IB 

Union Calendar No. 386 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4185 

[Report No. 113–514] 

To revise certain authorities of the District of Columbia courts, the Court 

Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia, 

and the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2014 

Ms. NORTON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

JULY 3, 2014 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union 

and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To revise certain authorities of the District of Columbia 

courts, the Court Services and Offender Supervision 

Agency for the District of Columbia, and the Public 

Defender Service for the District of Columbia, and for 

other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘District of Columbia 

5 Courts, Public Defender Service, and Court Services and 

6 Offender Supervision Agency Act of 2014’’. 

7 SEC. 2. AUTHORITIES OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURTS. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO COLLECT DEBTS AND ERRO9 NEOUS PAYMENTS FROM EMPLOYEES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 11, Dis11 trict of Columbia Official Code, is amended by add12 ing at the end of subchapter II the following new 

13 section: 

14 ‘‘§ 11–1733. Collection, compromise, and waiver of em15 ployee debts and erroneous payments 

16 ‘‘(a) COLLECTION OF DEBTS AND ERRONEOUS PAY17 MENTS MADE TO EMPLOYEES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT.—If the Execu19 tive Officer determines that an employee or former 

20 employee of the District of Columbia Courts is in21 debted to the District of Columbia Courts because of 

22 an erroneous payment made to or on behalf of the 

23 employee, or any other debt, the Executive Officer 

24 may collect the amount of the indebtedness in ac25 cordance with this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF COLLECTION.—Any debt au2 thorized to be collected under this subsection may be 

3 collected in monthly installments or at officially es4 tablished regular pay period intervals, by deduction 

5 in reasonable amounts from the current pay of the 

6 employee. 

7 ‘‘(3) SOURCE OF DEDUCTIONS.—Deductions de8 scribed in paragraph (2) may be made from any 

9 wages, salary, compensation, remuneration for serv10 ices, or other authorized pay, including but not lim11 ited to incentive pay, back pay, and lump sum leave 

12 payments, but not including retirement pay. 

13 ‘‘(4) LIMIT ON AMOUNT.—The amount de14 ducted with respect to an employee for any period 

15 may not exceed 20 percent of the employee’s dispos16 able pay, except that a greater percentage may be 

17 deducted upon consent of the employee involved. 

18 ‘‘(5) COLLECTIONS AFTER EMPLOYMENT.—If 

19 an employee’s employment ends before collection of 

20 the amount of the employee’s indebtedness is com21 pleted, deductions may be made from later non-peri22 odic government payments of any nature due the 

23 former employee, except retirement pay, and such 

24 deductions may be made without regard to the limit 

25 under paragraph (4). 


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1 ‘‘(b) NOTICE AND HEARING REQUIRED.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graph (3), prior to initiating any proceedings under 

4 subsection (a) to collect any indebtedness of an indi5 vidual, the Executive Officer shall provide the indi6 vidual with— 

7 ‘‘(A) a minimum of 30 days written notice, 

8 informing such individual of the nature and 

9 amount of the indebtedness determined by the 

10 District of Columbia Courts to be due, the in11 tention of the Courts to initiate proceedings to 

12 collect the debt through deductions from pay, 

13 and an explanation of the rights of the indi14 vidual under this section; 

15 ‘‘(B) an opportunity to inspect and copy 

16 Court records relating to the debt; 

17 ‘‘(C) an opportunity to enter into a written 

18 agreement with the Courts, under terms agree19 able to the Executive Officer, to establish a 

20 schedule for the repayment of the debt; and 

21 ‘‘(D) an opportunity for a hearing in ac22 cordance with paragraph (2) on the determina23 tion of the Courts concerning the existence or 

24 the amount of the debt, and in the case of an 

25 individual whose repayment schedule is estabVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:32 Jul 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.RH H4185

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1 lished other than by a written agreement pursu2 ant to subparagraph (C), concerning the terms 

3 of the repayment schedule. 

4 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES FOR HEARINGS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) AVAILABILITY OF HEARING UPON RE6 QUEST.—A hearing under this paragraph shall 

7 be provided if the individual, on or before the 

8 fifteenth day following receipt of the notice de9 scribed in paragraph (1)(A), and in accordance 

10 with such procedures as the Executive Officer 

11 may prescribe, files a petition requesting such a 

12 hearing. 

