National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2893 | Sponsor: Rep. Omar, Ilhan (D-MN)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board Act of 2021
This bill establishes the National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board as an independent federal entity.
Among other duties, the board must investigate deaths that occur in police custody, officer-involved shootings, and uses of force that result in severe bodily injury in police custody. The board must also report periodically to Congress, federal entities, and state and local governments on recommendations to reduce incidents of misuse of force by law enforcement.
The bill requires a state or local government that receives funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program to (1) allow findings and recommendations of the board to be admissible in court, and (2) report on actions taken to address the recommendations of the board. The Department of Justice may reduce allocations to states and local governments that fail to comply with these requirements.

To establish the National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board, 
                        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 the ``National Police Misuse of Force 
Investigation Board Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. GENERAL ORGANIZATION.

    (a) Organization.--The National Police Misuse of Force 
Investigation Board (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the 
``Board'') is an independent establishment of the United States 
Government.
    (b) Appointment of Members.--The Board is composed of 8 members 
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. Not more than 4 members may be appointed from the same 
political party. At least 4 members shall be appointed on the basis of 
technical qualification, professional standing, and demonstrated 
knowledge in civil rights law, psychology, racial inequality social 
theory, socioeconomics, or violent conflict mitigation.
    (c) Terms of Office and Removal.--The term of office of each member 
is 6 years. An individual appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before 
the expiration of the term for which the predecessor of that individual 
was appointed, is appointed for the remainder of that term. When the 
term of office of a member ends, the member may continue to serve until 
a successor is appointed and qualified. The President may remove a 
member for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.
    (d) Chairman and Vice Chairman.--The President shall designate, by 
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Chairman of the Board. 
The President also shall designate a Vice Chairman of the Board. The 
terms of office of both the Chairman and Vice Chairman are 2 years. 
When the Chairman is absent or unable to serve or when the position of 
Chairman is vacant, the Vice Chairman acts as Chairman.
    (e) Duties and Powers of Chairman.--The Chairman is the chief 
executive and administrative officer of the Board. Subject to the 
general policies and decisions of the Board, the Chairman shall--
            (1) appoint and supervise officers and employees, other 
        than regular and full-time employees in the immediate offices 
        of another member, necessary to carry out this Act;
            (2) fix the pay of officers and employees necessary to 
        carry out this Act;
            (3) distribute business among the officers, employees, and 
        administrative units of the Board; and
            (4) supervise the expenditures of the Board.
    (f) Quorum.--Five members of the Board are a quorum in carrying out 
duties and powers of the Board.
    (g) Offices, Bureaus, and Divisions.--The Board shall establish 
offices necessary to carry out this Act, including an office to 
investigate and report on police brutality. The Board shall establish 
distinct and appropriately staffed bureaus, divisions, or offices to 
investigate and report on incidents involving each of the following:
            (1) Deaths occurring in police custody.
            (2) Officer-involved shootings.
            (3) Uses of force that result in severe bodily injury in 
        police custody.
    (h) Chief Financial Officer.--The Chairman shall designate an 
officer or employee of the Board as the Chief Financial Officer. The 
Chief Financial Officer shall--
            (1) report directly to the Chairman on financial management 
        and budget execution;
            (2) direct, manage, and provide policy guidance and 
        oversight on financial management and property and inventory 
        control; and
            (3) review the fees, rents, and other charges imposed by 
        the Board for services and things of value it provides, and 
        suggest appropriate revisions to those charges to reflect costs 
        incurred by the Board in providing those services and things of 
        value.
    (i) Board Member Staff.--Each member of the Board shall select and 
supervise regular and full-time employees in his or her immediate 
office as long as any such employee has been approved for employment by 
the designated agency ethics official under the same guidelines that 
apply to all employees of the Board. Except for the Chairman, the 
appointment authority provided by this subsection is limited to the 
number of full-time equivalent positions, in addition to 1 senior 
professional staff at a level not to exceed the GS 15 level and 1 
administrative staff, allocated to each member through the Board's 
annual budget and allocation process.
    (j) Seal.--The Board shall have a seal that shall be judicially 
recognized.
    (k) Content of Reports.--A report under subsection (g) shall 
include the following information:
            (1) The demographic data of the individual killed or 
        injured by police.
            (2) The demographics of the officers involved.
            (3) The circumstances (such as date, time, location).
            (4) The reason for the stop or the initial contact with the 
        subject, the events leading up to the shooting or use of force 
        (such as search or pursuit).
            (5) The outcome (such as the types of force used, charges 
        filed, death injury).

