I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3407 

To establish the National Center for the Right to Counsel. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 30, 2013 

Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish the National Center for the Right to Counsel. 

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 ‘‘National Center for 

5 the Right to Counsel Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution 

9 of the United States provides that ‘‘In all criminal 

10 prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to 


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1 . . . have the Assistance of Counsel for his de2 fense.’’ 

3 (2) In Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 

4 (1963), the United States Supreme Court held that 

5 the States were required to provide counsel for indi6 gent defendants in all felony cases. 

7 (3) In Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 

8 (1972), the United States Supreme Court held that 

9 indigent defendants are entitled to court-appointed 

10 counsel in any case that leads to actual imprison11 ment. 

12 (4) For more than 50 years, the States and 

13 local governments have been struggling to satisfy 

14 this mandate. 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Board of Di18 rectors of the National Center for the Right to 

19 Counsel. 

20 (2) The term ‘‘Center’’ means the National 

21 Center for the Right to Counsel established in this 

22 Act. 

23 (3) The term ‘‘indigent defendant’’ means a de24 fendant in a criminal case who is unable to afford 


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1 a reasonable attorney’s fee in the case against such 

2 person. 

3 (4) The term ‘‘public defense services’’ means 

4 legal assistance provided to an indigent defendant in 

5 a criminal case against such person. 

6 (5) The term ‘‘public defense system’’ means a 

7 system that provides public defense services, and in8 cludes a system that is run by a State or local unit 

9 of government, and a system that is run by a private 

10 entity or individual that provides such services by 

11 reason of a contract with a State or local unit of 

12 government. 

13 (6) The term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 

14 United States, the District of Columbia, the Com15 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 

16 Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common17 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 

18 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF CENTER. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Dis20 trict of Columbia a private nonmembership nonprofit cor21 poration, which shall be known as the National Center for 

22 the Right to Counsel, for the purpose of— 

23 (1) providing financial support to supplement, 

24 not supplant, funding for public defense systems; 

25 and 


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1 (2) providing financial and substantive support 

2 for training programs that aim to improve the deliv3 ery of legal services to indigent defendants. 

4 (b) PRINCIPAL OFFICE; AGENT FOR SERVICE OF

5 PROCESS.—The Center shall maintain its principal office 

6 in the District of Columbia and shall maintain therein a 

7 designated agent to accept service of process for the Cen8 ter. Notice to or service upon the agent shall be deemed 

9 notice to or service upon the Center. 

10 (c) STATUS OF CENTER UNDER TAX LAWS.—The 

11 Center shall be eligible to be treated as an organization 

12 described in section 170(c)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue 

13 Code of 1986 and as an organization described in section 

14 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 which is 

15 exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code. 

16 If such treatments are conferred in accordance with the 

17 provisions of such Code, the Center shall be subject to all 

18 provisions of such Code relevant to the conduct of organi19 zations exempt from taxation. 

20 SEC. 5. GOVERNING BODY. 

21 (a) BOARD OF DIRECTORS ESTABLISHED.—The Cen22 ter shall have a Board of Directors consisting of 9 voting 

23 members appointed by the President, by and with the ad24 vice and consent of the Senate. The President shall make 


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1 such nominations not later than 60 days after the date 

2 of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—The members 

4 shall be qualified as follows: 

5 (1) A majority of the members shall be mem6 bers of the bar of the highest court of any State. 

7 (2) One member shall have been an indigent de8 fendant who received public defense services from a 

9 public defense system. 

10 (3) The members, except for the member de11 scribed in paragraph (2), shall have— 

12 (A) significant experience in the legal de13 fense of criminal cases; 

14 (B) demonstrated a commitment to quality 

15 indigent defense representation; or 

16 (C) demonstrated a commitment to work17 ing with and advocating for the population 

18 served by the Center. 

19 (c) TERMS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term of a member shall 

21 be 5 years, except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 

22 (4). 

23 (2) FIRST TERMS.—As designated by the Presi24 dent at the time of appointment, of the members 

25 first appointed— 


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1 (A) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 2 

2 years; 

3 (B) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 3 

4 years; and 

5 (C) 3 shall be appointed for terms of 4 

6 years. 

