I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4185 

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 

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. 

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’’. 


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

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO COLLECT DEBTS AND ERRO3 NEOUS PAYMENTS FROM EMPLOYEES.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 17 of title 11, Dis5 trict of Columbia Official Code, is amended by add6 ing at the end of subchapter II the following new 

7 section: 

8 ‘‘§ 11–1733. Collection, compromise, and waiver of em9 ployee debts and erroneous payments 

10 ‘‘(a) COLLECTION OF DEBTS AND ERRONEOUS PAY11 MENTS MADE TO EMPLOYEES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT.—If the Execu13 tive Officer determines that an employee or former 

14 employee of the District of Columbia Courts is in15 debted to the District of Columbia Courts because of 

16 an erroneous payment made to or on behalf of the 

17 employee, or any other debt, the Executive Officer 

18 may collect the amount of the indebtedness in ac19 cordance with this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(2) TIMING OF COLLECTION.—Any debt au21 thorized to be collected under this subsection may be 

22 collected in monthly installments or at officially es23 tablished regular pay period intervals, by deduction 

24 in reasonable amounts from the current pay of the 

25 employee. 


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1 ‘‘(3) SOURCE OF DEDUCTIONS.—Deductions de2 scribed in paragraph (2) may be made from any 

3 wages, salary, compensation, remuneration for serv4 ices, or other authorized pay, including but not lim5 ited to incentive pay, back pay, and lump sum leave 

6 payments, but not including retirement pay. 

7 ‘‘(4) LIMIT ON AMOUNT.—The amount de8 ducted with respect to an employee for any period 

9 may not exceed 20 percent of the employee’s dispos10 able pay, except that a greater percentage may be 

11 deducted upon consent of the employee involved. 

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

13 an employee’s employment ends before collection of 

14 the amount of the employee’s indebtedness is com15 pleted, deductions may be made from later non-peri16 odic government payments of any nature due the 

17 former employee, except retirement pay, and such 

18 deductions may be made without regard to the limit 

19 under paragraph (4). 

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

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (3), prior to initiating any proceedings under 

23 subsection (a) to collect any indebtedness of an indi24 vidual, the Executive Officer shall provide the indi25 vidual with— 


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

2 informing such individual of the nature and 

3 amount of the indebtedness determined by the 

4 District of Columbia Courts to be due, the in5 tention of the Courts to initiate proceedings to 

6 collect the debt through deductions from pay, 

7 and an explanation of the rights of the indi8 vidual under this section; 

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

10 Court records relating to the debt; 

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

12 agreement with the Courts, under terms agree13 able to the Executive Officer, to establish a 

14 schedule for the repayment of the debt; and 

15 ‘‘(D) an opportunity for a hearing in ac16 cordance with paragraph (2) on the determina17 tion of the Courts concerning the existence or 

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

19 individual whose repayment schedule is estab20 lished other than by a written agreement pursu21 ant to subparagraph (C), concerning the terms 

22 of the repayment schedule. 

23 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURES FOR HEARINGS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) AVAILABILITY OF HEARING UPON RE25 QUEST.—A hearing under this paragraph shall 


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1 be provided if the individual, on or before the 

2 fifteenth day following receipt of the notice de3 scribed in paragraph (1)(A), and in accordance 

4 with such procedures as the Executive Officer 

5 may prescribe, files a petition requesting such a 

6 hearing. 

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

8 hearing officer determines that the existence or 

9 the amount of the debt turns on an issue of 

10 credibility or veracity or cannot be resolved by 

11 a review of the documentary evidence, the hear12 ing shall be on the written submissions. 

13 ‘‘(C) STAY OF COLLECTION PRO14 CEEDINGS.—The timely filing of a petition for 

15 hearing shall stay the commencement of collec16 tion proceedings. 

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

18 under this paragraph shall be conducted by an 

19 independent hearing officer appointed in ac20 cordance with regulations promulgated under 

21 subsection (e). 

22 ‘‘(E) DEADLINE FOR DECISION.—The 

23 hearing officer shall issue a final decision re24 garding the questions covered by the hearing at 


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1 the earliest practicable date, but not later than 

2 60 days after the hearing. 

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

4 shall not apply to routine intra-Courts adjustments 

5 of pay that are attributable to clerical or administra6 tive errors or delays in processing pay documents 

7 that have occurred within the 4 pay periods pre8 ceding the adjustment and to any adjustment that 

9 amounts to $50 or less, if at the time of such ad10 justment, or as soon thereafter as practical, the indi11 vidual is provided written notice of the nature and 

12 the amount of the adjustment and a point of contact 

13 for contesting such adjustment. 

14 ‘‘(c) COMPROMISE.— 

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

16 The Executive Officer may— 

17 ‘‘(A) compromise a claim to collect an in18 debtedness under this section if the amount in19 volved is not more than $100,000; and 

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

21 such a claim if it appears that no person liable 

22 on the claim has the present or prospective abil23 ity to pay a significant amount of the claim or 

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

25 more than the amount recovered. 


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

2 under this subsection is final and conclusive unless 

3 gotten by fraud, misrepresentation, presenting a 

4 false claim, or mutual mistake of fact. 

