Savanna’s Act

IB Union Calendar No. 408 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 2733 [Report No. 116–508, Part I] To direct the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to address missing and murdered Indi- ans, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 14, 2019 Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. GALLEGO, Ms. DAVIDS of Kansas, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. COLE, Mr. ARM- STRONG, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. YOUNG, Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire, Ms. BASS, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. BONAMICI, Ms. MOORE, Mr. RUIZ, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. STANTON, Mr. COOK, and Ms. SEWELL of Alabama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 Additional sponsors: Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. KILMER, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. STEWART, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. BACON, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio, Ms. HERRERA BEUTLER, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. FULCHER, Mr. COX of California, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. HECK, Mr. CROW, Ms. MUCARSEL-POWELL, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. TRONE, Ms. ROYBAL- ALLARD, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. KIND, Ms. OMAR, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. COOPER, and Ms. TLAIB VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2733 RH SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 Reported from the Committee on the Judiciary with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] SEPTEMBER 16, 2020 Committee on Natural Resources discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on May 14, 2019] A BILL To direct the Attorney General to review, revise, and develop law enforcement and justice protocols appropriate to ad- dress missing and murdered Indians, and for other pur- poses. VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2733 RH Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as ‘‘Savanna’s Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 5 The purposes of this Act are— 6 (1) to clarify the responsibilities of Federal, 7 State, Tribal, and local law enforcement agencies 8 with respect to responding to cases of missing or mur- 9 dered Indians; 10 (2) to increase coordination and communication 11 among Federal, State, Tribal, and local law enforce- 12 ment agencies, including medical examiner and cor- 13 oner offices; 14 (3) to empower Tribal governments with the re- 15 sources and information necessary to effectively re- 16 spond to cases of missing or murdered Indians; and 17 (4) to increase the collection of data related to 18 missing or murdered Indian men, women, and chil- 19 dren, regardless of where they reside, and the sharing 20 of information among Federal, State, and Tribal offi- 21 cials responsible for responding to and investigating 22 cases of missing or murdered Indians. 23 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 24 In this Act: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2733 RH (1) CONFER.—The term ‘‘confer’’ has the mean- 1 ing given the term in section 514 of the Indian 2 Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1660d). 3 (2) DATABASES.—The term ‘‘databases’’ 4 means— 5 (A) the National Crime Information Center 6 database; 7 (B) the Combined DNA Index System; 8 (C) the Next Generation Identification Sys- 9 tem; and 10 (D) any other database relevant to respond- 11 ing to cases of missing or murdered Indians, in- 12 cluding that under the Violent Criminal Appre- 13 hension Program and the National Missing and 14 Unidentified Persons System. 15 (3) INDIAN.—The term ‘‘Indian’’ means a mem- 16 ber of an Indian Tribe. 17 (4) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun- 18 try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151 19 of title 18, United States Code. 20 (5) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian land’’ 21 means Indian lands, as defined in section 3 of the 22 Native American Business Development, Trade Pro- 23 motion, and Tourism Act of 2000 (25 U.S.C. 4302). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2733 RH (6) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 1 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in sec- 2 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 3 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 4 (7) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term 5 ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means a Tribal, Federal, 6 State, or local law enforcement agency. 7 SEC. 4. IMPROVING TRIBAL ACCESS TO DATABASES. 8 (a) TRIBAL ENROLLMENT INFORMATION.—The Attor- 9 ney General shall provide training to law enforcement agen- 10 cies regarding how to record the Tribal enrollment informa- 11 tion or affiliation, as appropriate, of a victim in Federal 12 databases. 13 (b) CONSULTATION.— 14 (1) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 180 days 15 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 16 General, in cooperation with the Secretary of the In- 17 terior, shall complete a formal consultation with In- 18 dian Tribes on how to further improve Tribal data 19 relevance and access to databases. 20 (2) INITIAL CONFER.—Not later than 180 days 21 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 22 General, in coordination with the Secretary of the In- 23 terior, shall confer with Tribal organizations and 24 urban Indian organizations on how to further im- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2733 RH prove American Indian and Alaska Native data rel- 1 evance and access to databases. 2 (3) ANNUAL CONSULTATION.—Section 903(b) of 3 the Violence Against Women and Department of Jus- 4 tice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (34 U.S.C. 20126(b)) 5 is amended— 6 (A) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 7 the following: 8 ‘‘(2) enhancing the safety of Indian women from 9 domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 10 homicide, stalking, and sex trafficking;’’; 11 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period 12 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(4) improving access to local, regional, State, 15 and Federal crime information databases and crimi- 16 nal justice information systems.’’. 17 (c) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 18 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall— 19 (1) develop and implement a dissemination 20 strategy to educate the public of the National Missing 21 and Unidentified Persons System; and 22 (2) conduct specific outreach to Indian Tribes, 23 Tribal organizations, and urban Indian organiza- 24 tions regarding the ability to publicly enter informa- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2733 RH tion, through the National Missing and Unidentified 1 Persons System or other non-law enforcement sen- 2 sitive portal, regarding missing persons, which may 3 include family members and other known acquaint- 4 ances. 