IB 

Union Calendar No. 242 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3695 

[Report No. 111–416] 

To authorize funding for, and increase accessibility to, the National Missing 

and Unidentified Persons System, to facilitate data sharing between 

such system and the National Crime Information Center database of 

the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to provide incentive grants to help 

facilitate reporting to such systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 1, 2009 

Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut (for himself and Mr. POE of Texas) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 

Additional sponsors: Mr. MINNICK, Mr. WHITFIELD, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. 

GORDON of Tennessee, Mrs. MALONEY, Mr. MCCOTTER, Mr. HINCHEY, 

Ms. NORTON, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. CHANDLER, Ms. 

DELAURO, Mr. FARR, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. 

MASSA, Ms. CHU, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. WATERS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. LARSON of 

Connecticut, Mr. MURPHY of New York, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. LEE of New 

York, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and 

Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey 

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 

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

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

[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 October 1, 2009] 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 3695 RH

A BILL 

To authorize funding for, and increase accessibility to, the 

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, to 

facilitate data sharing between such system and the National Crime Information Center database of the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation, to provide incentive grants to 

help facilitate reporting to such systems, and for other 

purposes. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 3695 RH

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 ‘‘Help Find the Missing 

5 Act’’ or ‘‘Billy’s Law’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL MISSING AND 

7 UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS SYSTEM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, through the 

9 Director of the National Institute of Justice, is authorized 

10 to maintain public databases, known as the ‘‘National 

11 Missing and Unidentified Persons System’’ or ‘‘NamUs’’, 

12 to contain missing persons records and unidentified re13 mains cases for purposes of assisting to identify missing 

14 people and solve cases of unidentified human remains. All 

15 functions, personnel, assets, liabilities, and administrative 

16 actions applicable to the National Missing and Unidenti17 fied Persons System carried out by the National Institute 

18 of Justice on the date before the date of the enactment of 

19 this Act shall be transferred to the National Missing and 

20 Unidentified Persons System authorized under this section 

21 as of the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

24 $2,400,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2016. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 3695 RH

1 SEC. 3. SHARING OF INFORMATION BETWEEN NCIC AND 

2 NAMUS. 

3 (a) SHARING OF INFORMATION.—Not later than the 

4 end of the 30-day period beginning on the date the online 

5 data entry format is updated under subsection (c), the At6 torney General shall, in accordance with this section, pro7 vide for information on missing persons and unidentified 

8 human remains contained in the NCIC database (as defined 

9 in section 7) to be transmitted to, entered in, and otherwise 

10 shared with the NamUs databases (as defined in such sec11 tion) and for such information contained in the NamUs 

12 databases to be transmitted to, entered in, and otherwise 

13 shared with the NCIC database. 

14 (b) RULES ON CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

17 General, in consultation with the Director of the Fed18 eral Bureau of Investigation (in this Act referred to 

19 as the ‘‘FBI’’), shall promulgate rules pursuant to no20 tice and comment that specify the information the At21 torney General may provide from the NCIC files to 

22 the NamUs databases for purposes of this Act. Such 

23 rules shall— 

24 (A) provide for the protection of law en25 forcement sensitive, confidential, and private in26 formation contained in the NCIC files; 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (B) be promulgated only after the Director 

2 approves recommendations by the Advisory Pol3 icy Board of the Criminal Justice Information 

4 Services Division of the FBI; 

5 (C) specify the circumstances in which por6 tions of information may be withheld from 

7 transfer, entry, or sharing from the NCIC data8 base to the NamUs databases; and 

9 (D) provide that once an authorized agency 

10 provides an authorization to permit the trans11 mission, entering, or sharing of information (or 

12 portions of information) from the NCIC database 

13 to the NamUs databases, such authorization shall 

14 be deemed to apply to any updates made to such 

15 information, unless otherwise specified by the 

16 agency. 

17 (2) SUBMISSIONS PRIOR TO ONLINE DATA ENTRY

18 FORMAT UPDATE.—With respect to information sub19 mitted to the NCIC database before the end of the 30- 

20 day period specified in subsection (a), the Attorney 

21 General may solicit from appropriate authorized 

22 agencies authorization to transmit, enter, or share 

23 such information. 