7 (3) REAPPOINTMENT.—No member may be re8 appointed to more than two consecutive terms imme9 diately following such member’s initial term. 

10 (4) VACANCIES.—Any member appointed to fill 

11 a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the 

12 term for which the member’s predecessor was ap13 pointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of 

14 that term. A member may serve after the expiration 

15 of that member’s term until a successor has taken 

16 office. A vacancy in the Board shall be filled in the 

17 manner in which the original appointment was 

18 made. 

19 (5) REMOVAL FOR CAUSE.—A member of the 

20 Board may be removed by the President for malfea21 sance in office, for persistent neglect of or inability 

22 to discharge duties, or for offenses involving moral 

23 turpitude, and for no other cause. 

24 (d) MEMBERS NOT OFFICERS OR EMPLOYEES OF A

25 GOVERNMENT.—The members of the Board shall not, by 


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1 reason of such membership, be deemed officers or employ2 ees of the Federal Government, a State government, local 

3 government, or any law enforcement agency. 

4 (e) CHAIRMAN.—The President shall select a chair5 man from among the initial members to serve for a period 

6 of two years. Thereafter, the chairman shall be elected an7 nually by the members. 

8 (f) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—No member of the Board, 

10 member of a State advisory council, or employee of 

11 a regional backup service center may participate in 

12 any decision, action, or recommendation with respect 

13 to any matter which directly benefits such member 

14 or employee or pertains specifically to any firm or 

15 organization with which such member or employee is 

16 then associated or has been associated within a pe17 riod of two years. 

18 (2) DISCLOSURE AND RECUSAL.—In the event 

19 of a conflict of interest described in paragraph (1), 

20 the member of the Board, member of a State advi21 sory council, or employee of a regional backup serv22 ice center who has a conflict shall disclose the inter23 est that the member or employee has in the matter, 

24 subject to applicable attorney-client privilege, to the 

25 Board, and— 


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1 (A) in the case of a member of a State ad2 visory council, to that council; or 

3 (B) in the case of an employee of a re4 gional backup service center, to that center. 

5 (3) WRITTEN POLICY.—The Center shall adopt 

6 a written policy to ensure that paragraphs (1) and 

7 (2) are carried out. 

8 (g) STATE ADVISORY COUNCILS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL; APPOINTMENT OF MEM10 BERS.—Each State shall have a State advisory coun11 cil composed of 9 members, appointed not later than 

12 90 days after the first meeting of the Board as fol13 lows: 

14 (A) 3 members appointed by the Chief 

15 Justice of the highest court of the State. 

16 (B) 3 members appointed by the United 

17 States Senators for the State, or in the case of 

18 a State that does not have Senators, appointed 

19 by the Member of the United States House of 

20 Representatives for that State. 

21 (C) 3 members appointed by the chief ex22 ecutive of the State. 

23 (2) FAILURE TO APPOINT.—If 90 days have 

24 elapsed without such an advisory council appointed 

25 pursuant to paragraph (1), the Board is authorized 


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1 to appoint such a council, or such remaining 

2 unappointed members of the council, from among 

3 the individuals recommended by the State bar asso4 ciation. 

5 (3) QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS.—The mem6 bers of the advisory council shall be subject to the 

7 qualifications under subsection (b), and shall be 

8 made from among recommendations made by the 

9 State bar association, in collaboration with the Ac10 cess to Justice Initiative of the Department of Jus11 tice. 

12 (4) TERMS; VACANCIES.—The term of a mem13 ber of a State advisory council shall be 4 years. A 

14 member may serve after the expiration of that mem15 ber’s term until a successor member takes office. A 

16 vacancy on the council shall be filled in the manner 

17 described in paragraph (2). 

