption from disclosure by the At18 torney General. 

19 (4) OPTIONAL EXEMPTIONS.—A jurisdiction is 

20 authorized to exempt from disclosure, with respect to 

21 information about a criminal arsonist— 

22 (A) the name of an employer of the arsonist; 

23 and 

24 (B) the name of an educational institution 

25 where the arsonist is a student. 


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1 (5) CORRECTION OF ERRORS.—The Attorney 

2 General shall establish guidelines for each jurisdiction 

3 for a process to seek correction of information in4 cluded in the Internet site established by the jurisdic5 tion pursuant to paragraph (1) in the case that an 

6 individual contends such information is erroneous. 

7 Such guidelines shall provide for an adequate period 

8 following the date on which the individual has knowl9 edge of the information’s inclusion in the Internet site 

10 for the individual to seek such correction of informa11 tion. 

12 (6) WARNING.—An Internet site established by a 

13 jurisdiction pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include 

14 a warning that information on the site is to be used 

15 for law enforcement purposes only and may only be 

16 disclosed in connection with such purposes. The warn17 ing shall note that any such action could result in 

18 civil or criminal penalties. 

19 (h) NATIONAL CRIMINAL ARSONIST REGISTRY.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

21 maintain a national database at the Bureau of Alco22 hol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for each crimi23 nal arsonist. The database shall be known as the Na24 tional Arsonist Registry. 


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1 (2) ELECTRONIC FORWARDING.—The Attorney 

2 General shall ensure (through the National Arsonist 

3 Registry or otherwise) that updated information 

4 about a criminal arsonist is immediately transmitted 

5 by electronic forwarding to all relevant jurisdictions. 

6 (i) NATIONAL ARSONIST INTERNET SITE.—The Attor7 ney General shall establish and maintain a national arson8 ist Internet site. The Internet site shall include relevant in9 formation for each criminal arsonist. The Internet site shall 

10 allow law enforcement officers and fire safety officers to ob11 tain relevant information for each such arsonist by a single 

12 query for any given zip code or geographical radius set by 

13 the user in a form and with such limitations as may be 

14 established by the Attorney General and shall have such 

15 other field search capabilities as the Attorney General may 

16 provide. 

17 (j) NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES.—Under an arsonist 

18 registration program established by a jurisdiction pursuant 

19 to subsection (a), immediately after a criminal arsonist reg20 isters or updates a registration, an appropriate official in 

21 the jurisdiction shall provide the information in the registry 

22 (other than information exempted from disclosure by this 

23 section or by the Attorney General) about that offender to 

24 the following entities: 


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1 (1) The Attorney General, who shall include that 

2 information in the National Arsonist Registry. 

3 (2) Appropriate law enforcement agencies (in4 cluding probation agencies, if appropriate) in each 

5 area in which the offender resides, is an employee, or 

6 is a student. 

7 (3) Each jurisdiction where the offender resides, 

8 is an employee, or is a student, and each jurisdiction 

9 from or to which a change of residence, employment, 

10 or student status occurs. 

11 Information about a criminal arsonist shall not be made 

12 available on the Internet to the public. 

13 (k) ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN WHEN CRIMINAL ARSON14 IST FAILS TO COMPLY.—Under an arsonist registration 

15 program established by a jurisdiction pursuant to sub16 section (a), an appropriate official of the jurisdiction shall 

17 notify the Attorney General and appropriate law enforce18 ment agencies of any failure by a criminal arsonist to com19 ply with the requirements of the arsonist registry for such 

20 jurisdiction, and shall revise the registry to reflect the na21 ture of such failure. The appropriate official, the Attorney 

22 General, and each such law enforcement agency shall take 

23 any appropriate action to ensure compliance. 

24 (l) DEVELOPMENT AND AVAILABILITY OF REGISTRY

25 MANAGEMENT AND WEBSITE SOFTWARE.— 


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1 (1) DUTY TO DEVELOP AND SUPPORT.—The At2 torney General shall, in consultation with the juris3 dictions, develop and support software to enable juris4 dictions to establish and operate uniform arsonist reg5 istries and Internet sites. 

6 (2) CRITERIA.—The software described in para7 graph (1) should facilitate— 

8 (A) immediate exchange of information 

9 among jurisdictions; 

10 (B) access over the Internet to appropriate 

11 information, including the number of registered 

12 criminal arsonists in each jurisdiction on a cur13 rent basis; 

14 (C) full compliance with the requirements of 

15 this section; and 

16 (D) communication of information as re17 quired under subsection (j). 

18 (3) DEADLINE.—The Attorney General shall 

19 make the first complete edition of this software avail20 able to jurisdictions not later than two years after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (m) PERIOD FOR IMPLEMENTATION BY JURISDIC23 TIONS.— 


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1 (1) DEADLINE.—To be in compliance with this 

2 section, a jurisdiction shall implement this section be3 fore the later of— 

4 (A) three years after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act; or 

6 (B) one year after the date on which the 

7 software described in subsection (l) is made 

8 available to such jurisdiction. 