24 (c) UPDATES.— 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

3 General shall update the online data entry format for 

4 the NCIC database and NamUs databases to provide 

5 State criminal justice agencies, offices of medical ex6 aminers, and offices of coroners with the option to au7 thorize the submission of new information and data 

8 that is reported to and entered into the NCIC data9 base to simultaneously be submitted to and entered 

10 into the NamUs databases. 

11 (2) NCIC FORMAT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of the NCIC 

13 database, an update described in paragraph (1) 

14 shall include— 

15 (i) an update to the NCIC database 

16 online data entry format that States use in 

17 submitting missing persons and unidenti18 fied remains reports, including the addition 

19 of a new data field allowing States, on be20 half of the authorized agency that originally 

21 submitted the data, to select whether or not 

22 to have the NCIC report, subject to the rules 

23 promulgated under subsection (b), shared 

24 with the NamUs databases; and 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (ii) subject to subparagraph (B), a re2 quirement that as a condition of partici3 pating in the NCIC database, States must 

4 update their missing persons and unidenti5 fied remains collection processes from local 

6 and tribal law enforcement, medical exam7 iners, and coroners to enable the States to 

8 acquire information on whether or not the 

9 authorized agencies originally submitting 

10 data with respect to a missing person or 

11 unidentified remains have provided author12 ization to share the information with the 

13 NamUs databases. 

14 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A)(ii) 

15 shall not apply with respect to any State that 

16 has in effect a State law providing for a method17 ology to authorize the sharing of information be18 tween the NCIC database and NamUs databases. 

19 (d) AMENDMENTS TO TITLE XXXVII OF THE CRIME

20 CONTROL ACT OF 1990 TO REQUIRE REPORTS OF MISSING

21 CHILDREN TO NAMUS.— 

22 (1) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—Section 3701(a) 

23 of title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 

24 U.S.C. 5779(a)) is amended by striking the period 

25 and inserting the following: ‘‘and, consistent with secVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:51 Feb 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3695.RH H3695

tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 3695 RH

1 tion 3 (including rules promulgated pursuant to sec2 tion 3(b)) of the Help Find the Missing Act, shall also 

3 report such case, either directly or through authoriza4 tion described in such section to transmit, enter, or 

5 share information on such case, to the NamUs data6 bases (as defined in section 7 of such Act).’’. 

7 (2) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—Section 3702 of 

8 title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 

9 U.S.C. 5780) is amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or the 

11 National Crime Information Center computer 

12 database’’ and inserting ‘‘, the National Crime 

13 Information Center computer database, or the 

14 NamUs databases (as defined in section 7 of the 

15 Help Find the Missing Act)’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and the 

17 National Crime Information Center computer 

18 networks’’ and inserting ‘‘, the National Crime 

19 Information Center computer networks, and the 

20 NamUs databases (as so defined)’’; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

22 (i) in the matter preceding subpara23 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘or the NamUs 

24 databases’’ after ‘‘National Crime Informa25 tion Center’’; and 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and National Crime Information Center 

3 computer networks’’ and inserting ‘‘, Na4 tional Crime Information Center computer 

5 networks, and the NamUs databases’’. 

6 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

7 by this subsection shall apply with respect to reports 

8 made before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 

9 this Act beginning on the last day of the 30-day pe10 riod described in subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 4. INCENTIVE GRANTS PROGRAM. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than one year after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 

14 establish a program to provide grants to qualifying law en15 forcement agencies (as defined in subsection (j)), offices of 

16 coroners, offices of medical examiners, and other authorized 

17 agencies to facilitate the process of reporting information 

18 regarding missing persons and unidentified remains to the 

19 NCIC database and NamUs databases for purposes of as20 sisting in locating such missing persons and identifying 

21 such remains. 

22 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—As a condition of a grant under 

23 this section, a grant recipient shall, with respect to each 

24 case reported to the agency or office of the recipient relating 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 3695 RH

1 to a missing person described in a category under sub2 section (e) or relating to unidentified remains— 

3 (1) not later than 72 hours after such case is re4 ported to the agency or office and consistent with sub5 section (c), submit to the NCIC database and NamUs 

6 databases— 

7 (A) in the case of a missing person de8 scribed in a category under subsection (e), at 

9 least the minimum information described in sub10 section (f)(1); and 

11 (B) in the case of unidentified remains, at 

12 least the minimum information described in sub13 section (f)(2); and 

14 (2) not later than 60 days after the original 

15 entry of the report, verify and update any original 

16 report entered into the State law enforcement system, 

17 the NCIC database, or NamUs databases after receipt 

18 of the grant with any additional information, includ19 ing, to the greatest extent possible— 