18 (5) POWERS.—Each State advisory council 

19 shall— 

20 (A) monitor, receive, and investigate com21 plaints regarding the compliance of public de22 fense systems in that State that receive funding 

23 under this Act with the provisions of this Act 

24 and applicable rules, regulations, and guidelines 

25 promulgated pursuant to this Act; 


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1 (B) notify the Center of any apparent vio2 lation of the provisions of this Act and applica3 ble rules, regulations, and guidelines promul4 gated pursuant to this Act, and furnish a copy 

5 of the notification to any recipient affected 

6 thereby, and the Center shall allow such recipi7 ent a reasonable time (but in no case less than 

8 30 days) to reply to any allegation contained in 

9 the notification; 

10 (C) collect information and data on the de11 livery of public defense services in that State; 

12 and 

13 (D) facilitate the sharing of information 

14 between public defense systems in that State. 

15 (6) STAFF.—Each State advisory council may 

16 appoint additional personnel as it considers appro17 priate in order to carry out paragraph (5)(A). 

18 (7) REPORT.—Beginning on the date that is 

19 one year after a State advisory council has its first 

20 meeting, and annually thereafter, a State advisory 

21 council shall submit the Center a report that in22 cludes— 

23 (A) an assessment on the provision of pub24 lic defense services in that State; and 


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1 (B) recommendations on actions that the 

2 Center could take to— 

3 (i) enhance compliance of public de4 fense systems in that State that receive 

5 funding under this Act with the provisions 

6 of this Act and applicable rules, regula7 tions, and guidelines promulgated pursuant 

8 to this Act; and 

9 (ii) improve the delivery of public de10 fense services in that State. 

11 (h) OPEN MEETINGS; APPLICABILITY OF GOVERN12 MENT IN THE SUNSHINE PROVISIONS.—All meetings of 

13 the Board, of any executive committee of the Board, and 

14 of any advisory council established in connection with this 

15 Act shall be open and shall be subject to the requirements 

16 and provisions of section 552b of title 5, United States 

17 Code (relating to open meetings). 

18 (i) QUARTERLY MEETINGS.—The Board shall meet 

19 at least 4 times during each calendar year. 

20 SEC. 6. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES. 

21 (a) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND OTHER OFFICERS.— 

22 The Board shall appoint the Executive Director of the 

23 Center, who shall be a member of the bar of the highest 

24 court of a State and shall be a nonvoting ex officio mem25 ber of the Board, and such other officers as the Board 


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1 determines necessary. No officer of the Center may receive 

2 any salary or other compensation for services from any 

3 source other than the Center during his period of employ4 ment by the Center, except as authorized by the Board. 

5 All officers shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. 

6 (b) APPOINTMENT AND REMOVAL OF EMPLOYEES.— 

7 The Executive Director of the Center, subject to general 

8 policies established by the Board, may appoint and remove 

9 such employees of the Center as the Executive Director 

10 determines necessary to carry out the purposes of the Cen11 ter. 

12 (c) NONPARTISAN APPOINTMENTS.—No political test 

13 or political qualification shall be used in selecting, appoint14 ing, promoting, or taking any other personnel action with 

15 respect to any officer, agent, or employee of the Center 

16 or of any recipient, or in selecting or monitoring any 

17 grantee, contractor, or person or entity receiving financial 

18 assistance under this title. 

19 (d) COMPENSATION.—Officers and employees of the 

20 Center shall be compensated at rates determined by the 

21 Board, but not in excess of the rate of level V of the Exec22 utive Schedule specified in section 5316 of title 5, United 

23 States Code. 

24 (e) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES NOT DEEMED OFFI25 CERS AND EMPLOYEES OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise specifi2 cally provided in this Act, officers and employees of 

3 the Center shall not be considered officers or em4 ployees, and the Center shall not be considered a de5 partment, agency, or instrumentality, of the Federal 

6 Government. 

7 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Officers and employees of 

8 the Center shall be considered officers and employ9 ees of the Federal Government for purposes of the 

10 following provisions of title 5, United States Code: 

11 subchapter I of chapter 81 (relating to compensation 

12 for work injuries); chapter 83 (relating to civil serv13 ice retirement); chapter 87 (relating to life insur14 ance); and chapter 89 (relating to health insurance). 

15 The Center shall make contributions at the same 

16 rates applicable to agencies of the Federal Govern17 ment under the provisions referred to in this sub18 section. 

