proval by the Office of Personnel Management of the exec-
utive qualifications of the individual.
SEC. 202. MISSION OF OFFICE; DUTIES.
(a) MISSION.—The mission of the Office shall be—
(1) to serve as the national focal point for work
on law enforcement technology; and
(2) to carry out programs that, through the
provision of equipment, training, and technical as-
sistance, improve the safety and effectiveness of law
enforcement technology and improve access to such
technology by Federal, State, and local law enforce-
ment agencies.
(b) DUTIES.—In carrying out its mission, the Office
shall have the following duties:
(1) To provide recommendations and advice to
the Attorney General.
(2) To establish and maintain advisory groups
(which shall be exempt from the provisions of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.)) to
assess the law enforcement technology needs of Fed-
eral, State, and local law enforcement agencies.
(3) To establish and maintain performance
standards in accordance with the National Tech-
nology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995
(Public Law 104–113) for, and test and evaluate
law enforcement technologies that may be used by,
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies.
(4) To establish and maintain a program to
certify, validate, and mark or otherwise recognize
law enforcement technology products that conform
to standards established and maintained by the Of-
fice in accordance with the National Technology
Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (Public Law
104–113). The program may, at the discretion of
the Office, allow for supplier’s declaration of con-
formity with such standards.
(5) To work with other entities within the De-
partment of Justice, other Federal agencies, and the
executive office of the President to establish a co-
ordinated Federal approach on issues related to law
enforcement technology.
(6) To carry out research, development, testing,
and evaluation in fields that would improve the safe-
ty, effectiveness, and efficiency of law enforcement
technologies used by Federal, State, and local law
enforcement agencies, including, but not limited to—
(A) weapons capable of preventing use by
unauthorized persons, including personalized
guns;
(B) protective apparel;
(C) bullet-resistant and explosion-resistant
glass;
(D) monitoring systems and alarm systems
capable of providing precise location informa-
tion;
(E) wire and wireless interoperable com-
munication technologies;
(F) tools and techniques that facilitate in-
vestigative and forensic work, including com-
puter forensics;
(G) equipment for particular use in
counterterrorism, including devices and tech-
nologies to disable terrorist devices;
(H) guides to assist State and local law en-
forcement agencies;
(I) DNA identification technologies; and
(J) tools and techniques that facilitate in-
vestigations of computer crime.
(7) To administer a program of research, devel-
opment, testing, and demonstration to improve the
interoperability of voice and data public safety com-
munications.
(8) To serve on the Technical Support Working
Group of the Department of Defense, and on other
relevant interagency panels, as requested.
(9) To develop, and disseminate to State and
local law enforcement agencies, technical assistance
and training materials for law enforcement per-
sonnel, including prosecutors.
(10) To operate the regional National Law En-
forcement and Corrections Technology Centers and,
to the extent necessary, establish additional centers
through a competitive process.
(11) To administer a program of acquisition,
research, development, and dissemination of ad-
vanced investigative analysis and forensic tools to as-
sist State and local law enforcement agencies in
combating cybercrime.
(12) To support research fellowships in support
of its mission.
(13) To serve as a clearinghouse for informa-
tion on law enforcement technologies.
(14) To represent the United States and State
and local law enforcement agencies, as requested, in
international activities concerning law enforcement
technology.
(15) To enter into contracts and cooperative
agreements and provide grants, which may require
in-kind or cash matches from the recipient, as nec-
essary to carry out its mission.
(16) To carry out other duties assigned by the
Attorney General to accomplish the mission of the
Office.
(c) COMPETITION REQUIRED.—Except as otherwise
expressly provided by law, all research and development
carried out by or through the Office shall be carried out
on a competitive basis.
(d) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Fed-
eral agencies shall, upon request from the Office and in
accordance with Federal law, provide the Office with any
data, reports, or other information requested, unless com-
pliance with such request is otherwise prohibited by law.
(e) PUBLICATIONS.—Decisions concerning publica-
tions issued by the Office shall rest solely with the Direc-
tor of the Office.
(f) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—The Office may transfer
funds to other Federal agencies or provide funding to non-
Federal entities through grants, cooperative agreements,
or contracts to carry out its duties under this section.
