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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3120 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3120

   To encourage the entry of felony warrants into the National Crime 
Information Center database by States and provide additional resources 
                            for extradition.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 16, 2010

Mr. Specter (for himself and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To encourage the entry of felony warrants into the National Crime 
Information Center database by States and provide additional resources 
                            for extradition.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fugitive Information Networked 
Database Act of 2010'' or the ``FIND Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Nationwide, there are an estimated 2,700,000 active 
        Federal, State, and local warrants for the arrest of persons 
        charged with felony crimes.
            (2) State and local law enforcement authorities have 
        insufficient resources to devote to searching for and 
        apprehending fugitives. As a result, large numbers of fugitives 
        evade arrest. State and local law enforcement authorities also 
        lack resources for extraditing fugitives who have been arrested 
        in other States. As a result, such fugitives frequently are 
        released without prosecution.
            (3) Increasing the resources available for conducting 
        fugitive investigations and transporting fugitives between 
        States would increase the number of fugitives who are arrested 
        and prosecuted.
            (4) The United States Marshals Service (referred to in this 
        Act as the ``USMS'') plays an integral role in the apprehension 
        of fugitives in the United States, and has a long history of 
        providing assistance and expertise to Federal, State, and local 
        law enforcement agencies in support of fugitive investigations, 
        including through 82 District Task Forces, and through the 7 
        Regional Fugitive Task Force Programs that have partnered with 
        Federal, State and local law enforcement agencies to locate and 
        apprehend fugitives.
            (5) The USMS utilizes the Justice Prisoner and Alien 
        Transportation Service (referred to in this Act as the 
        ``JPATS'') to transport Federal detainees and prisoners. It 
        also makes JPATS available to State and local law enforcement 
        agencies on a reimbursable, space-available basis for the 
        purpose of transporting a fugitive from the place where the 
        fugitive was arrested to the jurisdiction that issued the 
        warrant for the arrest of the fugitive. Through JPATS, these 
        agencies are able to reduce the cost of extradition 
        significantly.
            (6) Expanding the availability of JPATS to State and local 
        law enforcement agencies would lower the cost of transporting 
        fugitives for extradition and lead to the prosecution of a 
        greater number of fugitives.
            (7) Since 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has 
        operated the National Crime Information Center, which 
        administers a nationwide database containing criminal history 
        information from the Federal Government and the States, 
        including outstanding arrest warrants. The National Crime 
        Information Center database allows a law enforcement officer 
        who stops a person in 1 State to obtain information about a 
        warrant for that person issued in another State. It contains 
        approximately 1,700,000 felony and misdemeanor warrants. It is 
        missing nearly half of the 2,800,000 to 3,200,000 of the felony 
        warrants issued across the Nation, including warrants for 
        hundreds of thousands of violent crimes.
            (8) The failure of a State to enter a warrant into the 
        National Crime Information Center database enables a fugitive 
        to escape arrest even when the fugitive is stopped by a law 
        enforcement officer in another State, because the officer is 
        not aware there was a warrant issued for the fugitive. Many of 
        such fugitives go on to commit additional crimes. In addition, 
        such fugitives pose a danger to law enforcement officers who 
        encounter them without knowledge of the pending charges against 
        the fugitives or their record of fleeing law enforcement 
        authorities.
            (9) All warrants entered into the National Crime 
        Information Center database must be validated on a regular 
        basis to ensure that the information in the warrant is still 
        accurate and that the warrant is still active.
            (10) Improving the entry and validation of warrants in the 
        National Crime Information Center database would enable law 
        enforcement officers to identify and arrest a larger number of 
        fugitives, improve the safety of these officers, and better 
        protect communities from crime.
            (11) Federal funds for State and local law enforcement are 
        most effective when they do not supplant, but rather supplement 
        State and local funds.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Active warrant.--The term ``active warrant'' means a 
        warrant that has not been cleared. A warrant may be cleared by 
        arrest or by the determination of a law enforcement agency that 
        a warrant has already been executed or that the subject is 
        deceased.
            (2) Felony warrant.--The term ``felony warrant'' means any 
        warrant for a crime that is punishable by a term of 
        imprisonment exceeding 1 year.
            (3) Indian country.--The term ``Indian country'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United 
        States Code.
            (4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 102 of the Federally 
        Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).
            (5) National crime information center database.--The term 
        ``National Crime Information Center database'' means the 
        computerized index of criminal justice information operated by 
        the Federal Bureau of Investigation under section 534 of title 
        28, United States Code, and available to Federal, State, and 
        local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the 
        Northern Mariana Islands.
            (7) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
        government''--
                    (A) means--
                            (i) any city, county, township, borough, 
                        parish, village, or other general purpose 
                        political subdivision of a State; or
                            (ii) any law enforcement district or 
                        judicial enforcement district that is 
                        established under applicable State law and has 
                        the authority to, in a manner independent of 
                        other State entities, establish a budget and 
                        impose taxes;
                    (B) includes law enforcement agencies, courts, and 
                any other government agencies involved in the issuance 
                of warrants; and
                    (C) in the case of Indian tribes, includes tribal 
                law enforcement agencies, tribal courts and any other 
                tribal agencies involved in the issuance of warrants.