20 (A) information on the extent to which 

21 DNA samples are available, including the avail22 ability of such samples submitted to the National 

23 DNA Index System under subsection (b)(3); 

24 (B) fingerprints, medical and dental 

25 records, and photographs of any distinguishing 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 3695 RH

1 characteristics such as scars, marks, tattoos, 

2 piercings, and other unique physical characteris3 tics; 

4 (C) in the case of unidentified remains, 

5 photographs or digital images that may assist in 

6 identifying the decedent, including fingerprint 

7 cards, radiographs, palmprints, and distinctive 

8 features of the decedent’s personal effects; and 

9 (D) any other information determined to be 

10 appropriate by the Attorney General; and 

11 (3) not later than 60 days after the original 

12 entry of the report, to the greatest extent possible, sub13 mit to the National DNA Index System of the Federal 

14 Bureau of Investigation, established pursuant to sec15 tion 210304 of the Violent Crime Control and Law 

16 Enforcement Act of 1994, (either directly or through 

17 use of NamUs victims assistance resources and DNA 

18 collection services) DNA samples and information re19 lating to such case. 

20 For purposes of paragraph (2), in the case of information 

21 a grant recipient authorizes to be transferred, entered, or 

22 shared under section 3 between the NCIC database and 

23 NamUs databases, any update to such information shall be 

24 simultaneously made with respect to both databases unless 

25 specified otherwise by the recipient. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (c) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—To satisfy subsection 

2 (b)(1), a recipient of a grant under this section shall submit 

3 information required under such subsection— 

4 (1) separately to the NCIC database and NamUs 

5 databases; or 

6 (2) in accordance with section 3, simultaneously 

7 to the NamUs databases when reporting to the NCIC 

8 database or to the NCIC database when reporting to 

9 the NamUs databases. 

10 (d) PERMISSIBLE USE OF FUNDS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The permissible uses of grants 

12 awarded under this section include the use of funds— 

13 (A) to hire additional personnel, to acquire 

14 technology to facilitate timely data entry into 

15 the relevant databases; 

16 (B) to conduct contracting activities rel17 evant to outsourcing the processing of unidenti18 fied remains and the reporting of the resulting 

19 information to the NCIC database and NamUs 

20 databases; 

21 (C) to train local law enforcement per22 sonnel, medical examiners, and coroners to use 

23 the NCIC database and NamUs databases; 

24 (D) to assist States’ transition into the new 

25 system under which information is shared beVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:51 Feb 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H3695.RH H3695

tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 3695 RH

1 tween the NCIC database and NamUs databases; 

2 and 

3 (E) for other purposes consistent with the 

4 goals of this section. 

5 (2) CLARIFICATION.—In no case may a recipient 

6 of a grant under this section use funds to enter or 

7 help facilitate the entrance of any false or misleading 

8 information about missing persons or unidentified re9 mains. 

10 (e) CATEGORIES OF MISSING PERSONS.—The cat11 egories of missing persons described in this subsection are 

12 the following: 

13 (1) A missing person age 21 or older who— 

14 (A) is senile or is suffering from a proven 

15 mental or physical disability, as documented by 

16 a source deemed credible to an appropriate law 

17 enforcement entity; or 

18 (B) is missing under circumstances that in19 dicate, as determined by an appropriate law en20 forcement entity— 

21 (i) that the person’s physical safety 

22 may be endangered; 

23 (ii) that the disappearance may not 

24 have been voluntary, such as abduction or 

25 kidnapping; or 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (iii) that the disappearance may have 

2 been caused by a natural disaster or catas3 trophe (such as an airplane crash or ter4 rorist attack). 

5 (2) A missing person who does not meet the cri6 teria described in paragraph (1) but who meets one 

7 of the following criteria: 

8 (A) There is a reasonable concern, as deter9 mined by an appropriate law enforcement enti10 ty, for the safety of the missing person. 

11 (B) The person is under age 21 and eman12 cipated under the laws of the person’s State of 

13 residence. 

14 (f) MINIMUM INFORMATION REQUIRED.— 

15 (1) CONTENT FOR MISSING PERSONS.—The min16 imum information described in this section, with re17 spect to a missing person, is the following: 

18 (A) The name, date of birth, city and State 

19 of residence, gender, race, height, weight, eye 

20 color, and hair color of the missing person. 