SEC. 3. SPECIAL BOARDS OF INQUIRY ON POLICE BRUTALITY.

    (a) Establishment.--If an incident involves a substantial question 
history of excessive force use, the influence of historical racial 
injustice, or civil rights infringement within the community, the Board 
may establish a special board of inquiry composed of--
            (1) one member of the Board acting as chairman; and
            (2) 2 members representing the public, appointed by the 
        President on notification of the establishment of the special 
        board of inquiry.
    (b) Qualifications and Conflicts of Interest.--The public members 
of a special board of inquiry must be qualified by training and 
experience to participate in the inquiry and may not have a pecuniary 
interest in an aviation enterprise involved in the incident to be 
investigated.
    (c) Authority.--A special board of inquiry has the same authority 
that the Board has under this Act.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATIVE.

    (a) General Authority.--
            (1) The Board, and when authorized by it, a member of the 
        Board, an administrative law judge employed by or assigned to 
        the Board, or an officer or employee designated by the Chairman 
        of the Board, may conduct hearings to carry out this Act, 
        administer oaths, and require, by subpoena or otherwise, 
        necessary witnesses and evidence.
            (2) A witness or evidence in a hearing under paragraph (1) 
        of this subsection may be summoned or required to be produced 
        from any place in the United States to the designated place of 
        the hearing. A witness summoned under this subsection is 
        entitled to the same fee and mileage the witness would have 
        been paid in a court of the United States.
            (3) A subpoena shall be issued under the signature of the 
        Chairman or the Chairman's delegate but may be served by any 
        person designated by the Chairman.
            (4) If a person disobeys a subpoena, order, or inspection 
        notice of the Board, the Board may bring a civil action in a 
        district court of the United States to enforce the subpoena, 
        order, or notice. An action under this paragraph may be brought 
        in the judicial district in which the person against whom the 
        action is brought resides, is found, or does business. The 
        court may punish a failure to obey an order of the court to 
        comply with the subpoena, order, or notice as a contempt of 
        court.
    (b) Additional Powers.--
            (1) The Board may--
                    (A) procure the temporary or intermittent services 
                of experts or consultants under section 3109 of title 
                5, United States Code;
                    (B) make agreements and other transactions 
                necessary to carry out this Act without regard to 
                section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5);
                    (C) use, when appropriate, available services, 
                equipment, personnel, and facilities of a department, 
                agency, or instrumentality of the United States 
                Government on a reimbursable or other basis;
                    (D) confer with employees and use services, 
                records, and facilities of State and local governmental 
                authorities;
                    (E) appoint advisory committees composed of 
                qualified private citizens and officials of the 
                Government and State and local governments as 
                appropriate;
                    (F) accept voluntary and uncompensated services 
                notwithstanding another law;
                    (G) accept gifts of money and other property;
                    (H) make contracts with nonprofit entities to carry 
                out studies related to duties and powers of the Board; 
                and
                    (I) negotiate and enter into agreements with 
                individuals and private entities and departments, 
                agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, 
                State and local governments, and governments of foreign 
                countries for the provision of facilities, incident-
                related and technical services or training in police 
                misuse of force investigation theory and techniques, 
                and require that such entities provide appropriate 
                consideration for the reasonable costs of any 
                facilities, goods, services, or training provided by 
                the Board.
            (2) The Board shall deposit in the Treasury amounts 
        received under paragraph (1)(I) of this subsection to be 
        credited as offsetting collections to the appropriation of the 
        Board. The Board shall maintain an annual record of collections 
        received under paragraph (1)(I) of this subsection.
    (c) Submission of Certain Copies to Congress.--When the Board 
submits to the President or the Director of the Office of Management 
and Budget a budget estimate, budget request, supplemental budget 
estimate, other budget information, a legislative recommendation, 
prepared testimony for congressional hearings, or comments on 
legislation, the Board must submit a copy to Congress at the same time. 
An officer, department, agency, or instrumentality of the Government 
may not require the Board to submit the estimate, request, information, 
recommendation, testimony, or comments to another officer, department, 
agency, or instrumentality of the Government for approval, comment, or 
review before being submitted to Congress. The Board shall develop and 
approve a process for the Board's review and comment or approval of 
documents submitted to the President, Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget, or Congress under this subsection.
    (d) Liaison Committees.--The Chairman may determine the number of 
committees that are appropriate to maintain effective liaison with 
other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, 
State and local governmental authorities, and independent standard-
setting authorities that carry out programs and activities related to 
misuse of force by law enforcement officers. The Board may designate 
representatives to serve on or assist those committees.
    (e) Inquiries.--The Board, or an officer or employee of the Board 
designated by the Chairman, may conduct an inquiry to obtain 
information related to police misuse of force after publishing notice 
of the inquiry in the Federal Register. The Board or designated officer 
or employee may require by order a department, agency, or 
instrumentality of the Government, a State or local governmental 
authority, or a person transporting individuals or property in commerce 
to submit to the Board a written report and answers to requests and 
questions related to a duty or power of the Board. The Board may 
prescribe the time within which the report and answers must be given to 
the Board or to the designated officer or employee. Copies of the 
report and answers shall be made available for public inspection.
    (f) Regulations.--The Board may prescribe regulations to carry out 
this Act.
    (g) Overtime Pay.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to the requirements of this 
        section and notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 
        5542(a) of title 5, for an employee of the Board whose basic 
        pay is at a rate which equals or exceeds the minimum rate of 
        basic pay for GS-10 of the General Schedule, the Board may 
        establish an overtime hourly rate of pay for the employee with 
        respect to work performed at the scene of an incident 
        (including travel to or from the scene) and other work that is 
        critical to an incident investigation in an amount equal to one 
        and one-half times the hourly rate of basic pay of the 
        employee. All of such amount shall be considered to be premium 
        pay.
            (2) Limitation on overtime pay to an employee.--An employee 
        of the Board may not receive overtime pay under paragraph (1), 
        for work performed in a calendar year, in an amount that 
        exceeds 15 percent of the annual rate of basic pay of the 
        employee for such calendar year.
            (3) Limitation on total amount of overtime pay.--The Board 
        may not make overtime payments under paragraph (1) for work 
        performed in any fiscal year in a total amount that exceeds 1.5 
        percent of the amount appropriated to carry out this Act for 
        that fiscal year.
            (4) Basic pay defined.--In this subsection, the term 
        ``basic pay'' includes any applicable locality-based 
        comparability payment under section 5304 of title 5 (or similar 
        provision of law) and any special rate of pay under section 
        5305 of title 5 (or similar provision of law).
            (5) Annual report.--Not later than Sept 30, 2022, the Board 
        shall submit to the House Committees on the Judiciary and 
        Oversight & Reform and Senate Committees on the Judiciary and 
        Homeland Security & Government Affairs a report identifying the 
        total amount of overtime payments made under this subsection in 
        the preceding fiscal year, and the number of employees whose 
        overtime pay under this subsection was limited in that fiscal 
        year as a result of the 15 percent limit established by 
        paragraph (2).
    (h) Investigative Officers.--The Board shall maintain at least 1 
full-time employee in each State located more than 1,000 miles from the 
nearest Board regional office to provide initial investigative response 
to incidents the Board is empowered to investigate under this Act that 
occur in that State.