19 (3) FREEDOM OF INFORMATION.—The Center 

20 and its officers and employees shall be subject to the 

21 provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States 

22 Code (relating to freedom of information). 

23 (4) OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET.— 

24 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting 

25 the authority of the Office of Management and 


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1 Budget to review and submit comments upon the 

2 Center’s annual budget request at the time it is 

3 transmitted to the Congress. 

4 SEC. 7. POWERS, DUTIES, AND LIMITATIONS. 

5 (a) POWERS OF NONPROFIT CORPORATION.—To the 

6 extent consistent with the provisions of this Act, the Cen7 ter shall exercise the powers conferred upon a nonprofit 

8 corporation by the District of Columbia Nonprofit Cor9 poration Act (except for section 1005(o) of title 29 of the 

10 District of Columbia Code). 

11 (b) GRANT AND CONTRACT POWER.—The Center is 

12 authorized— 

13 (1) for the purpose of providing public defense 

14 services to indigent defendants, to provide financial 

15 assistance to and to make grants and contracts with 

16 individuals, partnerships, firms, corporations, non17 profit organizations, public defense systems, State 

18 governments, and local governments; and 

19 (2) to make such other grants and contracts as 

20 are necessary to carry out the purposes and provi21 sions of this Act. 

22 (c) POWER TO ACCEPT MONEY AND PROPERTY.— 

23 The Center is authorized to accept, in the name of the 

24 Center, and employ or dispose of in furtherance of the 

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1 sonal, or mixed, tangible or intangible, received by gift, 

2 devise, bequest, or otherwise. 

3 (d) OTHER POWERS RELATING TO THE PROVISION

4 OF PUBLIC DEFENSE SERVICES.—The Center is author5 ized to undertake directly, or by grant or contract, the 

6 following activities relating to the delivery of public de7 fense services— 

8 (1) research; 

9 (2) training and technical assistance; and 

10 (3) to serve as a clearinghouse for information. 

11 (e) DISCIPLINARY POWERS.— 

12 (1) CENTER.—The Center shall have authority 

13 to ensure the compliance of recipients and their em14 ployees with the provisions of this Act and the rules, 

15 regulations, and guidelines promulgated pursuant to 

16 this Act, and to terminate, after a hearing in accord17 ance with section 11, financial support to a recipient 

18 which fails to comply. 

19 (2) RECIPIENT.—If a recipient finds that any 

20 of its employees has violated or caused the recipient 

21 to violate the provisions of this Act, or the rules, 

22 regulations, and guidelines promulgated pursuant to 

23 this Act, the recipient shall take appropriate reme24 dial or disciplinary action in accordance with the 


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1 types of procedures prescribed in the provisions of 

2 section 11. 

3 (f) REPRESENTATIONAL QUESTIONS.—No question 

4 of whether representation is authorized under this Act, or 

5 the rules, regulations, or guidelines promulgated pursuant 

6 to this Act, shall be considered in, or affect the final dis7 position of, any proceeding in which a person is rep8 resented by a recipient or an employee of a recipient. A 

9 litigant in such proceeding may refer any such question 

10 to the Center which shall review and dispose of the ques11 tion promptly, and take appropriate action. This sub12 section shall not preclude judicial review under applicable 

13 law. 

14 (g) INTERFERENCE WITH PROFESSIONAL RESPON15 SIBILITIES OF ATTORNEYS PROHIBITED.—The Center 

16 shall not, under any provision of this Act, interfere with 

17 any attorney in carrying out such attorney’s professional 

18 responsibilities to such attorney’s client as established in 

19 the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional 

20 Conduct or abrogate as to attorneys in programs assisted 

21 under this Act the authority of a State of other jurisdic22 tion to enforce the standards of professional responsibility 

23 generally applicable to attorneys in such jurisdiction. The 

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1 ried out in a manner consistent with attorneys’ profes2 sional responsibilities. 

3 (h) BAR MEMBER REQUIRED.—No attorney shall re4 ceive any compensation, either directly or indirectly, for 

5 the provision of public defense services under this Act un6 less such attorney is admitted or otherwise authorized by 

7 law, rule, or regulation to practice law or provide such as8 sistance in the jurisdiction where such services are initi9 ated. 

