II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4185 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 15, 2014 

Received 

AN ACT 

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. 

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


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia 

3 Courts, Public Defender Service, and Court Services and 

4 Offender Supervision Agency Act of 2014’’. 

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

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO COLLECT DEBTS AND ERRO7 NEOUS PAYMENTS FROM EMPLOYEES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 11, Dis9 trict of Columbia Official Code, is amended by add10 ing at the end of subchapter II the following new 

11 section: 

12 ‘‘§ 11–1733. Collection, compromise, and waiver of em13 ployee debts and erroneous payments 

14 ‘‘(a) COLLECTION OF DEBTS AND ERRONEOUS PAY15 MENTS MADE TO EMPLOYEES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT.—If the Execu17 tive Officer determines that an employee or former 

18 employee of the District of Columbia Courts is in19 debted to the District of Columbia Courts because of 

20 an erroneous payment made to or on behalf of the 

21 employee, or any other debt, the Executive Officer 

22 may collect the amount of the indebtedness in ac23 cordance with this subsection. 

24 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF COLLECTION.—Any debt au25 thorized to be collected under this subsection may be 

26 collected in monthly installments or at officially esVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 Dec 18, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.RDS H4185

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 tablished regular pay period intervals, by deduction 

2 in reasonable amounts from the current pay of the 

3 employee. 

4 ‘‘(3) SOURCE OF DEDUCTIONS.—Deductions de5 scribed in paragraph (2) may be made from any 

6 wages, salary, compensation, remuneration for serv7 ices, or other authorized pay, including but not lim8 ited to incentive pay, back pay, and lump sum leave 

9 payments, but not including retirement pay. 

10 ‘‘(4) LIMIT ON AMOUNT.—The amount de11 ducted with respect to an employee for any period 

12 may not exceed 20 percent of the employee’s dispos13 able pay, except that a greater percentage may be 

14 deducted upon consent of the employee involved. 

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

16 an employee’s employment ends before collection of 

17 the amount of the employee’s indebtedness is com18 pleted, deductions may be made from later non-peri19 odic government payments of any nature due the 

20 former employee, except retirement pay, and such 

21 deductions may be made without regard to the limit 

22 under paragraph (4). 

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

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (3), prior to initiating any proceedings under 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 subsection (a) to collect any indebtedness of an indi2 vidual, the Executive Officer shall provide the indi3 vidual with— 

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

5 informing such individual of the nature and 

6 amount of the indebtedness determined by the 

7 District of Columbia Courts to be due, the in8 tention of the Courts to initiate proceedings to 

9 collect the debt through deductions from pay, 

10 and an explanation of the rights of the indi11 vidual under this section; 

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

13 Court records relating to the debt; 

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

15 agreement with the Courts, under terms agree16 able to the Executive Officer, to establish a 

17 schedule for the repayment of the debt; and 

18 ‘‘(D) an opportunity for a hearing in ac19 cordance with paragraph (2) on the determina20 tion of the Courts concerning the existence or 

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

22 individual whose repayment schedule is estab23 lished other than by a written agreement pursu24 ant to subparagraph (C), concerning the terms 

25 of the repayment schedule. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES FOR HEARINGS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) AVAILABILITY OF HEARING UPON RE3 QUEST.—A hearing under this paragraph shall 

4 be provided if the individual, on or before the 

5 fifteenth day following receipt of the notice de6 scribed in paragraph (1)(A), and in accordance 

7 with such procedures as the Executive Officer 

8 may prescribe, files a petition requesting such a 

9 hearing. 

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

11 hearing officer determines that the existence or 

12 the amount of the debt turns on an issue of 

13 credibility or veracity or cannot be resolved by 

14 a review of the documentary evidence, the hear15 ing shall be on the written submissions. 

16 ‘‘(C) STAY OF COLLECTION PRO17 CEEDINGS.—The timely filing of a petition for 

18 hearing shall stay the commencement of collec19 tion proceedings. 

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

21 under this paragraph shall be conducted by an 

22 independent hearing officer appointed in ac23 cordance with regulations promulgated under 

24 subsection (e). 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 ‘‘(E) DEADLINE FOR DECISION.—The 

2 hearing officer shall issue a final decision re3 garding the questions covered by the hearing at 

4 the earliest practicable date, but not later than 

5 60 days after the hearing. 

