IB
Union Calendar No. 247
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2294
[Report No. 105–437]
To make improvements in the operation and administration of the Federal
courts, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 30, 1997
Mr. COBLE (by request) introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
MARCH 12, 1998
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 30, 1997]
A BILL
To make improvements in the operation and administration
of the Federal courts, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1998’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this
Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
TITLE I—JUDICIAL FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 101. Reimbursement of judiciary for civil and criminal forfeiture expenses.
Sec. 102. Transfer of retirement funds.
Sec. 103. Extension of Judiciary Information Technology Fund.
Sec. 104. Bankruptcy fees.
Sec. 105. Disposition of miscellaneous fees.
TITLE II—JUDICIAL PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
Sec. 201. Extension of statutory authority for magistrate judge positions to be es-
tablished in the district courts of Guam and the Northern Mari-
ana Islands.
Sec. 202. Magistrate judge contempt authority.
Sec. 203. Consent to magistrate judge authority in petty offense cases and mag-
istrate judge authority in misdemeanor cases involving juvenile
defendants.
Sec. 204. Savings and loan data reporting requirements.
Sec. 205. Place of holding court in the Eastern District of Texas.
Sec. 206. Federal substance abuse treatment program reauthorization.
Sec. 207. Membership in circuit judicial councils.
Sec. 208. Sunset of civil justice expense and delay reduction plans.
Sec. 209. Repeal of Court of Federal Claims filing fee.
Sec. 210. Technical bankruptcy correction.
Sec. 211. Renumbering of bankruptcy court fee schedule.
TITLE III—JUDICIAL PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION, BENEFITS,
AND PROTECTIONS
Sec. 301. Judicial retirement matters.
Sec. 302. Disability retirement and cost-of-living adjustments of annuities for ter-
ritorial judges.
Sec. 303. Federal Judicial Center personnel matters.
Sec. 304. Judicial administrative officials retirement matters.
Sec. 305. Judges’ firearms training.
Sec. 306. Exemption from jury service.
Sec. 307. Expanded workers’ compensation coverage for jurors.
Sec. 308. Property damage, theft, and loss claims of jurors.
Sec. 309. Annual leave limit for court unit executives.
Sec. 310. Transfer of county to Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Sec. 311. Creation of two divisions in Eastern District of Louisiana.
Sec. 312. District judges for the Florida district courts.
Sec. 313. Change in composition of divisions in Western District of Tennessee.
Sec. 314. Payments to military survivors benefits plan.
Sec. 315. Creation of certifying officers in the judicial branch.
Sec. 316. Authority to prescribe fees for technology resources in the courts.
TITLE IV—CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT AMENDMENTS
Sec. 401. Maximum amounts of compensation for attorneys.
Sec. 402. Maximum amounts of compensation for services other than counsel.
Sec. 403. Tort Claims Act amendment relating to liability of Federal public de-
fenders.
TITLE I—JUDICIAL FINANCIAL
ADMINISTRATION
SEC. 101. REIMBURSEMENT OF JUDICIARY FOR CIVIL AND
CRIMINAL FORFEITURE EXPENSES.
(a) Section 524(c) of title 28, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by inserting after paragraph (11) the follow-
ing paragraph (12):
‘‘(12)(A) In the fiscal year subsequent to the fiscal year
in which this paragraph is enacted and each fiscal year
thereafter, an amount as specified in subparagraph (B)
shall be transferred annually to the judiciary into the fund
established under section 1931 of this title, for expenses in-
curred in—
‘‘(i) adjudication of civil and criminal forfeiture
proceedings that result in deposits into the Fund (ex-
cept the expense of salaries of judges);
‘‘(ii) representation, pursuant to the provisions
of section 3006A of title 18, section 408(q) of the Con-
trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 848(q)) of offenders
whose assets have been seized in such forfeiture pro-
ceedings, to the extent that such expenses of represen-
tation could have been recovered through an order for
payment or for reimbursement of the Defender Serv-
ices appropriation pursuant to section 3006A(f) of
title 18; and
‘‘(iii) supervision by United States probation of-
ficers of offenders under home detention or other forms
of confinement outside of Bureau of Prison facilities.
‘‘(B) The amount to be transferred—
‘‘(i) shall be a portion of the total amount to be
transferred from the combined fiscal year deposits
into both the Fund and the Department of the Treas-
ury Asset Forfeiture Fund established by section 9703
of title 31, United States Code (hereafter referred to
as ‘both Funds’), which total shall not exceed the
statement of costs incurred by the Judiciary in pro-
viding the services identified in subparagraph (A), as
set forth by the Director of the Administrative Office
of the United States Courts in a report to the Attor-
ney General and the Secretary of the Treasury no
later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year in
which the expenses were incurred except that—
‘‘(I) the total amount to be transferred from
both Funds shall not exceed $50,000,000, or 10
percent of the total combined deposits into both
Funds, whichever is less;
‘‘(II) the proportion of the amount trans-
ferred from the Fund to the total amount to be
transferred shall be equal to the proportion of the
fiscal year deposits into the Fund to the com-
bined fiscal year deposits in both Funds; and
‘‘(III) the total amount to be transferred
from both Funds may exceed the limits set out
in this subparagraph, subject to the discretion of
the Attorney General and the Secretary of the
Treasury.
‘‘(ii) shall be paid from revenues deposited into
the Fund during the fiscal year in which the expenses
were incurred and are not required to be specified in
appropriations Acts.’’.
(b) Section 9703 of title 31, United States Code, is
amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (p) as subsection
(q); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (o) the following
new subsection:
‘‘(p) TRANSFER TO THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY.—In the
fiscal year subsequent to the fiscal year in which this sub-
section is enacted and each fiscal year thereafter, an
amount necessary to meet the transfer requirements of sec-
tion 524(c)(9) of title 28 shall be transferred to the Judici-
ary, and shall be subject to the same limitations, terms, and
conditions specified in that section for transfers to the Judi-
ciary from the Department of Justice Asset Forfeiture
Fund.’’.
(c) Section 1931(a) of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by inserting ‘‘or other judicial services including
services provided pursuant to section 3006A of title 18 or
section 409(q) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C.
848(q))’’ after ‘‘courts of the United States’’.
SEC. 102. TRANSFER OF RETIREMENT FUNDS.
Section 377 of title 28, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:
‘‘(p) Upon election by a bankruptcy judge or a mag-
istrate judge under subsection (f) of this section, all of the
accrued employer contributions and accrued interest on
those contributions made on behalf of the bankruptcy judge
or magistrate judge to the Civil Service Retirement and
Disability Fund as defined under section 8348 of title 5,
shall be transferred to the fund established under section
1931 of this title, that if the bankruptcy judge or magistrate
judge elects under section 2(c) of the Retirement and Sur-
vivor’s Annuities for Bankruptcy Judges and Magistrates
Act of 1988 (Public Law No. 100–659), to receive a retire-
ment annuity under both this section and title 5, only the
accrued employer contributions and accrued interest on
such contributions made on behalf of the bankruptcy judge