9 (2) EXTENSIONS.—The Attorney General may 

10 authorize not more than two one-year extensions of 

11 the deadline under paragraph (1). 

12 (n) FAILURE OF JURISDICTION TO COMPLY.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—For any fiscal year after the 

14 deadline described in subsection (m), a jurisdiction 

15 that fails, as determined by the Attorney General, to 

16 substantially implement this section shall not receive 

17 10 percent of the funds that would otherwise be allo18 cated for that fiscal year to the jurisdiction under 

19 subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

20 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 

21 et seq.). 

22 (2) STATE CONSTITUTIONALITY.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—When evaluating wheth24 er a jurisdiction has substantially implemented 

25 this section, the Attorney General shall consider 


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1 whether the jurisdiction is unable to substan2 tially implement this section because of a dem3 onstrated inability to implement certain provi4 sions that would place the jurisdiction in viola5 tion of its constitution, as determined by a rul6 ing of the jurisdiction’s highest court. 

7 (B) EFFORTS.—If the circumstances arise 

8 under subparagraph (A), then the Attorney Gen9 eral and the jurisdiction involved shall make 

10 good faith efforts to accomplish substantial im11 plementation of this section and to reconcile any 

12 conflicts between this section and the jurisdic13 tion’s constitution. In considering whether com14 pliance with the requirements of this section 

15 would likely violate the jurisdiction’s constitu16 tion or an interpretation thereof by the jurisdic17 tion’s highest court, the Attorney General shall 

18 consult with the chief executive and chief legal of19 ficer of the jurisdiction concerning the jurisdic20 tion’s interpretation of the jurisdiction’s con21 stitution and rulings thereon by the jurisdic22 tion’s highest court. 

23 (C) ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURES.—If a ju24 risdiction is unable to substantially implement 

25 this section because of a limitation imposed by 


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1 the jurisdiction’s constitution, the Attorney Gen2 eral may determine that the jurisdiction is in 

3 compliance with this section if the jurisdiction 

4 has made, or is in the process of implementing, 

5 reasonable alternative procedures or accommoda6 tions, which are consistent with the purposes of 

7 this section. 

8 (3) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated 

9 under a program referred to in this subsection to a 

10 jurisdiction for failure to substantially implement 

11 this section shall be reallocated under that program to 

12 jurisdictions that have not failed to substantially im13 plement this section or may be reallocated to a juris14 diction from which they were withheld to be used sole15 ly for the purpose of implementing this section. 

16 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The provisions of 

17 this section that are cast as directions to jurisdictions 

18 or their officials constitute, in relation to States, only 

19 conditions required to avoid the reduction of Federal 

20 funding under this subsection. 

21 (o) ELECTION BY INDIAN TRIBES.— 

22 (1) ELECTION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—A federally recognized 

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1 mental body, elect to carry out this subtitle as a 

2 jurisdiction subject to its provisions. 

3 (B) IMPLEMENTATION.—If a tribe does not, 

4 within one year of the enactment of this Act, 

5 make an election to take on these duties, it shall, 

6 by resolution or other enactment of the tribal 

7 council or comparable governmental body, enter 

8 into a cooperative agreement to arrange for a ju9 risdiction to carry out any function of the tribe 

10 under this Act until such time as the tribe elects 

11 to carry out this Act. 

12 (2) COOPERATION BETWEEN TRIBAL AUTHORI13 TIES AND OTHER JURISDICTIONS.— 

14 (A) NONDUPLICATION.—A tribe subject to 

15 this subtitle is not required to duplicate func16 tions under this subtitle which are fully carried 

17 out by another jurisdiction or jurisdictions with18 in which the territory of the tribe is located. 

19 (B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—A tribe 

20 may, through cooperative agreements with such a 

21 jurisdiction or jurisdictions— 

22 (i) arrange for the tribe to carry out 

23 any function of such a jurisdiction under 

24 this subtitle with respect to arsonists subject 

25 to the tribe’s jurisdiction; and 


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1 (ii) arrange for such a jurisdiction to 

2 carry out any function of the tribe under 

3 this subtitle with respect to arsonists subject 

4 to the tribe’s jurisdiction. 

5 (3) LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY IN INDIAN

6 COUNTRY.—Enforcement of this Act in Indian coun7 try, as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United 

8 States Code, shall be carried out by Federal, Tribal, 

9 and State governments under existing jurisdictional 

10 authorities. 

11 (p) IMMUNITY FOR GOOD FAITH CONDUCT.—The Fed12 eral Government, jurisdictions, political subdivisions of ju13 risdictions, and their agencies, officers, employees, and 

14 agents shall be immune from liability for good faith conduct 

15 under this section. 