21 (B) The date and location of the last known 

22 contact with the missing person. 

23 (C) The category described in subsection (e) 

24 in which the missing person is classified. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (2) CONTENT FOR UNIDENTIFIED HUMAN RE2 MAINS.—The minimum information described in this 

3 section, with respect to unidentified human remains, 

4 is the following: 

5 (A) The estimated age, gender, race, height, 

6 weight, hair color, and eye color. 

7 (B) Any distinguishing characteristics such 

8 as scars, marks, tattoos, piercings, and other 

9 unique physical characteristics. 

10 (C) A description of clothing found on the 

11 decedent. 

12 (D) City and State where the unidentified 

13 human remains were found. 

14 (E) Information on how to contact the law 

15 enforcement agency handling the investigation 

16 and the unidentified human remains. 

17 (F) Information on the extent to which 

18 DNA samples are available, including the avail19 ability of such samples submitted to the National 

20 DNA Index System under subsection (b)(3). 

21 (g) ADMINISTRATION.—The Attorney General shall 

22 prescribe requirements, including with respect to applica23 tions, for grants awarded under this section and shall deter24 mine the amount of each such grant. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (h) CONFIDENTIALITY.—As a condition of a grant 

2 under this section, the recipient of the grant shall ensure 

3 that information reported under the grant meets the re4 quirements promulgated by the Attorney General under sec5 tion 3(b)(1). 

6 (i) ANNUAL SUMMARY.—For each of the fiscal years 

7 2012 through 2015, the Attorney General shall publish an 

8 annual statistical summary of the reports required by sub9 section (c). 

10 (j) QUALIFYING LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY DE11 FINED.—For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘qualifying law 

12 enforcement agency’’ means a State, local, or tribal law en13 forcement agency. 

14 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2011 through 2015. 

17 SEC. 5. REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES. 

18 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

19 of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue a report to of20 fices of medical examiners, offices of coroners, and Federal, 

21 State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies describing 

22 the best practices for the collection, reporting, and analysis 

23 of data and information on missing persons and unidenti24 fied human remains. Such best practices shall— 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 3695 RH

1 (1) provide an overview of the NCIC database 

2 and NamUs databases; 

3 (2) describe how local law enforcement agencies, 

4 offices of medical examiners, and offices of coroners 

5 should access and use the NCIC database and NamUs 

6 databases; 

7 (3) describe the appropriate and inappropriate 

8 uses of the NCIC database and NamUs databases; and 

9 (4) describe the standards and protocols for the 

10 collection, reporting, and analysis of data and infor11 mation on missing persons and unidentified human 

12 remains. 

13 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the 

16 Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Ju17 diciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on the Judiciary of the Senate a report describing the status 

19 of the NCIC database and NamUs databases. 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 

21 shall describe, to the extent available, information on— 

22 (1) the process of information sharing between 

23 the NCIC database and NamUs databases; and 

24 (2) the programs funded by grants awarded 

25 under section 4. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
18 

•HR 3695 RH

1 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

2 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

3 apply: 

4 (a) AUTHORIZED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘authorized 

5 agency’’ means a government agency with an originating 

6 agency identification (ORI) number and that is a criminal 

7 justice agency, as defined for purposes of subpart A of part 

8 20 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations. 

9 (b) NAMUS DATABASES.—The term ‘‘NamUs data10 bases’’ means the National Missing and Unidentified Per11 sons System Missing Persons database and National Miss12 ing and Unidentified Persons System Unidentified Dece13 dents database maintained by the National Institute of Jus14 tice of the Department of Justice. 

15 (c) NCIC DATABASE.—The term ‘‘NCIC database’’ 

16 means the National Crime Information Center Missing Per17 son File and National Crime Information Center Unidenti18 fied Person File of the National Crime Information Center 

19 database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, established 

20 pursuant to section 534 of title 28, United States Code. 

21 (d) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 

22 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

23 of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, 

24 Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is25 lands. 


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS

tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 242 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3695 

[Report No. 111–416] 

A BILL 

To authorize funding for, and increase accessibility 

purposes. tate reporting to such systems, and for other tigation, to provide incentive grants to help faciliCenter database of the Federal Bureau of Invessuch system and the National Crime Information sons System, to facilitate data sharing between to, the National Missing and Unidentified PerFEBRUARY 22, 2010 

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


tjames on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with BILLS