1. SEARCH Mid-Year Meeting Federal Legislative Briefing
Robert R. Belair
SEARCH General Counsel
January 28, 2005
St. Petersburg, Florida

2. Criminal Justice Funding
FY 2005 CJS Appropriation provides level funding with some decreases
The Conference Report includes the following:
Byrne Discretionary Grants: $170 million
Byrne Formula Grants: $634 million
COPS: $606 million
COPS Technologies: $138.6 million
DNA Backlog: $110 million
Weed and Seed: $62 million
CITA: $28.45 million
Robert R. Belair

3. Criminal Justice Funding
BJS: $34 million
NIJ: $55 million
RISS: $40 million
LLEBG: zeroed out, merged into Byrne
Missing Children: $46.9 million
NCHIP: $25 million
White Collar Crime: $9 million
Offender Reentry: $10 million
Interoperable Communications: $100 million
Global Justice Info Sharing Initiative: $10.5 million
Robert R. Belair

4. Criminal Justice Funding
SEARCH received its first ever decrease, from $2.0 million to $1.75 million
Number of Byrne earmarks jumped from about 100 earmarks in ’04 to 238 earmarks in ’05
Number of “national earmarks” jumped from 20 to 54
Technology related earmarks reduced in Byrne to less than 10%
Robert R. Belair

5. Criminal Justice Funding
Little or no growth is expected for ’06 Justice Assistance funding
Earmarking is expected to continue to explode
Block grant funding is expected to decrease
Robert R. Belair

6. Homeland Security Funding
In October, Congress approved the DHS appropriations bill
The bill includes:
ODP discretionary grants: $3.086 billion
ODP formula grants: $1.1 billion
Terrorism grants: $400 million
Robert R. Belair

7. Homeland Security Funding
High-threat area grants: $885 million
Firefighter grants: $715 million
Information analysis and infrastructure protection grants: $761.6 million
Robert R. Belair

8. Homeland Security Funding
Passenger screening: $1.45 billion
US-VISIT: $340 million
Information technology investment and enhancement: $208 million
Robert R. Belair

9. Background Check Legislation
On December 17th, the Congress enacted S (H.R. 10), the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
Extends the Protect Act’s pilots and study for National Child Protection Act background checks for another 12 months (until the fall of 2005)
Robert R. Belair

10. Background Check Legislation
Enacts private security officer background legislation:
Private security industry authorized to submit fingerprints to the ID Bureau in a participating state in which the employer is located for a state and national criminal record background check
All states deemed to be “participating states” unless the state adopts a law opting-out or the governor issues an order opting-out
All participating states are permitted to assess “reasonable fees”
Robert R. Belair

11. Background Check Legislation
As originally introduced in the House, H.R. 10 would have permitted any employer, with state authorization, to obtain access to IAFIS for background checking
As amended in the House, H.R. 10 would have required the Attorney General to conduct a pilot to test the feasibility of employer access to IAFIS
Robert R. Belair

12. Background Check Legislation
As adopted in conference, S requires the Attorney General to conduct a comprehensive study of criminal background check issues. The study must address:
All statutory requirements for criminal history record checks that are required to be conducted by the Department of Justice
The effectiveness and efficiency of utilizing commercially available databases as a supplement to IAFIS checks
Any security concerns created by the existence of these commercially available databases
The effectiveness of utilizing state databases
Robert R. Belair

13. Background Check Legislation
Any feasibility studies by the Department of Justice regarding the resources and structures to establish a system to provide criminal history information
Privacy rights and other employee protections
The scope and means of processing background checks for private employers utilizing data maintained by the FBI in cases where the authority for such checks is not available at the state level
Any restrictions that should be placed on the ability of an employer to charge an employee or applicant for the check
Robert R. Belair

14. Background Check Legislation
Requirements that should apply to the handling of incomplete records
The circumstances under which the actual criminal history record (rap sheet) should be disseminated by the employer
The type of restrictions that should be imposed concerning response times
Any infrastructure that may need to be developed to support these checks, including the means by which information and fingerprints are collected and submitted and the system capacity needed to process such checks at the federal and state level
Robert R. Belair

