Military Justice Transparency Act

To direct the Secretary of Defense to carry out activities to detect and address racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in the military justice system, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Military Justice Transparency Act 2. Improvements relating to racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in the military justice system (a) In general In addition to the activities required under section 540I of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 ( Public Law 116–92 10 U.S.C. 801 (b) Data recording Beginning not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Defense shall require each Secretary concerned to— (1) record the race, ethnicity, and gender of the victim and the accused for each investigation of an offense under chapter 47 (2) (A) record the race, ethnicity, and gender of each individual against whom non-judicial punishment is imposed under section 815 of such chapter (article 15 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice) after the date of the enactment of this Act by an Armed Force under the jurisdiction of such Secretary; and (B) set forth such information separately for each type of non-judicial punishment imposed; (3) (A) record the race, ethnicity, and gender of each individual convicted in a court-martial conducted after the date of the enactment of this Act by an Armed Force under the jurisdiction of such Secretary; and (B) set forth such information separately by the type of court-martial, the offense involved, and the case outcome; and (4) publish the data described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) in the annual military justice reports of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of such Secretary. (c) Briefing Not later than 30 days after the date on which the annual military justice reports of the Armed Forces for fiscal year 2022 have been submitted to Congress, the Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a briefing on the strategy of the Secretary to detect and address racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in the military justice system. (d) Comptroller General report Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report detailing— (1) the findings of the Government Accountability Office regarding racial disparities in the military justice system; (2) any steps being taken by the Secretary of Defense to address racial disparities in the military justice system; and (3) the status of implementation by each Secretary concerned of the recommendations set forth in the report of the Government Accountability Office titled Military Justice: DOD and the Coast Guard Need to Improve Their Capabilities to Assess Racial and Gender Disparities (e) Secretary concerned defined In this section, the term Secretary concerned

Summary: Military Justice Transparency Act This bill requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to take specified actions to further detect and address racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in the military justice system. Specifically, DOD must require each military department to record the race, ethnicity, and gender of the victim and the accused for each investigation of an offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ); record the race ethnicity, and gender of each individual against whom non-judicial punishment is imposed under the UCMJ and set forth information separately for each type of non-judicial punishment imposed; record the race, ethnicity, and gender of each individual convicted in a court-martial and set forth such information separately by the type of court-martial, the offense involved, and the case outcome; and publish specified data in the annual military justice reports. Not later than 30 days after the date on which the annual military justice reports for FY2022 have been submitted, DOD must brief Congress on its strategy to detect and address racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in the military justice system. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) must report on its findings regarding racial disparities in the military justice system, any steps being taken by DOD to address such disparities, and the status of implementation by each military department of recommendations set forth in the GAO report titled Military Justice: DOD and the Coast Guard Need to Improve Their Capabilities to Assess Racial and Gender Disparities (GAO-19-344).