SEC. 5. DISCLOSURE, AVAILABILITY, AND USE OF INFORMATION.

    (a) General.--
            (1) Public availability.--Except as provided in subsections 
        (b), (c), (d), and (f) of this section, a copy of a record, 
        information, or investigation submitted or received by the 
        Board, or a member or employee of the Board, shall be made 
        available to the public on identifiable request and at 
        reasonable cost. This subsection does not require the release 
        of information described by section 552(b) of title 5 or 
        protected from disclosure by another law of the United States.
            (2) Deposit of receipts.--The Board shall deposit in the 
        Treasury amounts received under paragraph (1) to be credited to 
        the appropriation of the Board as offsetting collections.
            (3) Protection of voluntary submission of information.--
        Notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the Board, 
        nor any agency receiving information from the Board, shall 
        disclose voluntarily provided safety-related information if 
        that information is not related to the exercise of the Board's 
        investigation authority under this Act and if the Board finds 
        that the disclosure of the information would inhibit the 
        voluntary provision of that type of information.
    (b) Training of Board Employees and Others.--The Board may conduct 
training of its employees in those subjects necessary for the proper 
performance of investigations. The Board may also authorize attendance 
at courses given under this subsection by other government personnel, 
personnel of foreign governments, and personnel from industry or 
otherwise who have a requirement for investigation training. The Board 
may require non-Board personnel to reimburse some or all of the 
training costs, and amounts so reimbursed shall be credited to the 
appropriation of the Board as offsetting collections.