(g) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Director of the Office
shall include with the budget justification materials sub-
mitted to Congress in support of the Department of Jus-
tice budget for each fiscal year (as submitted with the
budget of the President under section 1105(a) of title 31,
United States Code) a report on the activities of the Of-
fice. Each such report shall include the following:
(1) For the period of 5 fiscal years beginning
with the fiscal year for which the budget is
submitted—
(A) the Director’s assessment of the needs
of Federal, State, and local law enforcement
agencies for assistance with respect to law en-
forcement technology and other matters con-
sistent with the mission of the Office; and
(B) a strategic plan for meeting such
needs of such law enforcement agencies.
(2) For the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year
for which such budget is submitted, a description of
the activities carried out by the Office and an eval-
uation of the extent to which those activities success-
fully meet the needs assessed under paragraph
(1)(A) in previous reports.
SEC. 203. DEFINITION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT TECH-
NOLOGY.
For the purposes of this title, the term ‘‘law enforce-
ment technology’’ includes investigative and forensic tech-
nologies, corrections technologies, and technologies that
support the judicial process.
SEC. 204. ABOLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY OF NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
JUSTICE; TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.
(a) TRANSFERS FROM OFFICE WITHIN NIJ.—The
Office of Science and Technology of the National Institute
of Justice is hereby abolished, and all functions and activi-
ties performed immediately before the date of the enact-
ment of this Act by the Office of Science and Technology
of the National Institute of Justice are hereby transferred
to the Office.
(b) AUTHORITY TO TRANSFER ADDITIONAL FUNC-
TIONS.—The Attorney General may transfer to the Office
any other program or activity of the Department of Jus-
tice that the Attorney General, in consultation with the
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives,
determines to be consistent with the mission of the Office.
(c) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any balance of appropria-
tions that the Attorney General determines is avail-
able and needed to finance or discharge a function,
power, or duty of the Office or a program or activity
that is transferred to the Office shall be transferred
to the Office and used for any purpose for which
those 
appropriations 
were 
originally 
available.
Balances of appropriations so transferred shall—
(A) be credited to any applicable appro-
priation account of the Office; or
(B) be credited to a new account that may
be established on the books of the Department
of the Treasury;
and shall be merged with the funds already credited
to that account and accounted for as one fund.
(2) LIMITATIONS.—Balances of appropriations
credited to an account under paragraph (1)(A) are
subject only to such limitations as are specifically
applicable to that account. Balances of appropria-
tions credited to an account under paragraph (1)(B)
are subject only to such limitations as are applicable
to the appropriations from which they are trans-
ferred.
(d) TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL AND ASSETS.—With
respect to any function, power, or duty, or any program
or activity, that is transferred to the Office, those employ-
ees and assets of the element of the Department of Justice
from which the transfer is made that the Attorney General
determines are needed to perform that function, power,
or duty, or for that program or activity, as the case may
be, shall be transferred to the Office.
(e) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than
1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judici-
ary of the House of Representatives a report on the imple-
mentation of this title. The report shall—
(1) identify each transfer carried out pursuant
to subsection (b);
(2) provide an accounting of the amounts and
sources of funding available to the Office to carry
out its mission under existing authorizations and ap-
propriations, and set forth the future funding needs
of the Office;
(3) include such other information and rec-
ommendations as the Attorney General considers ap-
propriate.
SEC. 205. NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CORREC-
TIONS TECHNOLOGY CENTERS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Office shall
operate and support National Law Enforcement and Cor-
rections Technology Centers (hereinafter in this section
referred to as ‘‘Centers’’) and, to the extent necessary, es-
tablish new centers through a merit-based, competitive
process.
(b) PURPOSE
OF CENTERS.—The purpose of the
Centers shall be to—
(1) support research and development of law
enforcement technology;
(2) support the transfer and implementation of
technology;
(3) assist in the development and dissemination
of guidelines and technological standards; and
(4) provide technology assistance, information,
and support for law enforcement, corrections, and
criminal justice purposes.
(c) ANNUAL MEETING.—Each year, the Director
shall convene a meeting of the Centers in order to foster
collaboration and communication between Center partici-
pants.
(d) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall trans-
mit to the Congress a report assessing the effectiveness
of the existing system of Centers and identify the number
of Centers necessary to meet the technology needs of Fed-
eral, State, and local law enforcement in the United
States.
SEC. 206. COORDINATION WITH OTHER ENTITIES WITHIN
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.
Section 102 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3712) is amended in sub-
section (a)(5) by inserting ‘‘coordinate and’’ before ‘‘pro-
vide’’.
Passed the House of Representatives July 15, 2002.
Attest:
Clerk.