39–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 113–285 

DEATH IN CUSTODY REPORTING ACT OF 2013 

DECEMBER 9, 2013.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. GOODLATTE, from the Committee on the Judiciary, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1447] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 1447) 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 

Duplication of Federal Programs ............................................................................ 4 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings ..................................................................... 4 

Performance Goals and Objectives ......................................................................... 4 

Advisory on Earmarks ............................................................................................. 4 

Section-by-Section Analysis .................................................................................... 4 

Purpose and Summary 

H.R. 1447 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 


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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. 1447 also requires the Attorney General to study and issue a 

report on 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. 1447. 

Committee Consideration 

On December 4, 2013, the Committee met in open session and 

ordered the bill H.R. 1447 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. 

1447. 

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. 


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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. 1447, 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, December 6, 2013. 

Hon. BOB GOODLATTE, 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. 1447, the ‘‘Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013.’’ 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark Grabowicz, who 

can be reached at 226–2860. 

Sincerely, 

DOUGLAS W. ELMENDORF, 

DIRECTOR. 

Enclosure 

cc: Honorable John Conyers, Jr. 

Ranking Member 

H.R. 1447—Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013. 

As ordered reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary on 

December 4, 2013. 

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1447 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. 1447 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. 1447 would not have a significant 

effect on discretionary spending by the department or by other Federal law enforcement agencies. 

H.R. 1447 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 Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 


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Duplication of Federal Programs 

No provision of H.R. 1447 establishes or reauthorizes a program 

of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program that was included in any report from the 

Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 

21 of Public Law 111–139, or a program related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. 

Disclosure of Directed Rule Makings 

The Committee estimates that H.R. 1447 specifically directs to be 

completed no specific rule makings within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 

551. 

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. 1447, 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. 1447 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. 1447 is the ‘‘Death 

in Custody Reporting Act of 2013.’’ 

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 enforceVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:37 Dec 09, 2013 Jkt 039006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6601 E:\HR\OC\HR285.XXX HR285

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ment 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. 

Æ 


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