Help Find the Missing Act

Bill: 113-hr-5519
Sponsor: Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]
Introduced: 2014-09-17 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Congressional oversight
Crimes against children
Criminal justice information and records
Department of Justice
Evidence and witnesses
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Law enforcement administration and funding

Summary:
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: 
Billy's Law or the Help Find the Missing Act - Authorizes the Attorney General, through the Director of the National Institute of Justice, to maintain public databases containing missing persons records and unidentified remains cases, to be known as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System or NamUs, for purposes of assisting in identifying missing people and solving cases of unidentified human remains. Transfers all functions, personnel, assets, liabilities, and actions applicable to such System before enactment of this Act to such System as authorized by this Act. Authorizes appropriations for such System for FY2015-FY2020.
 
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a study on: (1) how to better integrate the national missing persons databases, including the NamUs databases and the NCIC database; (2) any technical challenges for integrating such databases; and (3) practices, procedures, or technologies that would assist states, local law enforcement agencies, medical examiners, and coroners in reporting missing persons and unidentified remains to the NamUs databases and the NCIC database.
 
Requires the Attorney General to: (1) provide for information on missing persons and unidentified human remains contained in the NCIC database to be transmitted to, entered in, and shared with the NamUs databases and vice versa; (2) promulgate rules that specify the information the Attorney General may provide from the NCIC files to the NamUs databases while protecting confidential information; and (3) update the online data entry format for the NCIC database and the NamUs databases to provide state criminal justice agencies, medical examiners, and coroners with the option to authorize the submission of new data that is reported to and entered into the NCIC database to the NamUs databases.
 
Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require the updating and reporting of missing children information to the NamUs databases.
 
Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a program to provide grants to qualifying law enforcement agencies, coroners, medical examiners, and other authorized agencies to facilitate reporting information regarding missing persons and unidentified remains to the NCIC database and the NamUs databases; and (2) issue a report to medical examiners, coroners, and law enforcement agencies describing the best practices for the collection, reporting, and analysis of such information.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-10-28
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2014-09-17
text: Introduced in House