10 (i) LANGUAGES OTHER THAN ENGLISH.—In areas 

11 where significant numbers of indigent defendants speak 

12 a language other than English as their principal language, 

13 the Center shall, to the extent feasible, provide that their 

14 principal language is used in the provision of public de15 fense services to such defendants under this Act. 

16 (j) MISCELLANEOUS PROHIBITIONS.— 

17 (1) The Center shall have no power to issue any 

18 shares of stock, or to declare or pay any dividends. 

19 (2) No part of the income or assets of the Cen20 ter shall inure to the benefit of any director, officer, 

21 or employee, except as reasonable compensation for 

22 services or reimbursement for expenses. 

23 (k) POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF CENTER EMPLOYEES

24 AND STAFF ATTORNEYS.— 


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1 (1) Employees of the Center or of recipients 

2 shall not at any time intentionally identify the Cen3 ter or the recipient with any partisan or nonpartisan 

4 political activity associated with a political party or 

5 association, or the campaign of any candidate for 

6 public or party office. 

7 (2) Employees of the Center and staff attorneys 

8 shall be deemed to be State or local employees for 

9 purposes of chapter 15 of title 5, except that no 

10 staff attorney may be a candidate in a partisan po11 litical election. 

12 SEC. 8. GRANTS AND CONTRACTS. 

13 (a) CENTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AUTHORIZED TO

14 MAKE GRANTS AND ENTER INTO CONTRACTS.—The Ex15 ecutive Director of the Center is authorized to make 

16 grants and enter into contracts under this Act. 

17 (b) GRANTS DESCRIBED.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall make 

19 grants to State or local governments and public de20 fense systems that supplement, not supplant, other 

21 available resources for the purpose of improving or 

22 establishing public defense systems. 

23 (2) TERM.—The term of a grant under this 

24 section shall be 2 or 3 years, as determined by the 

25 Center. 


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1 (3) RENEWAL.—A grant recipient under this 

2 Act may renew such grant by submitting an applica3 tion to the Executive Director of the Center at such 

4 time, in such manner, and containing such informa5 tion as the Executive Director may reasonably re6 quire, including an assessment of such recipient’s 

7 compliance with or progress toward achieving the 

8 quality standards that the Center develops under 

9 subsection (e). 

10 (c) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Center shall mon11 itor and evaluate and provide for independent evaluations 

12 of programs supported in whole or in part under this Act 

13 to ensure that the provisions of this Act and the bylaws 

14 of the Center and applicable rules, regulations, and guide15 lines promulgated pursuant to this Act are carried out. 

16 (d) PUBLIC NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 days 

17 prior to the approval of any grant application or prior to 

18 entering into a contract or prior to the initiation of any 

19 other project, the Center shall announce publicly, and 

20 shall notify the Governor, the State bar association of any 

21 State, and the principal local bar associations (if there be 

22 any) of any community, where public defense services will 

23 thereby be initiated, of such grant, contract, or project. 

24 Notification shall include a reasonable description of the 


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1 grant application or proposed contract or project and re2 quest comments and recommendations. 

3 (e) QUALITY STANDARDS.—The Center shall develop 

4 and make publicly available standards for the quality of 

5 public defense services, which the Center shall use to as6 sess the success of a recipient in improving a public de7 fense system. 

8 (f) ONLINE DATABASE.—The Center shall establish 

9 and maintain a database that shall be publicly available 

10 online, and shall include the contact information for all 

11 public defense systems in every State. 

12 (g) REGIONAL BACKUP SERVICE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Center shall establish 

14 regional backup service centers to assist public de15 fense systems. 

16 (2) SERVICES.—The services provided at such 

17 centers shall include— 

18 (A) providing attorneys engaged in public 

19 defense services with access to qualified inves20 tigators and sentencing mitigation specialists; 

21 (B) providing information to public defense 

22 systems about grants that are available to 

23 them, and providing assistance and guidance to 

24 public defense systems that apply for such 

25 grants; and 


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1 (C) other services that the Center deter2 mines are appropriate. 

3 (3) LOCATIONS.—The Center shall determine 

4 the locations of the regional backup service centers, 

5 and the geographic region that each center is re6 sponsible for serving. 