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

7 shall not apply to routine intra-Courts adjustments 

8 of pay that are attributable to clerical or administra9 tive errors or delays in processing pay documents 

10 that have occurred within the 4 pay periods pre11 ceding the adjustment and to any adjustment that 

12 amounts to $50 or less, if at the time of such ad13 justment, or as soon thereafter as practical, the indi14 vidual is provided written notice of the nature and 

15 the amount of the adjustment and a point of contact 

16 for contesting such adjustment. 

17 ‘‘(c) COMPROMISE.— 

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

19 The Executive Officer may— 

20 ‘‘(A) compromise a claim to collect an in21 debtedness under this section if the amount in22 volved is not more than $100,000; and 

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

24 such a claim if it appears that no person liable 

25 on the claim has the present or prospective abilVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:21 Dec 18, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.RDS H4185

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 ity to pay a significant amount of the claim or 

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

3 more than the amount recovered. 

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

5 under this subsection is final and conclusive unless 

6 gotten by fraud, misrepresentation, presenting a 

7 false claim, or mutual mistake of fact. 

8 ‘‘(3) NO LIABILITY OF OFFICIAL RESPONSIBLE

9 FOR COMPROMISE.—An accountable official is not 

10 liable for an amount paid or for the value of prop11 erty lost or damaged if the amount or value is not 

12 recovered because of a compromise under this sub13 section. 

14 ‘‘(d) WAIVER OF CLAIM.— 

15 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE CLAIMS.—Upon ap16 plication from a person liable on a claim to collect 

17 an indebtedness under this section, the Executive 

18 Officer may, with written justification, waive the 

19 claim if collection would be— 

20 ‘‘(A) against equity; 

21 ‘‘(B) against good conscience; and 

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

23 Courts. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY.—The Exec2 utive Officer may not exercise the authority under 

3 this subsection to waive a claim if— 

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

5 there exists, in connection with the claim, an in6 dication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or 

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

8 former employee, or any other person having an 

9 interest in obtaining a waiver of the claim; or 

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

11 in the Executive Officer’s office after the expi12 ration of 3 years immediately following the date 

13 on which the erroneous payment was discovered 

14 or 3 years after the date of the enactment of 

15 this section, whichever is later, except if the 

16 claim involves money owed for Federal health 

17 benefits, Federal life insurance, or Federal re18 tirement benefits. 

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

20 A decision by the Executive Officer to deny an appli21 cation for a waiver under this subsection shall be the 

22 final administrative decision of the District govern23 ment. 

24 ‘‘(4) REFUND OF AMOUNTS ALREADY COL25 LECTED AGAINST CLAIM SUBSEQUENTLY WAIVED.— 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 If the Courts have been reimbursed for a claim 

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

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

4 employee shall be entitled to a refund of the amount 

5 of the reimbursement upon application for that re6 fund, so long as the application is received not later 

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

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

9 the audit and settlement of accounts of any account10 able official, full credit shall be given for any 

11 amounts with respect to which collection by the 

12 Courts is waived under this subsection. 

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

14 payment or debt, the collection of which is waived 

15 under this subsection, is a valid payment for all pur16 poses. 

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

18 Nothing contained in this subsection shall be con19 strued to affect in any way the authority under any 

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

21 any claim of the District of Columbia. 

22 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Executive Officer’s author23 ity under this section shall be subject to regulations pro24 mulgated by the Joint Committee on Judicial Administra25 tion.’’. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

HR 4185 RDS 

1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents of chapter 17 of title 11, District of Columbia 

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

4 the items relating to subchapter II the following new 

5 item: 

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

payments.’’. 

6 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

7 by this subsection shall apply with respect to erro8 neous payments made and debts incurred before, on, 

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

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE UNIFORMS FOR

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

12 Official Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol13 lowing new sentence: ‘‘Under the authority of the previous 

14 sentence, the Executive Officer may purchase uniforms to 

15 be worn by nonjudicial employees of the District of Colum16 bia Courts whose responsibilities warrant the wearing of 

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

18 an employee during a year does not exceed the amount 

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

20 5, United States Code (relating to the uniform allowance 

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


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

HR 4185 RDS 

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. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

HR 4185 RDS 

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). 

Passed the House of Representatives July 14, 2014. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS