I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5624 

To require Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to report 

information related to allegations of misconduct of law enforcement officers to the Attorney General, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 

Mr. BEYER (for himself, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. CONNOLLY, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies 

to report information related to allegations of misconduct 

of law enforcement officers to the Attorney General, 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 ‘‘Cost of Police Mis5 conduct Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ALLEGATION OF MISCONDUCT.—The term 

2 ‘‘allegation of misconduct’’ means an allegation by a 

3 member of the community, a fellow law enforcement 

4 officer, or other individual that a law enforcement 

5 officer took an unlawful under State or Federal law, 

6 tortious, or otherwise inappropriate action in connec7 tion with the official duties of the officer. 

8 (2) BYRNE JAG PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Byrne 

9 JAG program’’ means any grant program under 

10 subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

11 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 

12 10151 et seq.). 

13 (3) CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION.—The term 

14 ‘‘civil rights organization’’ means an organization 

15 that monitors the equitable enforcement of and 

16 treatment under the law and that has a national 

17 presence and membership. 

18 (4) JUDGMENT.—The term ‘‘judgment’’ means 

19 the final court order in a civil action that resolves 

20 all issues in dispute and settles the parties’ rights 

21 with respect to those issues. 

22 (5) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term 

23 ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means an agency engaged 

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1 tion, or adjudication of violations of the law in the 

2 United States. 

3 (6) MISCONDUCT.—The term ‘‘misconduct’’ 

4 means an instance in which a law enforcement offi5 cer took an unlawful under State or Federal law, 

6 tortious, or otherwise inappropriate action in connec7 tion with the official duties of the officer. 

8 (7) PROFESSIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ASSO9 CIATION.—The term ‘‘professional law enforcement 

10 association’’ means a law enforcement membership 

11 association that works for the needs of Federal, 

12 State, local, or Indian Tribal law enforcement agen13 cies and with the civilian community on matters of 

14 common interest, such as the Hispanic American 

15 Police Command Officers Association (HAPCOA), 

16 the National Asian Pacific Officers Association 

17 (NAPOA), the National Black Police Association 

18 (NBPA), the National Latino Peace Officers Asso19 ciation (NLPOA), the National Organization of 

20 Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), 

21 Women in Law Enforcement, the Native American 

22 Law Enforcement Association (NALEA), the Inter23 national Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the 

24 National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA), the Fraternal 


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1 Order of Police (FOP), or the National Association 

2 of School Resource Officers. 

3 (8) SETTLEMENT.—The term ‘‘settlement’’ 

4 means an agreement that resolves— 

5 (A) a civil action prior to the entry of 

6 judgment; or 

7 (B) a legal dispute prior to the filing of a 

8 complaint or petition. 

9 (b) IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

12 thereafter, the Attorney General shall identify— 

13 (A) the total number of Federal law en14 forcement agencies in the Federal Government; 

15 and 

16 (B) the name of each Federal law enforce17 ment agency in the Federal Government. 

18 (2) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 120 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

20 thereafter, the Attorney General shall make publicly 

21 available on the internet website of the Department 

22 of Justice the information under paragraph (1). 

23 (c) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT REQUIRE24 MENTS.— 


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1 (1) DATA COLLECTION.—Beginning on the date 

2 that is 120 days after the date of enactment of this 

3 Act, a Federal law enforcement agency identified 

4 under subsection (b)(1) shall collect the information 

5 described in paragraph (2) of this subsection relat6 ing to any judgments or settlements with respect to 

7 such allegations of misconduct. 

8 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—With respect to 

9 the preceding year, a Federal law enforcement agen10 cy identified under subsection (b)(1) shall collect the 

11 following information: 

12 (A) The total number of judgments or set13 tlements entered into during the year with re14 spect to allegations of misconduct by a Federal 

15 law enforcement officer employed by such agen16 cy. 