SEC. 6. REPORTS AND STUDIES.

    (a) Periodic Reports.--The Board shall report periodically to 
Congress, departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United 
States Government and State and local governmental authorities 
concerned with the misuse of force by public safety departments, and 
other interested persons. The report shall--
            (1) advocate meaningful responses to reduce the likelihood 
        of incidents similar to those investigated by the Board; and
            (2) propose recommendations for adjudication to the local, 
        state and Federal government, as well as the public.
Additionally, if the Board sees fit, it can make a wide-range of 
recommendations for reforms to police procedures, adjustment to local, 
state or federal law, or manufacturing or acquisition changes related 
to the weapons and equipment issued to the police force.
    (b) Studies, Investigations, and Other Reports.--The Board also 
shall--
            (1) carry out special studies and investigations regarding 
        law enforcement oversight;
            (2) examine techniques and methods of police misuse of 
        force investigation and periodically publish recommended 
        procedures for investigations;
            (3) prescribe requirements for persons reporting incidents 
        that--
                    (A) may be investigated by the Board under this 
                Act; or
                    (B) involve public safety departments;
            (4) evaluate, examine the effectiveness of, and publish the 
        findings of the Board about the transportation safety 
        consciousness of other departments, agencies, and 
        instrumentalities of the Government and their effectiveness in 
        preventing such incidents; and
            (5) evaluate the adequacy of safeguards and procedures for 
        the transportation of hazardous material and the performance of 
        other departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the 
        Government responsible for the safe transportation of that 
        material.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT.

    The Board shall submit a report to Congress on July 1 of each year. 
The report shall include--
            (1) a statistical and analytical summary of all 
        investigations conducted and reviewed by the Board during the 
        prior calendar year;
            (2) a survey and summary of the recommendations made by the 
        Board to reduce together with the observed response to each 
        recommendation;
            (3) a detailed appraisal of the investigation and excessive 
        force incident prevention activities of other departments, 
        agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States Government 
        and State and local governmental authorities having 
        responsibility for those activities under a law of the United 
        States or a State; and
            (4) a list of ongoing investigations that have exceeded the 
        expected time allotted for completion by Board order and an 
        explanation for the additional time required to complete each 
        such investigation.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated for the 
purposes of this Act such sums as may be necessary.
    (b) Fees, Refunds, and Reimbursements.--
            (1) In general.--The Board may impose and collect such 
        fees, refunds, and reimbursements as it determines to be 
        appropriate for services provided by or through the Board.
            (2) Receipts credited as offsetting collections.--
        Notwithstanding section 3302 of title 31, any fee, refund, or 
        reimbursement collected under this subsection--
                    (A) shall be credited as offsetting collections to 
                the account that finances the activities and services 
                for which the fee is imposed or with which the refund 
                or reimbursement is associated;
                    (B) shall be available for expenditure only to pay 
                the costs of activities and services for which the fee 
                is imposed or with which the refund or reimbursement is 
                associated; and
                    (C) shall remain available until expended.
            (3) Refunds.--The Board may refund any fee paid by mistake 
        or any amount paid in excess of that required.

SEC. 9. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

    The Board shall investigate or have investigated (in detail the 
Board prescribes) and establish the facts, circumstances, and cause or 
probable cause of--
            (1) deaths in police custody
            (2) officer-involved shootings; or
            (3) uses of force that result in severe bodily injury in 
        police custody.

SEC. 10. INSPECTIONS AND AUTOPSIES.