16 (q) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi17 tion to any amounts otherwise authorized to be appro18 priated, there are authorized to be appropriated to the At19 torney General, to carry out subsections (h) and (i) of this 

20 section, such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 

21 years 2009 through 2014. 

22 SEC. 3. CRIMINAL ARSONIST MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE 

23 PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall estab25 lish and implement a Criminal Arsonist Management AsVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:59 Dec 05, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1759.RH H1759

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1 sistance program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Assist2 ance Program’’), under which the Attorney General shall 

3 award a grant to a jurisdiction to offset the costs of imple4 menting section 2. 

5 (b) APPLICATION.—The chief executive of a jurisdic6 tion desiring a grant under this section shall, on an annual 

7 basis, submit to the Attorney General an application in 

8 such form and containing such information as the Attorney 

9 General may require. 

10 (c) BONUS PAYMENTS FOR PROMPT COMPLIANCE.—A 

11 jurisdiction that, as determined by the Attorney General, 

12 has substantially implemented section 2 not later than two 

13 years after the date of the enactment of this Act is eligible 

14 for a bonus payment. The Attorney General may make such 

15 a payment under the Assistance Program for the first fiscal 

16 year beginning after that determination. The amount of the 

17 bonus payment shall be as follows: 

18 (1) In the case of a determination that the juris19 diction has substantially implemented such section by 

20 a date that is not later than the date that is one year 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, 10 percent 

22 of the total received by the jurisdiction under the As23 sistance Program for the preceding fiscal year. 

24 (2) In the case of a determination that the juris25 diction has substantially implemented such section by 


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1 a date that is later than one year after the date of 

2 the enactment of this Act, but not later than the date 

3 that is two years after such date of enactment, 5 per4 cent of such total. 

5 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi6 tion to any amounts otherwise authorized to be appro7 priated, there are authorized to be appropriated to the At8 torney General, to be available only for the Assistance Pro9 gram, such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 

10 years 2009 through 2014. 

11 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

12 For purposes of this Act: 

13 (1) CRIMINAL ARSONIST.—The term ‘‘criminal 

14 arsonist’’ means an individual who is convicted of 

15 any criminal offense for committing arson in viola16 tion of the laws of the jurisdiction in which such of17 fense was committed or the United States. Such term 

18 shall not include a juvenile who is convicted of such 

19 an offense unless such juvenile was tried as an adult 

20 for such offense. 

21 (2) ARSONIST REGISTRY.—The term ‘‘arsonist 

22 registry’’ means a registry of criminal arsonists, and 

23 a notification program, maintained by a jurisdiction. 

24 (3) CRIMINAL OFFENSE.—The term ‘‘criminal of25 fense’’ means a State, local, tribal, foreign, or miliVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:59 Dec 05, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1759.RH H1759

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1 tary offense (to the extent specified by the Secretary 

2 of Defense under section 115(a)(8)(C)(i) of Public 

3 Law 105–119 (10 U.S.C. 951 note)) or other criminal 

4 offense. 

5 (4) EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘employee’’ includes 

6 an individual who is self-employed or works for any 

7 other entity, whether compensated or not. 

8 (5) FIRE SAFETY OFFICER.—The term ‘‘fire safe9 ty officer’’ means— 

10 (A) a firefighter, as such term is defined in 

11 section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

12 Safe Street Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b); or 

13 (B) an individual serving in an official ca14 pacity as a firefighter, fire investigator, or other 

15 arson investigator, as defined by the jurisdiction 

16 for the purposes of this Act. 

17 (6) JURISDICTION.—The term ‘‘jurisdiction’’ 

18 means any of the following: 

19 (A) A State. 

20 (B) The District of Columbia. 

21 (C) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

22 (D) Guam. 

23 (E) American Samoa. 

24 (F) The Northern Mariana Islands. 

25 (G) The United States Virgin Islands. 


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1 (H) To the extent provided and subject to 

2 the requirements of section 2(o), a federally rec3 ognized Indian tribe. 

4 (7) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

5 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the meaning given such 

6 term in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control 

7 and Safe Street Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b). 

8 (8) RESIDES.—The term ‘‘resides’’ means, with 

9 respect to an individual, the location of the individ10 ual’s home or other place where the individual habit11 ually lives. 

12 (9) STUDENT.—The term ‘‘student’’ means an 

13 individual who enrolls in or attends an educational 

14 institution (whether public or private), including a 

15 secondary school, trade or professional school, and in16 stitution of higher education. 


bajohnson on PROD1PC71 with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 291 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1759 

[Report No. 110

–467] 

A BILL 

To establish guidelines and incentives for States to 

purposes. registry and notification program, and for other Attorney General to establish a national arsonist establish arsonist registries and to require the 

DECEMBER 4, 2007 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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