7 (h) REQUISITES.—With respect to grants or con8 tracts in connection with the provision of public defense 

9 services under this Act, the following shall apply: 

10 (1) PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.—The Center 

11 shall ensure the maintenance of the highest quality 

12 of service and professional standards, the preserva13 tion of attorney-client relationships, and the protec14 tion of the integrity of the adversary process from 

15 any impairment in furnishing public defense serv16 ices. 

17 (2) ECONOMICAL AND EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF

18 PUBLIC DEFENSE SERVICES.—The Center shall en19 sure that grants and contracts are made so as to 

20 provide the most economical and effective delivery of 

21 public defense services to persons in both urban and 

22 rural areas. 

23 (3) OUTSIDE PRACTICE OF LAW PROHIBITED.— 

24 The Center shall ensure that attorneys employed full 


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1 time in public defense services activities supported in 

2 major part by the Center refrain from— 

3 (A) any compensated outside practice of 

4 law; and 

5 (B) any uncompensated outside practice of 

6 law except as authorized in guidelines promul7 gate by the Center. 

8 (4) CONTINUATION OF FUNDING.—The Center 

9 may provide interim funding necessary to maintain 

10 current level of activities for any grantee, contractor, 

11 or person or entity receiving financial assistance 

12 under this Act that files with the Center a timely 

13 application for refunding until— 

14 (A) the application for refunding has been 

15 approved and funds pursuant thereto received; 

16 or 

17 (B) the application for refunding has been 

18 denied in accordance with section 11. 

19 SEC. 9. RECORDS AND REPORTS. 

20 (a) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE REPORTS.—The Center 

21 is authorized to require such reports as it deems necessary 

22 from any grantee, contractor, person, or entity receiving 

23 financial assistance under this Act regarding activities 

24 carried out pursuant to this Act. 


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1 (b) AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE RECORDKEEPING; AC2 CESS TO RECORDS.—The Center is authorized to prescribe 

3 the keeping of records with respect to funds provided by 

4 grant or contract and shall have access to such records 

5 at all reasonable times for the purpose of insuring compli6 ance with the grant or contract or the terms and condi7 tions upon which financial assistance was provided. 

8 (c) ANNUAL REPORT TO PRESIDENT AND CON9 GRESS.—The Center shall publish an annual report which 

10 shall be filed by the Center with the President and the 

11 Congress. Such report shall include— 

12 (1) a description of the state of the provision of 

13 public defense services throughout the United States 

14 and any recommendations for improving the state of 

15 such services; 

16 (2) a description of the services that the Center 

17 provides and any recommendations for improving 

18 the quality of such services; and 

19 (3) a copy of each report from a State advisory 

20 council that the Center has received for that year 

21 under section 5(g)(6). 

22 (d) COPIES AND RETENTION OF REPORTS.—Copies 

23 of all reports pertinent to the evaluation, inspection, or 

24 monitoring of any grantee, contractor, or person or entity 

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1 mitted on a timely basis to such grantee, contractor, or 

2 person or entity, and shall be maintained in the principal 

3 office of the Center for a period of at least 5 years subse4 quent to such evaluation, inspection, or monitoring. Such 

5 reports shall be available for public inspection during reg6 ular business hours, and copies shall be furnished, upon 

7 request, to interested parties upon payment of such rea8 sonable fees as the Center may establish. 

9 (e) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REGISTER OF RULES, 

10 REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND INSTRUCTIONS.—The 

11 Center shall afford notice and reasonable opportunity for 

12 comment to interested parties prior to issuing rules, regu13 lations, and guidelines, and it shall publish in the Federal 

14 Register at least 30 days prior to their effective date all 

15 its rules, regulations, guidelines, and instructions. 

16 SEC. 10. AUDITS. 

17 (a) ANNUAL AUDIT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The accounts of the Center 

19 shall be audited annually. Such audits shall be con20 ducted in accordance with generally accepted audit21 ing standards by independent certified public ac22 countants who are certified by a regulatory authority 

23 of the jurisdiction in which the audit is undertaken. 