    (a) Entry and Inspection.--An officer or employee of the Board--
            (1) on display of appropriate credentials and written 
        notice of inspection authority, may enter property where a 
        incident has occurred or evidence from the incident is located 
        and do anything necessary to conduct an investigation; and
            (2) during reasonable hours, may inspect any record, 
        process, control, or facility related to an incident 
        investigation under this Act.
    (b) Inspection, Testing, Preservation, and Moving of Involved 
Weapons.--
            (1) In investigating an incident under this Act, the Board 
        may inspect and test, to the extent necessary, any weapon 
        involved.
            (2) Any weapon involved in an incident shall be preserved, 
        and may be moved, only as provided by regulations of the Board.
    (c) Exclusive Authority of Board.--Only the Board has the authority 
to decide on the way in which testing under this section will be 
conducted, including decisions on the person that will conduct the 
test, the type of test that will be conducted, and any individual who 
will witness the test. Those decisions are committed to the discretion 
of the Board. The Board shall make any of those decisions based on the 
needs of the investigation being conducted and, when applicable, 
subsections (a), (c), and (e) of this section.
    (d) Promptness of Tests and Availability of Results.--An 
inspection, examination, or test under subsection (a) or (c) of this 
section shall be started and completed promptly, and the results shall 
be made available.
    (e) Autopsies.--
            (1) The Board may order an autopsy to be performed and have 
        other tests made when necessary to investigate an incident 
        under this Act. However, local law protecting religious beliefs 
        related to autopsies shall be observed to the extent consistent 
        with the needs of the incident investigation.
            (2) With or without reimbursement, the Board may obtain a 
        copy of an autopsy report performed by a State or local 
        official on an individual who died because of an incident 
        investigated by the Board under this Act.

SEC. 11. RESPONSES TO SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) General.--When the Board submits a recommendation related to 
law enforcement use of force, the recipient shall give a formal written 
response to each recommendation not later than 90 days after receiving 
the recommendation. The response shall indicate whether the recipient 
intends--
            (1) to carry out procedures to adopt the complete 
        recommendation;
            (2) to carry out procedures to adopt a part of the 
        recommendation; or
            (3) to refuse to carry out procedures to adopt the 
        recommendation.
    (b) Timetable for Completing Procedures and Reasons for Refusals.--
A response under subsection (a)(1) or (2) of this section shall include 
a copy of a proposed timetable for completing the procedures. A 
response under subsection (a)(2) of this section shall detail the 
reasons for the refusal to carry out procedures on the remainder of the 
recommendation. A response under subsection (a)(3) of this section 
shall detail the reasons for the refusal to carry out procedures.
    (c) Public Availability.--The Board shall make a copy of each 
recommendation and response available to the public.
    (d) Reporting Requirements.--
            (1) Annual secretarial regulatory status reports.--On 
        February 1 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit a 
        report to Congress and the Board containing the regulatory 
        status of each recommendation made by the Board that is on the 
        Board's ``most wanted list''. The Attorney General shall 
        continue to report on the status of each such recommendation in 
        the report due on February 1 of subsequent years.
            (2) Failure to report.--If on March 1 of each year the 
        Board has not received the Attorney General's report required 
        by this subsection, the Board shall notify the Committee on the 
        Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        the Judiciary of the Senate of the Attorney General's failure 
        to submit the required report.
            (3) Compliance report with recommendations.--Within 90 days 
        after the date on which the Attorney General submits a report 
        under this subsection, the Board shall review the Attorney 
        General's report and transmit comments on the report to the 
        Attorney General, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, 
        and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
        Representatives.

SEC. 12. ASSISTANCE TO CIVILIANS AND FAMILIES OF CIVILIANS OF INCIDENTS 
              UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE BOARD.

