Forensic Science Research and Standards Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4568 To facilitate the development and distribution of forensic science standards by establishing in the National Institute of Standards and Technology the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 Mr. WICKER (for himself and Ms. CANTWELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To facilitate the development and distribution of forensic science standards by establishing in the National Insti- tute of Standards and Technology the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science, and for other purposes. 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 the ‘‘Forensic Science Re- 4 search and Standards Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4568 IS (1) In 2009, the National Research Council 1 published a report entitled ‘‘Strengthening Forensic 2 Science in the United States: A Path Forward’’, 3 which provided a roadmap for the future of forensics 4 research. 5 (2) The Federal Government, forensic science 6 community, the research community, and the legal 7 community have taken steps to move the field of fo- 8 rensic science forward since the release of this re- 9 port. 10 (3) There are still scientific advances to be 11 made to bring further rigor to the forensic analyses 12 used in courts across the United States. 13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 14 In this Act: 15 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 16 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 17 gress’’ means— 18 (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 19 and Transportation of the Senate; and 20 (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 21 Technology of the House of Representatives. 22 (2) BOARD.—The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Fo- 23 rensic Science Standards Board established under 24 section 5(b)(1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4568 IS (3) FORENSIC SCIENCE.—The term ‘‘forensic 1 science’’ refers to the application of scientific or 2 technical practices to the recognition, collection, 3 analysis, and interpretation of evidence to establish 4 opinions, facts, and findings that can be used for 5 criminal and civil law or regulatory purposes. 6 (4) FORENSIC SCIENCE COMMUNITY.—The 7 term ‘‘forensic science community’’ means forensic 8 science practitioners, agencies, and service providers, 9 forensic medicolegal death investigators, medical ex- 10 aminers or coroners, agencies, and service providers, 11 various scientists, and forensic organizational mem- 12 bers with applied scientific and technical knowledge 13 of and proximity to the area of forensic science. 14 (5) FORENSIC SCIENCE PRACTITIONER.—The 15 term ‘‘forensic science practitioner’’ means an indi- 16 vidual who— 17 (A) applies scientific or technical practices 18 to the recognition, collection, analysis, or inter- 19 pretation of evidence for criminal and civil law 20 or regulatory purposes; and 21 (B) issues test results, provides reports, or 22 provides interpretations, conclusions, or opin- 23 ions through testimony with respect to such evi- 24 dence. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4568 IS (6) ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘Organization’’ 1 means the Organization of Scientific Area Commit- 2 tees for Forensic Science established under section 3 5(a)(1). 4 (7) NONGOVERNMENTAL STANDARDS DEVELOP- 5 MENT ORGANIZATIONS.—The term ‘‘nongovern- 6 mental standards development organization’’ means 7 a standards developing organization as defined in 8 section 2(e) of Office of Management and Budget 9 Circular A–119 (relating to Federal participation in 10 the development and use of voluntary consensus 11 standards in conformity assessment activities), or 12 any successor document. 13 SEC. 4. NATIONAL FORENSIC SCIENCE RESEARCH COORDI- 14 NATION AND STRATEGY. 15 (a) INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON FORENSIC 16 SCIENCE.— 17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director of the Of- 18 fice of Science and Technology Policy shall establish 19 an interagency working group (referred to in this 20 section as the ‘‘Working Group’’) for the purpose of 21 developing a research strategy for forensic science. 22 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 23 (A) COMPOSITION.—The Working Group 24 shall be composed of members as follows: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4568 IS (i) One or more members selected by 1 the Director of the National Science Foun- 2 dation as the Director of the National 3 Science Foundation considers appropriate. 4 (ii) One or more members selected by 5 the Director of the National Institute of 6 Standards and Technology as the Director 7 of the National Institute of Standards and 8 Technology considers appropriate. 9 (iii) One or more members selected by 10 the Attorney General as the Attorney Gen- 11 eral considers appropriate, which shall in- 12 clude a representative with expertise in 13 conducting scientific research. 14 (iv) One or more members selected by 15 the Director of the Office of Science and 16 Technology Policy as the Director con- 17 siders appropriate. 18 (v) Such additional members from 19 such other Federal agencies responsible for 20 conducting forensic science research or 21 that have expertise in conducting and 22 funding scientific research as the Director 23 of the Office of Science and Technology 24 Policy considers appropriate. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4568 IS (B) REQUIREMENT.—Each member of the 1 Working Group appointed under subparagraph 2 (A) shall be an employee of the Federal Govern- 3 ment. 4 (3) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Working Group 6 shall select a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson 7 from among the members of the Working 8 Group. 9 (B) TERM.—The terms of the Chairperson 10 and the Vice Chairperson of the Working Group 11 shall each be for periods of 2 years. 12 (C) ROTATING BASIS.—After the initial 13 terms of the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson 14 of the Working Group, such positions shall be 15 filled on a rotating basis from the members of 16 the Working group for successive 2-year terms. 17 (4) RESEARCH STRATEGY.— 18 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 19 after the date of the enactment of this Act and 20 not less frequently than once every 2 years 21 thereafter until the termination of the Working 22 Group, the Working Group shall publish a re- 23 search strategy for the Federal Government on 24 forensic science. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4568 IS (B) CONTENTS.