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S 2840 113th Congress Senate Crime and Law Enforcement 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

Billy's Law

Introduced: September 17, 2014 Introduced by: Murphy, Christopher Democratic · Connecticut See on congress.gov
 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Sep 17, 2014
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sep 17, 2014
Introduced in Senate
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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.

What's happening now September 17, 2014

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1