Help Find the Missing Act
Bill: H.R.9491 | Sponsor: Rep. Hayes, Jahana (D-CT)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Billy's Law or the Help Find the Missing Act
This bill provides statutory authority for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to maintain the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) consistent with its existing purpose and structure.
NamUs is a national information clearinghouse and resource center for cases involving missing persons and unidentified or unclaimed remains. NamUs is administered by the National Institute of Justice within DOJ.
The bill also establishes new requirements.
First, it requires a law enforcement agency that submits a missing child report to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to also submit the missing child report to NamUs. The NCIC is a computerized index of criminal justice data and files for reports of missing and unidentified persons. Current law requires law enforcement agencies to submit missing child reports to the NCIC database but not to the NamUs databases.
Second, the bill establishes requirements to facilitate data sharing between the NCIC database and the NamUs databases with respect to missing and unidentified persons.
Specifically, the bill requires DOJ to give the National Institute of Justice access to the NCIC missing person and unidentified person records for the purpose of validating cases and reconciling data with NamUs.
Additionally, the bill requires DOJ to assess the NCIC and NamUs systems and governing statutes, policies, and procedures and create a plan for NCIC to automatically transmit certain records to NamUs.
Third, the bill requires DOJ to report to forensic medicine service providers and law enforcement agencies on best practices for collecting, reporting, and analyzing data and information on missing persons and unidentified human remains.
DOJ must also report to Congress biennially on the status of the NCIC database and the NamUs databases. The report must describe the process of information sharing between the NCIC database and NamUs databases.

To increase accessibility to the National Missing and Unidentified 
Persons System, to facilitate data sharing between such system and the 
  National Crime Information Center database of the Federal Bureau of 
                 Investigation, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Billy's Law'' or the ``Help Find the 
Missing Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF THE NATIONAL MISSING AND UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS 
              SYSTEM.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall maintain the ``National 
Missing and Unidentified Persons System'' or ``NamUs'', consistent with 
the following:
            (1) The NamUs shall be a national information clearinghouse 
        and resource center for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed 
        person cases across the United States administered by the 
        National Institute of Justice and managed through an agreement 
        with an eligible entity.
            (2) The NamUs shall coordinate or provide--
                    (A) online database technology which serves as a 
                national information clearinghouse to help expedite 
                case associations and resolutions;
                    (B) various free-of-charge forensic services to aid 
                in the identification of missing persons and 
                unidentified remains;
                    (C) investigative support for criminal justice 
                efforts to help missing and unidentified person case 
                resolutions;
                    (D) technical assistance for family members of 
                missing persons;
                    (E) assistance and training by coordinating State 
                and local service providers in order to support 
                individuals and families impacted by the loss or 
                disappearance of a loved one; and
                    (F) training and outreach from NamUs subject matter 
                experts, including assistance with planning and 
                facilitating Missing Person Day events across the 
                country.
    (b) Permissible Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--The permissible use of funds awarded under 
        this section for the implementation and maintenance of the 
        agreement created in subparagraph (a)(1) include the use of 
        funds--
                    (A) to hire additional personnel to provide case 
                support and perform other core NamUs functions;
                    (B) to develop new technologies to facilitate 
                timely data entry into the relevant data bases;
                    (C) to conduct contracting activities relevant to 
                core NamUs services;
                    (D) to provide forensic analyses to support the 
                identification of missing and unidentified persons, to 
                include, but not limited to DNA typing, forensic 
                odontology, fingerprint examination, and forensic 
                anthropology;
                    (E) to train State, local, and Tribal law 
                enforcement personnel and forensic medicine service 
                providers to use NamUs resources and best practices for 
                the investigation of missing and unidentified person 
                cases;
                    (F) to assist States in providing information to 
                the NCIC database, the NamUs database, or any future 
                database system for missing, unidentified, and 
                unclaimed person cases;
                    (G) to report to law enforcement authorities in the 
                jurisdiction in which the remains were found 
                information on every deceased, unidentified person, 
                regardless of age;
                    (H) to participate in Missing Person Days and other 
                events to directly support family members of the 
                missing with NamUs case entries and DNA collections;
                    (I) to provide assistance and training by 
                coordinating State and local service providers in order 
                to support individuals and families;
                    (J) to conduct data analytics and research projects 
                for the purpose of enhancing knowledge, best practices, 
                and training related to missing and unidentified person 
                cases, as well as developing NamUs system enhancements;
                    (K) to create and maintain a secure, online, 
                nationwide critical incident response tool for 
                professionals that will connect law enforcement, 
                medicolegal and emergency management professionals, as 
                well as victims and families during a critical 
                incident; and
                    (L) for other purposes consistent with the goals of 
                this section.
    (c) Amendments to the Crime Control Act of 1990 To Require Reports 
of Missing Children to NamUs.--
            (1) Reporting requirement.--Section 3701(a) of the Crime 
        Control Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 41307(a)) is amended by striking 
        the period and inserting the following: ``and, consistent with 
        section 3 (including rules promulgated pursuant to section 
        3(c)) of the Help Find the Missing Act, shall also report such 
        case, either directly or through authorization described in 
        such section to transmit, enter, or share information on such 
        case, to the NamUs databases.''.