—The strategy required by 1 subparagraph (A) shall include the following: 2 (i) Specification of priority areas, in- 3 cluding specific milestones and objectives 4 as appropriate, for the short-term and 5 long-term research necessary— 6 (I) to enhance the validity and 7 reliability of forensic science dis- 8 ciplines, including emerging dis- 9 ciplines; and 10 (II) to provide the scientific basis 11 for the development and updating of 12 forensic science standards pursuant to 13 section 5. 14 (ii) A description of the role of each 15 relevant Federal agency in supporting the 16 specific areas of research identified under 17 clause (i). 18 (iii) A description of common metrics 19 and other evaluation criteria that will be 20 used to assess progress toward achieving 21 the priorities, milestones, and objectives 22 identified under clause (i), consistent with 23 the mission of each Federal agency speci- 24 fied under clause (ii). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4568 IS (iv) Recommendations, if any, for 1 policies to support the implementation of 2 the research strategy, including opportuni- 3 ties for new or expanded interagency col- 4 laborations. 5 (v) A description of the options, if 6 any, for a Federal Government role in 7 helping to ensure the viability of a non- 8 governmental standards development orga- 9 nization for the promulgation of forensic 10 science standards developed under section 11 5. 12 (vi) A description of changes or 13 progress since the publication of the pre- 14 vious research strategy. 15 (5) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—In developing 16 the research strategy under paragraph (4), the 17 Working Group shall consult with stakeholders, in- 18 cluding forensic science practitioners, forensic 19 science working groups within the Office of Justice 20 Programs of the Department of Justice, the Organi- 21 zation of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for 22 Forensic Science of the National Institute of Stand- 23 ards and Technology, statisticians, criminal justice 24 stakeholders, and research scientists to ensure that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4568 IS the strategy takes into account practical applications 1 and implementation of the research. 2 (6) TERMINATION.—The Working Group estab- 3 lished under paragraph (1) shall terminate on the 4 date that is 10 years after the date on which such 5 working group is established. 6 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Director of the National 7 Science Foundation, the Director of the National Institute 8 of Standards and Technology, and the Attorney General, 9 shall continue to advance the foundation and practice of 10 forensic science in the United States by— 11 (1) conducting or supporting research in foren- 12 sic science, consistent with the Federal research 13 strategy developed under subsection (a)(3); 14 (2) building relationships between members of 15 the forensic science community and researchers at 16 universities; 17 (3) encouraging and promoting the education 18 and training of a diverse group of people to be lead- 19 ers in the interdisciplinary field of forensic science; 20 and 21 (4) broadly disseminating the results of the re- 22 search conducted or supported under paragraph (1). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4568 IS SEC. 5. FACILITATING DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION 1 OF FORENSIC SCIENCE STANDARDS. 2 (a) ORGANIZATION OF SCIENTIFIC AREA COMMIT- 3 TEES FOR FORENSIC SCIENCE.— 4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Com- 5 merce, acting through the Director of the National 6 Institute of Standards and Technology, shall estab- 7 lish in the National Institute of Standards and 8 Technology an organization to facilitate the develop- 9 ment of forensic science standards. 10 (2) DESIGNATION.—The organization estab- 11 lished under paragraph (1) shall be known as the 12 ‘‘Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Fo- 13 rensic Science’’. 14 (3) COMPOSITION.—The Organization shall be 15 composed of the following: 16 (A) The Forensic Science and Standards 17 Board established under subsection (b). 18 (B) Each scientific area committee estab- 19 lished under subsection (c). 20 (4) DUTIES OF THE ORGANIZATION.—The du- 21 ties of the Organization are as follows: 22 (A) Facilitating the development and dis- 23 tribution of scientifically sound, consensus- 24 based documentary standards and guidelines for 25 forensic science, including through formal col- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4568 IS laboration with nongovernmental standards de- 1 velopment organizations. 2 (B) Establishing a registry of scientifically 3 sound forensic science standards and guidelines 4 approved and endorsed by the Organization. 5 (C) Establish a process for regularly re- 6 evaluating existing standards and guidelines 7 published for placement on the registry estab- 8 lished under subparagraph (B). 9 (D) Promoting the adoption of the stand- 10 ards and guidelines described in subparagraph 11 (A) by the forensic science community and as 12 included in the registry established under sub- 13 paragraph (B). 14 (b) FORENSIC SCIENCE STANDARDS BOARD.— 15 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 16 through the Director, shall establish in the Organi- 17 zation a board to oversee the operations of the Orga- 18 nization and its committees. 19 (2) DESIGNATION.—The board established 20 under paragraph (1) shall be known as the ‘‘Foren- 21 sic Science Standards Board’’. 22 (3) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be com- 23 posed of the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4568 IS (A) Members selected by the Secretary to 1 serve on the Board from among— 2 (i) members of the forensic science 3 community; 4 (ii) scientists and engineers with rel- 5 evant expertise at institutions of higher 6 education and other nonprofit research or- 7 ganizations; 8 (iii) statisticians; 9 (iv) a representative of each of the 10 task groups established under subsection 11 (d), as the Secretary considers appropriate; 12 and 13 (v) such other communities or sectors 14 as the Secretary considers appropriate. 15 (B) The chairpersons of the scientific area 16 committees established under subsection (c). 17 (4) DUTIES.—The duties of the Board are as 18 follows: 19 (A) Overseeing all operations of the Orga- 20 nization, including the committees of the Orga- 21 nization. 22 (B) Establishing governance rules and 23 policies for the Organization. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:47 Sep 15, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4568.IS S4568 jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4568 IS (C) Facilitating communication within the 1 Organization and between the Organization, the 2 criminal justice community, and the forensic 3 science community. 4 (D) Overseeing the reviewing and approv- 5 ing p [Text truncated for display. 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