24 (2) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—The audits 

25 shall be conducted at the place or places where the 


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1 accounts of the Center are normally kept. All books, 

2 accounts, financial records, reports, files, and other 

3 papers or property belonging to or in use by the 

4 Center and necessary to facilitate the audits shall be 

5 made available to the person or persons conducting 

6 the audits, and full facilities for verifying trans7 actions with the balances and securities held by de8 positories, fiscal agents, and custodians shall be af9 forded to any such person. 

10 (3) AUDIT REPORT.—The report of the annual 

11 audit shall be filed with the Government Account12 ability Office and shall be available for public inspec13 tion during business hours at the principal office of 

14 the Center. 

15 (b) AUDIT BY GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OF16 FICE.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the annual 

18 audit, the financial transactions of the Center for 

19 any fiscal year during which Federal funds are avail20 able to finance any portion of its operations may be 

21 audited by the Government Accountability Office in 

22 accordance with such rules and regulations as may 

23 be prescribed by the Comptroller General of the 

24 United States. 


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1 (2) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—Any such 

2 audit shall be conducted at the place or places where 

3 accounts of the Center are normally kept. The rep4 resentatives of the Government Accountability Office 

5 shall have access to all books, accounts, financial 

6 records, reports, files, and other papers or property 

7 belonging to or in use by the Center and necessary 

8 to facilitate the audit, and full facilities for verifying 

9 transactions with the balances and securities held by 

10 depositories, fiscal agents, and custodians shall be 

11 afforded to such representatives. All such books, ac12 counts, financial records, reports, files, and other pa13 pers or property of the Center shall remain in the 

14 possession and custody of the Center throughout the 

15 period beginning on the date such possession or cus16 tody commences and ending three years after such 

17 date, but the General Accountability Office may re18 quire the retention of such books, accounts, financial 

19 records, reports, files, papers, or property for a 

20 longer period under section 3523(c) of title 31, 

21 United States Code. 

22 (3) AUDIT REPORT.—A report of such audit 

23 shall be made by the Comptroller General to the 

24 Congress and to the President, together with such 


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1 recommendations with respect thereto as the Comp2 troller General shall deem advisable. 

3 (c) ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE.—Notwithstand4 ing the provisions of this section or of section 9, neither 

5 the Center nor the Comptroller General shall have access 

6 to any reports or records subject to the attorney-client 

7 privilege. 

8 SEC. 11. SPECIAL LIMITATIONS. 

9 The Center shall prescribe procedures that ensure 

10 that financial assistance under this Act shall not be termi11 nated (except that funding may be temporarily suspended 

12 during an interim period during the processing and con13 sideration of an application for refunding), and an applica14 tion for refunding shall not be denied, unless the grantee, 

15 contractor, or person or entity receiving financial assist16 ance under this Act has been afforded reasonable notice 

17 and opportunity for a timely, full, and fair hearing, and 

18 when requested, such hearing shall be conducted by an 

19 independent hearing examiner. Such hearing shall be held 

20 prior to any final decision by the Center to terminate fi21 nancial assistance or suspend or deny funding. Hearing 

22 examiners shall be appointed by the Center in accordance 

23 with procedures established in regulations promulgated by 

24 the Center. 


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1 SEC. 12. COORDINATION. 

2 The President may direct that appropriate support 

3 functions of the Federal Government may be made avail4 able to the Center in carrying out its activities under this 

5 Act, to the extent not inconsistent with other applicable 

6 law. 

7 SEC. 13. GAO STUDY. 

8 On the date that is 4 years after the date of the en9 actment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 

10 to Congress a study on— 

11 (1) the affect that the Center has had on— 

12 (A) the provision of public defense services; 

13 and 

14 (B) the cost of the criminal justice system; 

15 and 

16 (2) the provision and the cost of providing pub17 lic defense services for jurisdictions that do not re18 ceive assistance from the Center. 

19 SEC. 14. FUNDS. 

20 Section 506 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

21 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3756) is amend22 ed by inserting at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) Of the total amount made available to carry out 

24 this subpart for a fiscal year, the Attorney General shall 


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1 reserve not less than 10 percent to carry out the National 

2 Center for the Right to Counsel Act.’’. 

Æ 


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