SEC. 4. GRANTS TO ENCOURAGE STATES TO ENTER FELONY WARRANTS.

    (a) Authorization of Grants.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General shall make grants to 
        States or Indian tribes in a manner consistent with the 
        National Criminal History Improvement Program, which shall be 
        used by States or Indian tribes, in conjunction with units of 
        local government, to--
                    (A)(i) develop and implement secure, electronic 
                State, local or tribal warrant management systems that 
                permit the prompt preparation, submission, and 
                validation of warrants and are compatible and 
                interoperable with the National Crime Information 
                Center database to facilitate information sharing and 
                to ensure that felony warrants entered into warrant 
                databases by State, local and tribal government 
                agencies can be automatically entered into the National 
                Crime Information Center database; or
                    (ii) upgrade existing State, local or tribal 
                electronic warrant management systems to ensure 
                compatibility and interoperability with the National 
                Crime Information Center database to facilitate 
                information sharing and to ensure that felony warrants 
                entered into warrant databases by State, local and 
                tribal government agencies can be automatically entered 
                into the National Crime Information Center database; 
                and
                    (B) ensure that all State, local, and tribal 
                government agencies that need access to the National 
                Crime Information Center database for criminal justice 
                purposes can access the database.
            (2) Duration.--A grant awarded under this section shall 
        be--
                    (A) for a period of 1 year; and
                    (B) renewable at the discretion of the Attorney 
                General if the State seeking renewal submits an 
                application to the Attorney General that demonstrates 
                compliance with subsection (b)(2).
            (3) Hiring of personnel.--Not more than 5 percent of the 
        grant funds awarded under this section to each State and Indian 
        tribe may also be used to hire additional personnel, as needed, 
        to validate warrants entered into the National Crime 
        Information Center database.
            (4) Set-aside.--Not more than 5 percent of the total funds 
        available to be awarded under this section may be reserved for 
        Indian tribes.
    (b) Eligibility.--
            (1) In general.--In order to be eligible for a grant 
        authorized under subsection (a), a State or Indian tribe shall 
        submit to the Attorney General--
                    (A) a plan to develop and implement, or upgrade, 
                systems described in subsection (a)(1);
                    (B) a report that--
                            (i) details the number of active felony 
                        warrants issued by the State or Indian tribe, 
                        including felony warrants issued by units of 
                        local government within the State or Indian 
                        tribe;
                            (ii) describes the number and type of 
                        active felony warrants that have not been 
                        entered into a State, local, or tribal warrant 
                        database or into the National Crime Information 
                        Center database;
                            (iii) explains the reasons State, local, 
                        and tribal government agencies have not entered 
                        active felony warrants into the National Crime 
                        Information Center database; and
                            (iv) demonstrates that State, local, and 
                        tribal government agencies have made good faith 
                        efforts to eliminate any such backlog; and
                    (C) guidelines for warrant entry by the State or 
                Indian tribe, including units of local government 
                within the State or Indian tribe, that--
                            (i) ensure that felony warrants issued by 
                        the State or Indian tribe, including units of 
                        local government within the State or Indian 
                        tribe, will be entered into the National Crime 
                        Information Center database; and
                            (ii) include a description of the 
                        circumstances, if any, in which, as a matter of 
                        policy, certain such warrants will not be 
                        entered into the National Crime Information 
                        Center database.
            (2) Deposit bail and citizens right to know.--A State that 
        submits a grant renewal application under subsection (a)(3)(B) 
        shall require that each unit of local government or State 
        pretrial services agency in such State that has recieved grant 
        funds under this section file with the Attorney General and the 
        appropriate county clerk's office of jurisdiction the following 
        public reports on defendants released at the recommendation or 
        under the supervision of the unit of local government or State 
        pretrial services agency:
                    (A) An annual report specifying--
                            (i) the number of defendants assessed or 
                        interviewed for pretrial release;
                            (ii) the number of indigent defendants 
                        included in clause (i);
                            (iii) the number of failures to appear for 
                        a scheduled court appearance; and
                            (iv) the number and type of program 
                        noncompliance infractions committed by a 
                        defendant released to a pretrial release 
                        program.
                    (B) An annual report at the end of each year, 
                setting forth the budget of the unit of local 
                government or State pretrial services agency for the 
                reporting year.
    (c) Report to the Attorney General.--A State or Indian tribe that 
receives a grant under this section shall, 1 year after receiving the 
grant, submit a report to the Attorney General that includes--
            (1) the number of active felony warrants issued by that 
        State or Indian tribe, including units of local government 
        within that State or Indian tribe;
            (2) the number of the active felony warrants entered into 
        the National Crime Information Center database; and
            (3) with respect to felony warrants not entered into the 
        National Crime Information Center database, the reasons for not 
        entering such warrants.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General $10,000,000 for each of the fiscal 
years 2011 through 2015 for grants to carry out the requirements of 
this section.