13 ‘‘(B) BASIS FOR HEARING.—Unless the 

14 hearing officer determines that the existence or 

15 the amount of the debt turns on an issue of 

16 credibility or veracity or cannot be resolved by 

17 a review of the documentary evidence, the hear18 ing shall be on the written submissions. 

19 ‘‘(C) STAY OF COLLECTION PRO20 CEEDINGS.—The timely filing of a petition for 

21 hearing shall stay the commencement of collec22 tion proceedings. 

23 ‘‘(D) INDEPENDENT OFFICER.—A hearing 

24 under this paragraph shall be conducted by an 

25 independent hearing officer appointed in acVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:32 Jul 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.RH H4185

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1 cordance with regulations promulgated under 

2 subsection (e). 

3 ‘‘(E) DEADLINE FOR DECISION.—The 

4 hearing officer shall issue a final decision re5 garding the questions covered by the hearing at 

6 the earliest practicable date, but not later than 

7 60 days after the hearing. 

8 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) 

9 shall not apply to routine intra-Courts adjustments 

10 of pay that are attributable to clerical or administra11 tive errors or delays in processing pay documents 

12 that have occurred within the 4 pay periods pre13 ceding the adjustment and to any adjustment that 

14 amounts to $50 or less, if at the time of such ad15 justment, or as soon thereafter as practical, the indi16 vidual is provided written notice of the nature and 

17 the amount of the adjustment and a point of contact 

18 for contesting such adjustment. 

19 ‘‘(c) COMPROMISE.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO COMPROMISE CLAIMS.— 

21 The Executive Officer may— 

22 ‘‘(A) compromise a claim to collect an in23 debtedness under this section if the amount in24 volved is not more than $100,000; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) suspend or end collection action on 

2 such a claim if it appears that no person liable 

3 on the claim has the present or prospective abil4 ity to pay a significant amount of the claim or 

5 if the cost of collecting the claim is likely to be 

6 more than the amount recovered. 

7 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF COMPROMISE.—A compromise 

8 under this subsection is final and conclusive unless 

9 gotten by fraud, misrepresentation, presenting a 

10 false claim, or mutual mistake of fact. 

11 ‘‘(3) NO LIABILITY OF OFFICIAL RESPONSIBLE

12 FOR COMPROMISE.—An accountable official is not 

13 liable for an amount paid or for the value of prop14 erty lost or damaged if the amount or value is not 

15 recovered because of a compromise under this sub16 section. 

17 ‘‘(d) WAIVER OF CLAIM.— 

18 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE CLAIMS.—Upon ap19 plication from a person liable on a claim to collect 

20 an indebtedness under this section, the Executive 

21 Officer may, with written justification, waive the 

22 claim if collection would be— 

23 ‘‘(A) against equity; 

24 ‘‘(B) against good conscience; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) not in the best interests of the 

2 Courts. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY.—The Exec4 utive Officer may not exercise the authority under 

5 this subsection to waive a claim if— 

6 ‘‘(A) in the Executive Officer’s opinion, 

7 there exists, in connection with the claim, an in8 dication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or 

9 lack of good faith on the part of the employee, 

10 former employee, or any other person having an 

11 interest in obtaining a waiver of the claim; or 

12 ‘‘(B) the application for waiver is received 

13 in the Executive Officer’s office after the expi14 ration of 3 years immediately following the date 

15 on which the erroneous payment was discovered 

16 or 3 years after the date of the enactment of 

17 this section, whichever is later, except if the 

18 claim involves money owed for Federal health 

19 benefits, Federal life insurance, or Federal re20 tirement benefits. 

21 ‘‘(3) DENIAL OF APPLICATION FOR WAIVER.— 

22 A decision by the Executive Officer to deny an appli23 cation for a waiver under this subsection shall be the 

24 final administrative decision of the District govern25 ment. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REFUND OF AMOUNTS ALREADY COL2 LECTED AGAINST CLAIM SUBSEQUENTLY WAIVED.— 

3 If the Courts have been reimbursed for a claim 

4 under this section in whole or in part, and a waiver 

5 of the claim is then granted, the employee or former 

6 employee shall be entitled to a refund of the amount 

7 of the reimbursement upon application for that re8 fund, so long as the application is received not later 

9 than 2 years after the effective date of the waiver. 