15. Background Check Legislation
The Attorney General has only six months to complete the study
After six months, the Attorney General must file a report with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees conveying recommendations for “improving, standardizing, and consolidating the existing statutory authorization, programs and procedures for the conduct of criminal history record checks for non-criminal justice purposes”
Robert R. Belair

16. Background Check Legislation
In conducting this study, the Act requires the Attorney General to consult with “representatives of state criminal history repositories, the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council, appropriate representatives of private industry, and representatives of labor, as determined by the Attorney General”
Robert R. Belair

17. Background Check Legislation
DOJ study under way at the same time as nearly identical SEARCH/BJS Task Force Study and Report
Explosion in backgrounding and 9/11 concerns are motivating Congress to comprehensively reform the CHRI background check process
Robert R. Belair

18. Background Check Legislation
Congress came close to acting preemptively and definitively last year
May be late in ‘05 or ‘06 before Congress becomes fully engaged
Robert R. Belair

19. DOJ Reauthorization March 31, 2004: House passed H.R. 3036
Eliminates most OJP discretionary grant programs; merged these programs into new state and local block grant programs
Partially reorganizes OJP including an Office of Applied Law Enforcement Technology to “provide leadership and focus to those grants of the Department …for…using or improving law enforcement computer systems.”
Robert R. Belair

20. DOJ Reauthorization
Creates a Community Capacity Development Office within OJP
Promotes coordination of public and private efforts and resources
Provides information, training and technical assistance
Provides support for inter- and intra-agency task forces
Robert R. Belair

21. DOJ Reauthorization
Reauthorizes COPS but effectively merges OJP and COPS
Strengthens BJS’ responsibility for criminal history improvement; NICS improvement; and state participation in national CHRI programs
Eliminates BJA
Reauthorizes Crime Identification Technology Act (CITA)
Robert R. Belair

22. DOJ Reauthorization
Creates a permanent Office of Weed and Seed Strategies
Requires states to upload to CODIS the DNA of all persons convicted of a violent felony
Creates anti-terrorism training grants for state and local law enforcement
Strips DOJ of authority to reorganize OJP without first obtaining congressional authorization
Robert R. Belair

23. DOJ Reauthorization
Senate bill, S. 2863, introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on Sept. 29, 2004
Robert R. Belair

24. DOJ Reauthorization
Includes express language authorizing SEARCH’s National Technical Assistance and Training Program
Sec SEARCH, THE NATIONAL CONSORTIUM FOR JUSTICE INFORMATION AND STATISTICS.
(a) IN GENERAL.- Pursuant to subpart 1o of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance shall make grants to SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, to carry out the operations of the National Technical Assistance and Training Program operated by SEARCH under the direction of the Office of Justice Programs.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. – There are authorized to be appropriated in each of fiscal years 2005, 2006 and 2007, $4,000,000 to carry out this section.
Robert R. Belair

25. DOJ Reauthorization
Senate bill does not include most of House OJP reorganization provisions
Merges Byrne formula and Local Law Enforcement block grants
Enhances BJS authority for NCHIP and integrated CHRI system authority
Provides authorization for NCPC (McGruff) with a 30% match
Provides authorization for Boys and Girls Clubs
Robert R. Belair

26. NICS Legislation
Bills introduced in 10th Congress aimed at forcing states to report to NICS
Mental health
Misdemeanor domestic violence
Felony dispositions
“Carrot and stick” approach, including a $250 million grant program
Broad agreement that NICS needs improvement. Wide fear of bringing gun legislation to floor.
Robert R. Belair

27. Other Legislative Issues
FBI computer systems
Uniform biometric
Breeder documents
Computer security
Immigration reform
Offender reentry
Access to court records and public records
Data mining and Matrix
Robert R. Belair