H.R. 3653 · 114th Congress
Help Find the Missing Act
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 114th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
PoeSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 D
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ), through the National Institute of Justice, to maintain public databases, known as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), of missing persons and unidentified remains.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Sep 30, 2015
Billy's Law or the Help Find the Missing Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ), through the National Institute of Justice, to maintain public databases, known as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), of missing persons and unidentified remains.
It requires DOJ to facilitate information sharing between the NamUs databases and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. DOJ must update the online data entry format to allow criminal justice agencies, medical examiners, and coroners to simultaneously submit information to NamUs and NCIC. DOJ must also promulgate rules that protect confidential, private, and law enforcement sensitive information.
The bill amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require a law enforcement agency that submits a missing child report to NCIC to also submit such missing child report to NamUs.
It directs DOJ to establish a program to award matching grants to law enforcement agencies, coroners, and medical examiners to facilitate information reporting to the NCIC database and NamUs databases to help locate missing persons and identify unidentified remains.
DOJ must report: (1) to medical examiners, coroners, and law enforcement agencies on best practices for data collection and analysis; and (2) to Congress on the status of the NCIC database and NamUs databases.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Help Find the Missing Act
Also known as: Billy's Law
Latest action (Nov 3, 2015): Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement · Origin: House · Introduced: Sep 30, 2015
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.