10 ‘‘(5) EFFECT ON ACCOUNTS OF COURTS.—In 

11 the audit and settlement of accounts of any account12 able official, full credit shall be given for any 

13 amounts with respect to which collection by the 

14 Courts is waived under this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(6) VALIDITY OF PAYMENTS.—An erroneous 

16 payment or debt, the collection of which is waived 

17 under this subsection, is a valid payment for all pur18 poses. 

19 ‘‘(7) NO EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITIES.— 

20 Nothing contained in this subsection shall be con21 strued to affect in any way the authority under any 

22 other statute to litigate, settle, compromise, or waive 

23 any claim of the District of Columbia. 

24 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Executive Officer’s author25 ity under this section shall be subject to regulations proVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:32 Jul 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.RH H4185

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1 mulgated by the Joint Committee on Judicial Administra2 tion.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con4 tents of chapter 17 of title 11, District of Columbia 

5 Official Code, is amended by adding at the end of 

6 the items relating to subchapter II the following new 

7 item: 

‘‘11–1733. Collection, compromise, and waiver of employee debts and erroneous 

payments.’’. 

8 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

9 by this subsection shall apply with respect to erro10 neous payments made and debts incurred before, on, 

11 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

12 (b) AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE UNIFORMS FOR

13 PERSONNEL.—Section 11–1742(b), District of Columbia 

14 Official Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing new sentence: ‘‘Under the authority of the previous 

16 sentence, the Executive Officer may purchase uniforms to 

17 be worn by nonjudicial employees of the District of Colum18 bia Courts whose responsibilities warrant the wearing of 

19 uniforms, so long as the cost of furnishing a uniform to 

20 an employee during a year does not exceed the amount 

21 applicable for the year under section 5901(a)(1) of title 

22 5, United States Code (relating to the uniform allowance 

23 for employees of the Government of the United States).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. AUTHORITIES OF COURT SERVICES AND OFFENDER 

2 SUPERVISION AGENCY. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO DEVELOP AND OPERATE INCEN4 TIVE PROGRAMS FOR SENTENCED OFFENDERS.—Section 

5 11233(b)(2)(F) of the National Capital Revitalization and 

6 Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 (sec. 24– 

7 133(b)(2)(F), D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘sanctions’’ and inserting ‘‘sanction and incentive’’. 

9 (b) PERMANENT AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT GIFTS.— 

10 Section 11233(b)(3)(A) of such Act (sec. 24– 

11 133(b)(3)(A), D.C. Official Code) is amended to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT GIFTS.—The 

14 Director may accept, solicit, and use on behalf 

15 of the Agency any monetary or nonmonetary 

16 gift, donation, bequest, or use of facilities, prop17 erty, or services for the purpose of aiding or fa18 cilitating the work of the Agency.’’. 

19 (c) PERMANENT AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT AND USE

20 REIMBURSEMENTS FROM DISTRICT GOVERNMENT.—Sec21 tion 11233(b)(4) of such Act (sec. 24–133(b)(4)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘During fiscal years 2006 through 

23 2008, the Director’’ and inserting ‘‘The Director’’. 

24 SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES OF PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICE. 

25 (a) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF SERVICES OF VOLUN26 TEERS.—Section 307(b) of such Act (sec. 2–1607(b), D.C. 


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1 Official Code) is amended by striking ‘‘the Service may 

2 accept public grants and private contributions made to as3 sist it’’ and inserting ‘‘the Service may accept and use 

4 public grants, private contributions, and voluntary and un5 compensated (gratuitous) services to assist it’’. 

6 (b) TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF BOARD OF TRUST7 EES AS EMPLOYEES OF SERVICE FOR PURPOSES OF LI8 ABILITY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 303(d) of such Act 

10 (sec. 2–1603(d), D.C. Official Code) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘employees of the District of Columbia’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘employees of the Service’’. 

13 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

14 by paragraph (1) shall take effect as if included in 

15 the enactment of the District of Columbia Courts 

16 and Justice Technical Corrections Act of 1998 (Pub17 lic Law 105–274). 


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Union Calendar No. 386 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4185 

[Report No. 113–514] 

A BILL 

To revise certain authorities of the District of Coof Columbia, and for other purposes. and the Public Defender Service for the District Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia, lumbia courts, the Court Services and Offender 

JULY 3, 2014 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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