    (a) In General.--As soon as practicable after being notified of an 
incident within the United States involving the loss of life or serious 
injury to a civilian resulting from an interaction with law enforcement 
officers the Chairman of the Board shall--
            (1) designate and publicize the name and phone number of a 
        director of family support services who shall be an employee of 
        the Board and shall be responsible for acting as a point of 
        contact within the Federal Government for civilians and the 
        families of civilians involved in the incident; and
            (2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with 
        experience in post trauma communication with civilians and 
        families, which shall have primary responsibility for 
        coordinating the emotional care and support of civilians or the 
        families of civilians involved in the incident.
    (b) Responsibilities of Designated Organization.--The organization 
designated for an incident under subsection (a)(2) shall have the 
following responsibilities with respect to the civilians and families 
of civilians involved in the incident:
            (1) To provide mental health and counseling services.
            (2) To take such actions as may be necessary to provide an 
        environment in which the civilians and families may grieve in 
        private.
            (3) To meet with the families who have traveled to the 
        location of the incident, to contact the families unable to 
        travel to such location, and to contact all affected civilians 
        and families periodically thereafter until such time as the 
        organization, in consultation with the director of family 
        support services designated for the incident under subsection 
        (a)(1), determines that further assistance is no longer needed.
            (4) To communicate with the civilians families as to the 
        roles of the organization, government agencies, and parties 
        involved with respect to the incident and the post-incident 
        activities.
    (c) Continuing Responsibilities of the Board.--In the course of its 
investigation described in subsection (a), the Board shall, to the 
maximum extent practicable, ensure that the families of individuals 
involved--
            (1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, about the 
        incident and any other findings from the investigation; and
            (2) are individually informed of and allowed to attend any 
        public hearings and meetings of the Board about the incident.
    (d) Prohibited Actions.--
            (1) Actions to impede the board.--No person (including a 
        State or political subdivision) may impede the ability of the 
        Board (including the director of family support services 
        designated for an incident under subsection (a)(1)), or an 
        organization designated for an incident under subsection 
        (a)(2), to carry out its responsibilities under this section or 
        the ability of the families of those involved in the accident 
        to have contact with one another.
            (2) Prohibition on actions to prevent mental health and 
        counseling services.--No State or political subdivision thereof 
        may prevent the employees, agents, or volunteers of an 
        organization designated for an incident under subsection (a)(2) 
        from providing mental health and counseling services under 
        subsection (c)(1) in the 30-day period beginning on the date of 
        the incident. The director of family support services 
        designated for the incident under subsection (a)(1) may extend 
        such period for not to exceed an additional 30 days if the 
        director determines that the extension is necessary to meet the 
        needs of the families and if State and local authorities are 
        notified of the determination.
    (e) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed as limiting the actions that a law enforcement department or 
local unit of government may take, or the obligations that an such 
department or unit of local government may have, in providing 
assistance to the civilian who is injured or a family member of 
civilian who is killed resulting from an interaction with law 
enforcement officers.
    (f) Relinquishment of Investigative Priority.--
            (1) General rule.--This section (other than subsection (g)) 
        shall not apply to an incident involving use of force by a law 
        enforcement officer if the Board has relinquished investigative 
        priority and the Federal agency to which the Board relinquished 
        investigative priority is willing and able to provide 
        assistance to the victims and families involved in the 
        incident.
            (2) Board assistance.--If this section does not apply to an 
        incident involving use of force by a law enforcement officer 
        because the Board has relinquished investigative priority with 
        respect to the accident, the Board shall assist, to the maximum 
        extent possible, the agency to which the Board has relinquished 
        investigative priority in assisting families with respect to 
        the accident.

SEC. 13. AUTHORITY OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

    (a) In General.--The Inspector General of the Department of 
Justice, in accordance with the mission of the Inspector General to 
prevent and detect fraud and abuse, shall have authority to review only 
the financial management, property management, and business operations 
of the Board, including internal accounting and administrative control 
systems, to determine compliance with applicable Federal laws, rules, 
and regulations.
    (b) Duties.--In carrying out this section, the Inspector General 
shall--
            (1) keep the Chairman of the Board and Congress fully and 
        currently informed about problems relating to administration of 
        the internal accounting and administrative control systems of 
        the Board;
            (2) issue findings and recommendations for actions to 
        address such problems; and
            (3) report periodically to Congress on any progress made in 
        implementing actions to address such problems.
    (c) Access to Information.--In carrying out this section, the 
Inspector General may exercise authorities granted to the Inspector 
General under subsections (a) and (b) of section 6 of the Inspector 
General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.).
    (d) Authorizations of Appropriations.--
            (1) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Attorney General for use by the Inspector General of the 
        Department of Justice such sums as may be necessary to cover 
        expenses associated with activities pursuant to the authority 
        exercised under this section.
            (2) Reimbursable agreement.--In the absence of an 
        appropriation under this subsection for an expense referred to 
        in paragraph (1), the Inspector General and the Board shall 
        have a reimbursable agreement to cover such expense.

SEC. 14. EVALUATION AND AUDIT OF BOARD.

    (a) In General.--To promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness 
in the administration of the programs, operations, and activities of 
the Board, the Comptroller General of the United States shall evaluate 
and audit the programs and expenditures of the Board. Such evaluation 
and audit shall be conducted at least annually, but may be conducted as 
determined necessary by the Comptroller General or the appropriate 
congressional committees.
    (b) Responsibility of Comptroller General.--The Comptroller General 
shall evaluate and audit Board programs, operations, and activities, 
including--
            (1) information management and security, including privacy 
        protection of personally identifiable information;
            (2) resource management;
            (3) workforce development;
            (4) procurement and contracting planning, practices and 
        policies;
            (5) the extent to which the Board follows leading practices 
        in selected management areas; and
            (6) the extent to which the Board addresses management 
        challenges in completing incident investigations.
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees.--For purposes of this 
section the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 15. DISCOVERY AND USE OF RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS.