            (2) State requirements.--Section 3702 of the Crime Control 
        Act of 1990 (34 U.S.C. 41308) is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``or the National 
                Crime Information Center computer database'' and 
                inserting ``, the National Crime Information Center 
                computer database, or the NamUs databases'';
                    (B) in the matter following paragraph (3), by 
                striking ``and the National Crime Information Center 
                computer networks'' and inserting ``, the National 
                Crime Information Center computer networks, and the 
                NamUs databases''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
                        (A), by inserting ``or the NamUs databases'' 
                        after ``National Crime Information Center''; 
                        and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and 
                        National Crime Information Center computer 
                        networks'' and inserting ``, National Crime 
                        Information Center computer networks, and the 
                        NamUs databases''.
            (3) Effective date.--The amendments made by this subsection 
        shall apply with respect to reports made before, on, or after 
        the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. INFORMATION SHARING.

    (a) Access to NCIC.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall, in accordance with 
this section, provide access to the NCIC Missing Person and 
Unidentified Person Files to the National Institute of Justice or its 
designee administering the NamUs program as a grantee or contractor, 
for the purpose of reviewing missing and unidentified person records in 
NCIC for case validation and NamUs data reconciliation.
    (b) Electronic Data Sharing.--Not later than 6 months after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall, in 
accordance with this section, have completed an assessment of the NCIC 
and NamUs system architectures and governing statutes, policies, and 
procedures and provide a proposed plan for the secure and automatic 
data transmission of missing and unidentified person records that are 
reported to and entered into the NCIC database, with the following 
criteria, to be electronically transmitted to the NamUs system:
            (1) Missing Person cases with an MNP (Missing Person) code 
        of CA (Child Abduction) or AA (Amber Alert) within 72 hours of 
        entry into NCIC.
            (2) Missing Person cases with an MNP code EME (Endangered) 
        or EMI (Involuntary) within 30 days of entry into NCIC.
            (3) All other Missing Person cases that have been active 
        (non-cancelled) in NCIC for 180 days.
            (4) Unidentified person cases that have been active (non-
        cancelled) in NCIC for 60 days.
            (5) Once case data are transmitted to NamUs, cases are 
        marked as such within NCIC, and any updates to such cases will 
        be transmitted to NamUs within 24 hours.
    (c) Rules on Confidentiality.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 
        with the Director of the FBI, shall promulgate rules pursuant 
        to notice and comment that specify the information the Attorney 
        General may allow NamUs to access from the NCIC Missing Person 
        and Unidentified Person files or be transmitted from the NCIC 
        database to the NamUs databases for purposes of this Act. Such 
        rules shall--
                    (A) provide for the protection of confidential, 
                private, and law enforcement sensitive information 
                contained in the NCIC Missing Person and Unidentified 
                Person files; and
                    (B) specify the circumstances in which access to 
                portions of information in the Missing Person and 
                Unidentified Person files may be withheld from the 
                NamUs databases.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON BEST PRACTICES.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Attorney General shall issue a report to offices of forensic 
medicine service providers, and Federal, State, local, and Tribal law 
enforcement agencies describing the best practices for the collection, 
reporting, and analysis of data and information on missing persons and 
unidentified human remains. Such best practices shall--
            (1) provide an overview of the NCIC database and NamUs 
        databases;
            (2) describe how local law enforcement agencies, and 
        offices of forensic medicine service providers should access 
        and use the NCIC database and NamUs databases;
            (3) describe the appropriate and inappropriate uses of the 
        NCIC database and NamUs databases; and
            (4) describe the standards and protocols for the 
        collection, reporting, and analysis of data and information on 
        missing persons and unidentified human remains.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the Attorney General 
shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a 
report describing the status of the NCIC database and NamUs databases.
    (b) Contents.--The report required by subsection (a) shall 
describe, to the extent available, information on the process of 
information sharing between the NCIC database and NamUs databases.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Authorized agency.--The term ``authorized agency'' 
        means a Government agency with an originating agency 
        identification (ORI) number and that is a criminal justice 
        agency, as defined in section 20.3 of title 28, Code of Federal 
        Regulations.
            (2) FBI.--The term ``FBI'' means the Federal Bureau of 
        Investigation.
            (3) Forensic medicine service provider.--The term 
        ``forensic medicine service provider'' means a State or unit of 
        local government forensic medicine service provider having not 
        fewer than 1 part-time or full-time employed forensic 
        pathologist, or forensic pathologist under contract, who 
        conducts medicolegal death investigations, including 
        examinations of human remains, and who provides reports or 
        opinion testimony with respect to such activity in courts of 
        law within the United States.
            (4) Forensic science service provider.--The term ``forensic 
        science service provider'' means a State or unit of local 
        government agency having not fewer than 1 full-time analyst who 
        examines physical evidence in criminal or investigative matters 
        and provides reports or opinion testimony with respect to such 
        evidence in courts in the United States.
            (5) NamUs databases.--The term ``NamUs databases'' means 
        the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System Missing 
        Persons database and National Missing and Unidentified Persons 
        System Unidentified Decedents database maintained by the 
        National Institute of Justice of the Department of Justice, 
        which serves as a clearinghouse and resource center for 
        missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases.
            (6) NCIC database.--The term ``NCIC database'' means the 
        National Crime Information Center Missing Person File and 
        National Crime Information Center Unidentified Person File of 
        the National Crime Information Center database of the FBI, 
        established pursuant to section 534 of title 28, United States 
        Code.
            (7) Qualifying law enforcement agency defined.--The term 
        ``qualifying law enforcement agency'' means a State, local, or 
        Tribal law enforcement agency.
            (8) 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 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
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