5 ‘‘(3) NO LIABILITY OF OFFICIAL RESPONSIBLE

6 FOR COMPROMISE.—An accountable official is not 

7 liable for an amount paid or for the value of prop8 erty lost or damaged if the amount or value is not 

9 recovered because of a compromise under this sub10 section. 

11 ‘‘(d) WAIVER OF CLAIM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE CLAIMS.—Upon ap13 plication from a person liable on a claim to collect 

14 an indebtedness under this section, the Executive 

15 Officer may, with written justification, waive the 

16 claim if collection would be— 

17 ‘‘(A) against equity; 

18 ‘‘(B) against good conscience; and 

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

20 Courts. 

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY.—The Exec22 utive Officer may not exercise the authority under 

23 this subsection to waive a claim if— 

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

25 there exists, in connection with the claim, an inVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Mar 11, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185

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1 dication of fraud, misrepresentation, fault, or 

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

3 former employee, or any other person having an 

4 interest in obtaining a waiver of the claim; or 

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

6 in the Executive Officer’s office after the expi7 ration of 3 years immediately following the date 

8 on which the erroneous payment was discovered 

9 or 3 years after the date of the enactment of 

10 this section, whichever is later, except if the 

11 claim involves money owed for Federal health 

12 benefits, Federal life insurance, or Federal re13 tirement benefits. 

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

15 A decision by the Executive Officer to deny an appli16 cation for a waiver under this subsection shall be the 

17 final administrative decision of the District govern18 ment. 

19 ‘‘(4) REFUND OF AMOUNTS ALREADY COL20 LECTED AGAINST CLAIM SUBSEQUENTLY WAIVED.— 

21 If the Courts have been reimbursed for a claim 

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

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

24 employee shall be entitled to a refund of the amount 

25 of the reimbursement upon application for that reVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:30 Mar 11, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4185.IH H4185

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1 fund, so long as the application is received not later 

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

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

4 the audit and settlement of accounts of any account5 able official, full credit shall be given for any 

6 amounts with respect to which collection by the 

7 Courts is waived under this subsection. 

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

9 payment or debt, the collection of which is waived 

10 under this subsection, is a valid payment for all pur11 poses. 

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

13 Nothing contained in this subsection shall be con14 strued to affect in any way the authority under any 

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

16 any claim of the District of Columbia. 

17 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Executive Officer’s author18 ity under this section shall be subject to regulations pro19 mulgated by the Joint Committee on Judicial Administra20 tion.’’. 

21 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con22 tents of chapter 17 of title 11, District of Columbia 

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

24 the items relating to subchapter II the following new 

25 item: 


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

payments.’’. 

1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by this subsection shall apply with respect to erro3 neous payments made and debts incurred before, on, 

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

5 (b) AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE UNIFORMS FOR

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

7 Official Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new sentence: ‘‘Under the authority of the previous 

9 sentence, the Executive Officer may purchase uniforms to 

10 be worn by nonjudicial employees of the District of Colum11 bia Courts whose responsibilities warrant the wearing of 

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

13 an employee during a year does not exceed the amount 

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

15 5, United States Code (relating to the uniform allowance 

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

17 SEC. 3. AUTHORITIES OF COURT SERVICES AND OFFENDER 

18 SUPERVISION AGENCY. 

19 (a) AUTHORITY TO DEVELOP AND OPERATE INCEN20 TIVE PROGRAMS FOR SENTENCED OFFENDERS.—Section 

21 11233(b)(2)(F) of the National Capital Revitalization and 

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

23 133(b)(2)(F), D.C. Official Code) is amended by striking 

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


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1 (b) PERMANENT AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT GIFTS.— 

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

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

4 follows: 

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

6 Director may accept, solicit, and use on behalf 

7 of the Agency any monetary or nonmonetary 

8 gift, donation, bequest, or use of facilities, prop9 erty, or services for the purpose of aiding or fa10 cilitating the work of the Agency.’’. 

11 (c) PERMANENT AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT AND USE

12 REIMBURSEMENTS FROM DISTRICT GOVERNMENT.—Sec13 tion 11233(b)(4) of such Act (sec. 24–133(b)(4)) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘During fiscal years 2006 through 

15 2008, the Director’’ and inserting ‘‘The Director’’. 

16 SEC. 4. AUTHORITIES OF PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICE. 

17 (a) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF SERVICES OF VOLUN18 TEERS.—Section 307(b) of such Act (sec. 2–1607(b), D.C. 

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

20 accept public grants and private contributions made to as21 sist it’’ and inserting ‘‘the Service may accept and use 

22 public grants, private contributions, and voluntary and un23 compensated (gratuitous) services to assist it’’. 


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1 (b) TREATMENT OF MEMBERS OF BOARD OF TRUST2 EES AS EMPLOYEES OF SERVICE FOR PURPOSES OF LI3 ABILITY.— 

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

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

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

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

8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

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

10 the enactment of the District of Columbia Courts 

11 and Justice Technical Corrections Act of 1998 (Pub12 lic Law 105–274). 

Æ 


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