17 (B) For each judgment or settlement with 

18 respect to allegations of misconduct identified 

19 in subparagraph (A): 

20 (i) The race, ethnicity, sex, and age of 

21 each Federal law enforcement officer and 

22 civilian involved, if known. 

23 (ii) The year in which the alleged mis24 conduct took place. 


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1 (iii) The year in which the allegation 

2 was reported. 

3 (iv) The type of allegation, which may 

4 include a body camera violation (whether a 

5 failure to wear or record), use of force (in6 cluding the type of force), a collision, racial 

7 profiling, negligence, property damage, sex8 ual harassment or assault, false testimony, 

9 wrongful death, failure of a duty to inter10 vene, or wrongful imprisonment. 

11 (v) Any personnel action taken by the 

12 officer involved, which may include res13 ignation or retirement. 

14 (vi) Any personnel action taken by the 

15 Federal law enforcement agency involved, 

16 which may include termination, demotion, 

17 or relocation of the officer involved. 

18 (vii) The total amount paid to satisfy 

19 the judgment or settlement (and related 

20 court fees), regardless of the source of the 

21 payment. 

22 (viii) The source of money used to pay 

23 the judgment or settlement (and related 

24 court fees), including whether the money 

25 came from amounts appropriated under 


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1 section 1304 of title 31, United States 

2 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Judgment 

3 Fund’’), amounts appropriated to the Fed4 eral law enforcement agency, or another 

5 source. 

6 (ix) Any injunctive or declaratory re7 lief awarded, or any comparable terms in 

8 any settlement agreement. 

9 (C) The total amount paid pursuant to 

10 such judgments and settlements (and related 

11 court fees) by the Federal law enforcement 

12 agency. 

13 (3) REPORTS REQUIRED.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

15 after the last day of each year that begins after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, a Federal law 

17 enforcement agency identified under subsection 

18 (b)(1) shall report to the Attorney General, 

19 pursuant to guidelines established by the Attor20 ney General, the information collected pursuant 

21 to paragraph (1) for the preceding year. 

22 (B) EXTENSION.—The Attorney General 

23 may extend the deadline under subparagraph 

24 (A) by not more than 60 days for a Federal law 

25 enforcement agency that the Attorney General 


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1 determines is making good faith efforts to com2 ply with the requirement under such subpara3 graph. 

4 (C) SCOPE OF INITIAL REPORT.—The first 

5 report submitted by a Federal law enforcement 

6 agency under subparagraph (A) shall include 

7 data collected prior to the year covered by the 

8 report, if the data collection requirement under 

9 paragraph (1) applies to any period prior to 

10 that year. 

11 (d) STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT RE12 QUIREMENTS.— 

13 (1) REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (A) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 

15 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

16 the Attorney General shall notify each State or 

17 unit of local government that receives funds 

18 under the Byrne JAG program of the require19 ment under subparagraph (B). 

20 (B) DATA COLLECTION.—On and after the 

21 date that is 120 days after the date of enact22 ment of this Act, each State or unit of local 

23 government that receives funds under the 

24 Byrne JAG program shall collect information 

25 relating to any judgments or settlements with 


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1 respect to any allegations of misconduct that is 

2 substantially similar to the information de3 scribed in subsection (c)(2). 

4 (C) DATA REPORTING.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

6 days after the last day of each year that 

7 begins after the date of enactment of this 

8 Act, a State or unit of local government 

9 that receives funds under the Byrne JAG 

10 program shall submit to the Attorney Gen11 eral, pursuant to guidelines established by 

12 the Attorney General, for the preceding 

13 year and with respect to each law enforce14 ment agency of the State or unit of local 

15 government, respectively, the information 

16 collected under subparagraph (B). 

17 (ii) EXTENSION.—The Attorney Gen18 eral may extend the deadline under clause 

19 (i) by 60 days for a State or local govern20 ment that is making good faith efforts to 

21 comply with the requirement under that 

22 clause. 