5 SEC. 5. GUIDELINES FOR RESPONDING TO CASES OF MISS- 6 ING OR MURDERED INDIANS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 8 date on which the consultation described in section 4(b)(1) 9 is completed, the Attorney General shall direct United 10 States attorneys to develop regionally appropriate guide- 11 lines to respond to cases of missing or murdered Indians 12 that shall include— 13 (1) guidelines on inter-jurisdictional cooperation 14 among law enforcement agencies at the Tribal, Fed- 15 eral, State, and local levels, including inter-jurisdic- 16 tional enforcement of protection orders and detailing 17 specific responsibilities of each law enforcement agen- 18 cy; 19 (2) best practices in conducting searches for 20 missing persons on and off Indian land; 21 (3) standards on the collection, reporting, and 22 analysis of data and information on missing persons 23 and unidentified human remains, and information on 24 culturally appropriate identification and handling of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2733 RH human remains identified as Indian, including guid- 1 ance stating that all appropriate information related 2 to missing or murdered Indians be entered in a time- 3 ly manner into applicable databases; 4 (4) guidance on which law enforcement agency is 5 responsible for inputting information into appro- 6 priate databases under paragraph (3) if the Tribal 7 law enforcement agency does not have access to those 8 appropriate databases; 9 (5) guidelines on improving law enforcement 10 agency response rates and follow-up responses to cases 11 of missing or murdered Indians; and 12 (6) guidelines on ensuring access to culturally 13 appropriate victim services for victims and their fam- 14 ilies. 15 (b) CONSULTATION.—United States attorneys shall de- 16 velop the guidelines required under subsection (a) in con- 17 sultation with Indian Tribes and other relevant partners, 18 including— 19 (1) the Department of Justice; 20 (2) the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 21 (3) the Department of the Interior; 22 (4) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 23 (5) Tribal, State, and local law enforcement 24 agencies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2733 RH (6) medical examiners; 1 (7) coroners; 2 (8) Tribal, State, and local organizations that 3 provide victim services; and 4 (9) national, regional, or urban Indian organi- 5 zations with relevant expertise. 6 (c) COMPLIANCE.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 8 the date of enactment of this Act, the United States 9 attorneys shall implement, by incorporating into of- 10 fice policies and procedures, the guidelines developed 11 under subsection (a). 12 (2) MODIFICATION.—Each Federal law enforce- 13 ment agency shall modify the guidelines, policies, and 14 protocols of the agency to incorporate the guidelines 15 developed under subsection (a). 16 (3) DETERMINATION.—Not later than the end of 17 each fiscal year beginning after the date the guide- 18 lines are established under this section and incor- 19 porated under this subsection, upon the request of a 20 Tribal, State, or local law enforcement agency, the At- 21 torney General shall determine whether the Tribal, 22 State, or local law enforcement agency seeking rec- 23 ognition of compliance has incorporated guidelines 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2733 RH into their respective guidelines, policies, and proto- 1 cols. 2 (d) ACCOUNTABILITY.—Not later than 30 days after 3 compliance determinations are made each fiscal year in ac- 4 cordance with subsection (c)(3), the Attorney General 5 shall— 6 (1) disclose and publish, including on the website 7 of the Department of Justice, the name of each Tribal, 8 State, or local law enforcement agency that the Attor- 9 ney General has determined has incorporated guide- 10 lines in accordance with subsection (c)(3); 11 (2) disclose and publish, including on the website 12 of the Department of Justice, the name of each Tribal, 13 State, or local law enforcement agency that has re- 14 quested a determination in accordance with sub- 15 section (c)(3) that is pending; 16 (3) collect the guidelines into a resource of exam- 17 ples and best practices that can be used by other law 18 enforcement agencies seeking to create and implement 19 such guidelines. 20 (e) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The At- 21 torney General shall use the National Indian Country 22 Training Initiative to provide training and technical as- 23 sistance to Indian Tribes and law enforcement agencies 24 on— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2733 RH (1) implementing the guidelines developed under 1 subsection (a) or developing and implementing locally 2 specific guidelines or protocols for responding to cases 3 of missing or murdered Indians; and 4 (2) using the National Missing and Unidentified 5 Persons System and accessing program services that 6 will assist Indian Tribes with responding to cases of 7 missing or murdered Indians. 8 (f) GUIDELINES FROM INDIAN TRIBES.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Indian Tribes may submit 10 their own guidelines to respond to cases of missing or 11 murdered Indians to the Attorney General. 12 (2) PUBLICATION.—Upon receipt of any guide- 13 lines from an Indian Tribe, the Attorney General 14 shall publish the guidelines on the website of the De- 15 partment of Justice in 1 centralized location to make 16 the guidelines available as a resource to any Federal 17 agency, State, or Tribal government. 18 SEC. 6. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 19 (a) ANNUAL REPORTING.—Beginning in the first fis- 20 cal year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney 21 General shall include in its annual Indian Country Inves- 22 tigations and Prosecutions report to Congress information 23 that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Sep 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2733.RH H2733 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2733 RH (1) includes known statistics on missing Indians 1 in the United States, available to the Department of 2 Justice, including— 3 (A) age; 4 (B) gender; 5 (C) Tribal enrollment information or affili- 6 ation, if available; 7 (D) the current number of open cases per 8 State; 9 (E) the total number of closed cases per 10 State each calendar year, from the most recent 11 10 calendar years; and 12 (F) other r [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]