    (a) Transcripts and Recordings.--
            (1) Except as provided by this subsection, a party in a 
        judicial proceeding may not use discovery to obtain any part of 
        a recording from a body camera used by a law enforcement 
        officer or a vehicle-mounted camera.
            (2)(A) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a 
        court may allow discovery by a party of a recording if the 
        court determines that discovery of the recording is necessary 
        to provide the party with sufficient information for the party 
        to receive a fair trial.
            (B) A court may allow discovery, or require production for 
        an in camera review, of a transcript of a recording only if the 
        recording is not available.
            (3)(A) When a court allows discovery in a judicial 
        proceeding of a part of a transcript or recording not otherwise 
        made available to the public the court shall issue a protective 
        order--
                    (i) to limit the use of the part of the transcript 
                or the recording to the judicial proceeding; and
                    (ii) to prohibit dissemination of the part of the 
                transcript or the recording to any person that does not 
                need access to the part of the transcript or the 
                recording for the proceeding.
            (B) A court may allow a part of a transcript or recording 
        to be admitted into evidence in a judicial proceeding, only if 
        the court places the part of the transcript or the recording 
        under seal to prevent the use of the part of the transcript or 
        the recording for purposes other than for the proceeding.
            (4) This subsection does not prevent the Board from 
        referring at any time to a recording in making safety 
        recommendations.
            (5) In this subsection:
                    (A) Recorder.--The term ``recorder'' means a voice 
                or video recorder.
                    (B) Transcript.--The term ``transcript'' includes 
                any written depiction of visual information obtained 
                from a video recorder.
    (b) Reports.--No part of a report of the Board, related to an 
incident or an investigation of an incident, may be admitted into 
evidence or used in a civil action for damages resulting from a matter 
mentioned in the report.

SEC. 16. ENFORCEMENT.

     At any time, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Divisions can 
open a Pattern-or-Practice Investigation, citing the lack of progress 
on the impelmentation of recommendations by a recipient as possible 
evidence of a systematic pattern of abuse, and take direct enforcement 
action if needed.

SEC. 17. GRANT ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) General Requirements.--For each fiscal year after the 
expiration of the period specified in subsection (d) in which a State 
or unit of local government receives a grant under part E of title I of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 
et seq.), the State or unit of local government shall conform their 
laws as follows:
            (1) Any findings or recommendations issued by the Board 
        will be admissible in criminal or civil court procedures 
        regarding an incident of violence by a law enforcement officer.
            (2) If prosecution or a civil case moves forward against 
        the police officer or officers in question, the findings of the 
        Board may be presented to the jury.
            (3) Additionally, any police department, locality or state 
        government that has received reform recommendations from the 
        Board shall submit a report to the Board and to Congress one 
        calendar year later detailing the actions it has taken on the 
        matter, and will continue to report yearly so long as any 
        recommendations remain open.
    (b) Compliance and Ineligibility.--
            (1) Compliance date.--Beginning on the first full fiscal 
        year after the date of enactment of this Act, each State or 
        unit of local government referred to in subsection (a) 
        receiving a grant shall comply with subsection (a), except that 
        the Attorney General may grant an additional 60 days to a State 
        or unit of local government that is making good faith efforts 
        to comply with such subsection.
            (2) Ineligibility for funds.--For any fiscal year after the 
        expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), a State or 
        unit of local government that fails to comply with subsection 
        (a), shall, at the discretion of the Attorney General, be 
        subject to a reduction of the funds that would otherwise be 
        allocated for that fiscal year to the State under subpart 1 of 
        part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
        Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), whether characterized as 
        the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement 
        Assistance Programs, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block 
        Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance 
        Grant Program, or otherwise of not less than 1 percent and not 
        more than 10 percent.
    (c) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated under a program referred 
to in subsection (b)(2) to a State for failure to fully comply with 
subsection (a) shall be reallocated under that program to States that 
have not failed to comply with such subsection.
                                 <all>