23 (iii) SOURCE OF MONEY FOR JUDG24 MENTS AND SETTLEMENTS.—For purposes 

25 of clause (i), in reporting the source of 


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1 money used to pay a judgment or settle2 ment (and related court fees), as described 

3 in subsection (c)(2)(C)(viii), a State or 

4 unit of local government shall disclose the 

5 portion of the judgment or settlement pay6 ment that came from a general operating 

7 budget, State or local law enforcement 

8 agency budget, bonds, liability insurance, a 

9 central risk management fund or pool, or 

10 other source. 

11 (iv) INSURANCE, BONDS, AND RISK

12 MANAGEMENT FUNDS.—For purposes of 

13 clause (i), a State or unit of local govern14 ment shall disclose— 

15 (I) the total amount, if any, 

16 spent on any insurance premiums 

17 paid by the State or unit of local gov18 ernment for insurance against law en19 forcement misconduct; 

20 (II) if any portion of a settlement 

21 is paid with bonds, the amount of the 

22 bond, as well as the total future cost 

23 of the bond, including any interest 

24 and fees; and 


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1 (III) the total amount, if any, 

2 that the State or unit of local govern3 ment contributed to any central risk 

4 management fund or pool toward the 

5 settlement of law enforcement mis6 conduct claims. 

7 (v) SCOPE OF INITIAL REPORT.—The 

8 first report submitted by a State or local 

9 government under clause (i) shall include 

10 data collected prior to the year covered by 

11 the report, if the data collection require12 ment under subparagraph (B) applies to 

13 any period prior to that year. 

14 (vi) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 30 

15 days after the date on which a State or 

16 unit of local government submits to the At17 torney General the information collected 

18 under subparagraph (B) in accordance 

19 with the requirements of this subpara20 graph, the State or unit of local govern21 ment shall publish such information on the 

22 respective website of the State or unit of 

23 local government. 

24 (2) INELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State or unit of local 

2 government that fails to comply with the re3 quirements under paragraph (1) shall be sub4 ject to not more than a 10-percent reduction of 

5 the funds that would otherwise be allocated to 

6 the State or unit of local government under the 

7 Byrne JAG program, not more than a 10-per8 cent reduction of the funds that would other9 wise be allocated to the State or unit of local 

10 government under the ‘‘Cops on the Beat’’ pro11 gram under part Q of title I of the Omnibus 

12 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

13 (34 U.S.C. 10381 et seq.), or both, for— 

14 (i) the fiscal year in which the failure 

15 to comply occurs; or 

16 (ii) the subsequent fiscal year. 

17 (B) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allo18 cated under the Byrne JAG program or the 

19 ‘‘Cops on the Beat’’ program under part Q of 

20 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

21 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381 et seq.) 

22 to a State or unit of local government for fail23 ure to fully comply with paragraph (1) shall be 

24 reallocated under the relevant program to 


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1 States or units of local government that have 

2 complied with such paragraph. 

3 (3) OPEN-SOURCE DATA.—Not later than 30 

4 days after each date on which the Attorney General 

5 receives information reported under paragraph (1) 

6 from a State or unit of local government, the Attor7 ney General shall verify such information reported 

8 using open-source data, as practicable, including 

9 using data from newspaper and court records. 

10 (e) STUDY AND REPORTS REQUIRED.— 

11 (1) GAO STUDY AND REPORT.— 

12 (A) STUDY.—After data has been collected 

13 and reported under subsections (c) and (d) for 

14 2 full years, the Comptroller General of the 

15 United States shall carry out a study on such 

16 data, including— 

17 (i) the number of Federal, State, and 

18 local law enforcement agencies reporting 

19 such data to the Attorney General; 

20 (ii) a determination of the leading 

21 cause of judgments and settlements 

22 against Federal, State, and local law en23 forcement agencies; 

24 (iii) an analysis of any relationship 

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1 tlements and the actions taken by Federal, 

