119-hr3652

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3652 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 3652

 To establish the National Police Misuse of Force Investigation Board, 
 and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 May 29, 2025

Ms. Omar (for herself, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Norton, and Mr. 
 McGovern) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently 
 determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 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 2025''.

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 September 30, 2026, the 
 Board shall submit to the House Committees on the Judiciary and 
 Oversight and Government Reform and Senate Committees on the 
 Judiciary and Homeland Security and Governmental 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 postincident 
 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.
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