SEC. 5. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION COORDINATION.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation shall provide to State, local, 
and tribal government agencies the technological standard to ensure the 
compatibility and interoperability of all State, local, and tribal 
warrant databases with the National Crime Information Center database, 
as well as other technical assistance to facilitate the implementation 
of automated State, local, and tribal warrant management systems that 
are compatible and interoperable with the National Crime Information 
Center database.

SEC. 6. REPORT REGARDING FELONY WARRANT ENTRY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall submit to the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary a 
report regarding--
            (1) the number of active felony warrants issued by each 
        State and Indian tribe, including felony warrants issued by 
        units of local government within the State or Indian tribe;
            (2) the number of the active felony warrants that State, 
        local, and tribal government agencies have entered into the 
        National Crime Information Center database; and
            (3) for the preceding 3 years, the number of persons in 
        each State with an active felony warrant who were--
                    (A) apprehended in other States or in Indian 
                country but not extradited; and
                    (B) apprehended in other States or in Indian 
                country and extradited.
    (b) Assistance.--To assist in the preparation of the report 
required by subsection (a), the Attorney General shall provide the 
Comptroller General of the United States access to any information 
collected and reviewed in connection with the grant application process 
described in section 4.
    (c) Report by Attorney General.--On an annual basis, the Attorney 
General shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate 
and the House of Representatives a report containing the information 
received from the States and Indian tribes under this section.