2 State, or local law enforcement agencies, 

3 including the process of the agency to en4 force the law, the culture of the agency, 

5 and any new programs established by the 

6 Federal, State, or local law enforcement 

7 agency to enforce the law; 

8 (iv) recommendations with respect to 

9 how a Federal, State, or local law enforce10 ment agency may reduce misconduct lead11 ing to judgments or settlements; 

12 (v) identification of Federal, State, 

13 local law enforcement agencies that have 

14 spent the most money with respect to judg15 ments and settlements (and related court 

16 fees); 

17 (vi) the total amount of money spent 

18 by Federal, State, and local law enforce19 ment agencies on judgments or settlements 

20 (and related court fees), disaggregated by 

21 State; 

22 (vii) the average amount of money 

23 spent on judgments or settlements (and re24 lated court fees) by— 


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1 (I) Federal law enforcement 

2 agencies; 

3 (II) State law enforcement agen4 cies; and 

5 (III) local law enforcement agen6 cies; 

7 (viii) an assessment of— 

8 (I) how efficiently and effectively 

9 the Attorney General collects and dis10 seminates data collected under sub11 sections (c) and (d); and 

12 (II) how the Attorney General 

13 may improve coordination with State 

14 and local law enforcement agencies re15 garding any review process for allega16 tions of misconduct, including how the 

17 agencies implement consent decrees 

18 and initiate pattern and practice in19 vestigations relating to allegations of 

20 misconduct; and 

21 (ix) a review by the Attorney General 

22 of the data collection practices carried out 

23 pursuant to subsections (c) and (d) and 

24 recommendations relating to how such 

25 practices may be improved. 


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1 (B) REPORT.—Not later than 120 days 

2 after the last day of the third year that begins 

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

4 Comptroller General, in consultation with the 

5 Attorney General, shall— 

6 (i) prepare and submit to the Com7 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

8 the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

9 House of Representatives a report that 

10 contains the findings of the study under 

11 subparagraph (A); and 

12 (ii) make the report described in 

13 clause (i) available to the public. 

14 (2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

16 days after the last day of the third year that 

17 begins after the date of enactment of this Act, 

18 and annually thereafter, the Attorney General 

19 shall— 

20 (i) prepare and submit to the Com21 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 

22 the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

23 House of Representatives a report that in24 cludes the information described in sub25 paragraph (B); and 


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1 (ii) subject to subsection (f) and not2 withstanding any other provision of Fed3 eral law relating to privacy, make the re4 port described in clause (i) available to the 

5 public. 

6 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

7 under subparagraph (A) shall include— 

8 (i) recommendations for law enforce9 ment agencies relating to the use of force; 

10 (ii) best practices, created in consulta11 tion with law enforcement organizations, 

12 professional law enforcement associations, 

13 and civil rights organizations, for methods 

14 by which law enforcement agencies may re15 duce instances of misconduct; 

16 (iii) an analysis of data relating to 

17 judgments and settlements reported by 

18 State and local law enforcement agencies 

19 under subsection (d); and 

20 (iv) any other relevant information re21 lating to data and information collected 

22 under subsections (c) and (d). 

23 (3) DATABASE.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

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1 torney General shall create and maintain on the 

2 internet website of the Department of Justice a 

3 public, searchable database containing all data 

4 reported under subsections (c) and (d), subject 

5 to any otherwise applicable confidentiality re6 quirements. Such publication shall not include 

7 any personally identifiable information of any 

8 law enforcement officer. 

9 (B) DATABASE UPDATES.—The Attorney 

10 General shall update the database created 

11 under subparagraph (A) on an annual basis 

12 with data reported under subsections (c) and 

13 (d). 

14 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec15 tion shall be construed to supersede the requirements or 

16 limitations under section 552a of title 5, United States 

17 Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Privacy Act of 1974’’). 

Æ 


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