SEC. 7. EXTRADITION ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Grant Assistance.--
            (1) Authorization of grant assistance.--
                    (A) In general.--The Attorney General shall, 
                subject to paragraph (4), make grants to States and 
                Indian tribes for periods of 1 year which shall be used 
                by States and Indian tribes, including units of local 
                government within the State or Indian tribe, to 
                extradite fugitives from another State or Indian 
                country for prosecution.
                    (B) Set aside.--Not more than 5 percent of the 
                grant funding available under this section may be 
                reserved for Indian tribal governments, including 
                tribal judicial systems.
            (2) Matching funds.--The Federal share of a grant received 
        under this section may not exceed 80 percent of the costs of a 
        program or proposal funded under this section unless the 
        Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the requirements of 
        this paragraph in the event of extraordinary circumstances.
            (3) Grant applications.--A State or Indian tribe seeking a 
        grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the 
        Attorney General that--
                    (A) describes the process and any impediments to 
                extraditing fugitives apprehended in other States or in 
                Indian country after being notified of such fugitives' 
                apprehension;
                    (B) specifies the way in which grant amounts will 
                be used, including the means of transportation the 
                State or Indian tribe, or unit of local government 
                within the State or Indian tribe, intends to use for 
                extradition and whether the State or Indian tribe or 
                unit of local government will participate in the JPATS 
                program, as well as whether it has participated in that 
                program in the past;
                    (C) specifies the number of fugitives extradited by 
                all jurisdictions within that State or Indian tribe for 
                each of the 3 years preceding the date of the grant 
                application; and
                    (D) specifies the total amount spent by all 
                jurisdictions within that State or Indian tribe on 
                fugitive extraditions for each of the 3 years preceding 
                the date of the grant application.
            (4) Eligibility.--
                    (A) In general.--In determining whether to award a 
                grant under this section to a State or Indian tribe, 
                the Attorney General shall consider the following:
                            (i) The information in the application 
                        submitted under paragraph (3).
                            (ii) The percentage of felony warrants 
                        issued by the State or Indian tribe, including 
                        units of local government within the State or 
                        Indian tribe, that were entered into the 
                        National Crime Information Center database, as 
                        calculated with the information provided under 
                        subsection (b) and, beginning 1 year after the 
                        date of enactment of this Act, whether the 
                        State or Indian tribe has made substantial 
                        progress in improving the entry of felony 
                        warrants into the National Crime Information 
                        Center database.
                            (iii) For grants issued after an initial 1 
                        year grant, whether the State or Indian tribe, 
                        including units of local government within the 
                        State or Indian tribe, has increased 
                        substantially the number of fugitives 
                        extradited for prosecution.
                    (B) Preferences.--In allocating extradition grants 
                under this section, the Attorney General should give 
                preference to States or Indian tribes that--
                            (i) 3 years after the date of enactment of 
                        this Act, have entered at least 50 percent of 
                        active felony warrants into the National Crime 
                        Information Center database;
                            (ii) 5 years after the date of enactment of 
                        this Act, have entered at least 70 percent of 
                        active felony warrants into the National Crime 
                        Information Center database; and
                            (iii) 7 years after the date of enactment 
                        of this Act, have entered at least 90 percent 
                        of active felony warrants into the National 
                        Crime Information Center database.
            (5) Use of funds.--States and Indian tribes, including 
        units of local government within the State or Indian tribe, 
        receiving a grant under this section may use grant monies to 
        credit the costs of transporting State and local detainees on 
        behalf of such State to the Justice Prisoner and Alien 
        Transportation System.
            (6) Recordkeeping.--States and Indian tribes, including 
        units of local government within the State or Indian tribe, 
        that receive a grant under this section shall maintain and 
        report such data, records, and information (programmatic and 
        financial) as the Attorney General may require.
            (7) Audit.--
                    (A) In general.--The Attorney General shall conduct 
                an audit of the use of funds by States and Indian 
                tribes receiving grants under this section 18 months 
                after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
                biennially thereafter.
                    (B) Ineligibility.--A State or Indian tribe, or 
                unit of local government within a State or Indian 
                tribe, that fails to increase substantially the number 
                of fugitives extradited after receiving a grant under 
                this section will be ineligible for future funds.
            (8) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized 
        to be appropriated to carry out this section $30,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2011 through 2015.
    (b) Active Felony Warrants Issued by States and Indian Tribes.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter on a date 
        designated by the Attorney General, to assist the Attorney 
        General in making a determination under subsection (a)(4) 
        concerning eligibility to receive a grant, each State and 
        Indian tribe applying for a grant under this section shall 
        submit to the Attorney General--
                    (A) the total number of active felony warrants 
                issued by the State or Indian tribe, including units of 
                local government within the State or Indian tribe, 
                regardless of the age of the warrants; and
                    (B) a description of the categories of felony 
                warrants not entered into the National Crime 
                Information Center database and the reasons for not 
                entering such warrants.
            (2) Failure to provide.--A State or Indian tribe that fails 
        to provide the information described in paragraph (1) by the 
        date required under such paragraph shall be ineligible to 
        receive any funds under subsection (a), until such date as it 
        provides the information described in paragraph (1) to the 
        Attorney General.
    (c) Attorney General Report.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than January 31 of each year, 
        the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the 
        Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of 
        the House of Representatives a report--
                    (A) containing the information submitted by the 
                States and Indian tribes under subsection (b);
                    (B) containing the percentage of active felony 
                warrants issued by those States and Indian tribes that 
                has been entered into the National Crime Information 
                Center database, as determined under subsection 
                (a)(4)(A)(ii);
                    (C) containing a description of the categories of 
                felony warrants that have not been entered into the 
                National Crime Information Center database and the 
                reasons such warrants were not entered, as provided to 
                the Attorney General under subsection (b)(1);
                    (D) comparing the warrant entry information to data 
                from previous years and describing the progress of 
                States and Indian tribes in entering active felony 
                warrants into the National Crime Information Center 
                database;
                    (E) containing the number of persons that each 
                State or Indian tribe, including units of local 
                government within the State or Indian tribe, has 
                extradited from other States or in Indian country for 
                prosecution and describing any progress the State or 
                Indian tribe has made in improving the number of 
                fugitives extradited for prosecution; and
                    (F) describing the practices of the States and 
                Indian tribes regarding the collection, maintenance, 
                automation, and transmittal of felony warrants to the 
                National Crime Information Center, that the Attorney 
                General considers to be best practices.
            (2) Best practices.--Not later than January 31 of each 
        year, the Attorney General shall provide the information 
        regarding best practices, referred to in paragraph (1)(F), to 
        each State and Indian tribe submitting information to the 
        National Crime Information Center.
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