DOM-005 — Federal Critical-Incident Evidence Access Act¶

A BILL¶

To amend title 34, United States Code, to require the preservation of and timely access to evidence concerning certain deaths and serious bodily injuries involving Federal law-enforcement personnel, to provide an expedited judicial remedy for authorized State investigative authorities, to make conforming amendments to the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 and other laws, 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 “Federal Critical-Incident Evidence Access Act”.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES AND SCOPE.¶

(a) Purposes.¶

The purposes of this Act are to—

(1) preserve evidence concerning a covered incident from the earliest practicable moment;

(2) provide an authorized State investigative authority timely and functionally equivalent access to covered evidence in Federal possession, custody, or control;

(3) replace discretionary intergovernmental production and agency-controlled disclosure procedures with uniform statutory duties and prompt judicial review;

(4) protect classified information, unrelated operations, confidential sources, privileged communications, compelled statements, personal privacy, and Federal grand-jury matter through particularized safeguards rather than categorical withholding; and

(5) permit Federal and State investigative authorities to develop an adequate factual record without predetermining the legality of an officer's conduct or any Federal defense.

(b) Limited scope.¶

This Act governs evidence preservation and investigative access. It does not create State criminal jurisdiction, authorize a prosecution, alter any element of an offense, determine the lawfulness of a use of force, or enlarge or diminish any immunity or defense available to a Federal officer.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL CRITICAL-INCIDENT EVIDENCE PRESERVATION AND STATE INVESTIGATIVE ACCESS.¶

Subtitle VI of title 34, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“CHAPTER 607—FEDERAL CRITICAL-INCIDENT EVIDENCE PRESERVATION AND STATE INVESTIGATIVE ACCESS¶

“Sec.

“60701. Definitions.

“60702. Automatic notice, identification, and preservation.

“60703. Activation and investigative access.

“60704. Secure use and protection of disclosed evidence.

“60705. Limited withholding and pre-deadline judicial review.

“60706. Enforcement, jurisdiction, expedition, and relief.

“60707. Coordination and anti-circumvention.

“60708. Rules of construction.

“60709. Implementation, oversight, and reporting.

“60710. Authorization of appropriations.

“60711. Application to existing incidents.

“§ 60701. Definitions¶

“In this chapter:

“(1) Authorized State investigative authority.—The term ‘authorized State investigative authority’ means—

“(A) the attorney general of a State;

“(B) the principal prosecuting authority for the political subdivision in which a covered incident occurred; or

“(C) a State or local law-enforcement, investigative, or medical-examiner entity designated in writing by an official described in subparagraph (A) or (B),

“that is authorized under State law to investigate the death, injury, use of force, or possible violation of law at issue.

“(2) Covered evidence.—The term ‘covered evidence’ means any record, object, material, location, or information in the possession, custody, or control of a Federal entity that is reasonably related to—

“(A) the facts or circumstances of a covered incident;

“(B) the identity, authority, assignment, location, action, perception, communication, or use of force of a covered Federal officer involved in the incident;

“(C) the identity, location, observation, statement, or communication of a witness to the incident;

“(D) the collection, creation, preservation, transfer, testing, analysis, alteration, loss, or destruction of evidence concerning the incident; or

“(E) an agency policy, operational directive, warrant, order, briefing, training requirement, or use-of-force standard directly applicable to the incident.

“(3) Covered Federal officer.—The term ‘covered Federal officer’ means an officer, employee, agent, contractor, task-force participant, or other person acting under actual or purported authority of the United States who, in connection with a Federal operation, is authorized, assigned, or directed to—

“(A) carry a firearm;

“(B) make an arrest, seizure, search, or detention;

“(C) exercise law-enforcement, immigration-enforcement, protective, custodial, or correctional authority; or

“(D) supervise or direct a person performing a function described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).

“(4) Covered incident.—The term ‘covered incident’ means an incident occurring within a State in which—

“(A) a use of force by a covered Federal officer causes or reasonably appears to have contributed to the death or serious bodily injury of a person; or

“(B) a person dies while detained, under arrest, in the process of being arrested, or otherwise in the physical custody of a covered Federal officer, if the death is not plainly attributable to natural causes determined by an independent medical authority.

“(5) Federal entity.—The term ‘Federal entity’ means any executive department, military department, agency, independent establishment, Government corporation, Federal law-enforcement component, Federal task force, or contractor or other person possessing covered evidence for or on behalf of the United States.

“(6) Functionally equivalent access.—The term ‘functionally equivalent access’ means access sufficient to permit an authorized State investigative authority to conduct a timely, complete, and independent investigation, including—

“(A) contemporaneous or prompt access to a scene;

“(B) inspection and documentation of physical evidence;

“(C) authenticated copies of reproducible evidence;

“(D) duplicate forensic samples when reasonably feasible;

“(E) observation of destructive or materially altering testing; and

“(F) access to the methods, results, validation material, and chain-of-custody information for forensic testing.

“(7) Lead Federal entity.—The term ‘lead Federal entity’ means the Federal entity designated under section 60707(a), without relieving any other Federal entity of a duty imposed by this chapter.

“(8) Record.—The term ‘record’ includes recorded information described in section 3301 of title 44, without regard to whether the information constitutes a Federal record under that section, and includes photographs, audio or video recordings, body-worn-camera or vehicle-camera recordings, dispatch records, geolocation or telemetry data, electronic communications, reports, notes, forensic data, metadata, and audit logs.

“(9) Serious bodily injury.—The term ‘serious bodily injury’ has the meaning given that term in section 1365(h)(3) of title 18.

“(10) State.—The term ‘State’ means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each territory or possession of the United States.

“§ 60702. Automatic notice, identification, and preservation¶

“(a) Incident notice.—As soon as practicable, and not later than 6 hours after a Federal entity knows or reasonably should know that a covered incident has occurred, the lead Federal entity shall provide notice to—

“(1) the attorney general of the State in which the incident occurred; and

“(2) the principal prosecuting authority for the political subdivision in which the incident occurred.

“(b) Contents of notice.—The notice shall identify, to the extent then known—

“(1) the date, time, location, and general nature of the incident;

“(2) each participating Federal entity;

“(3) the lead Federal entity and its designated contact;

“(4) whether a person died or sustained serious bodily injury; and

“(5) the procedures for activating access under section 60703.

“(c) Identification to investigators.—Not later than 12 hours after receiving an activation notice under section 60703, the lead Federal entity shall confidentially provide the authorized State investigative authority—

“(1) the name, employing or directing entity, official title, and unique personnel or badge identifier of each covered Federal officer whose conduct may reasonably be material to the incident; and

“(2) the name and contact information of the Federal official responsible for preserving and producing covered evidence.

“The United States may seek a protective order governing public disclosure of information produced under this subsection, but may not withhold the information from the authorized State investigative authority solely because public disclosure could create a safety or privacy risk.

“(d) Immediate preservation duty.—Beginning when any Federal entity knows or reasonably should know that a covered incident has occurred, each Federal entity shall—

“(1) preserve all covered evidence in its possession, custody, or control;

“(2) suspend any routine deletion, overwrite, recycling, return, transfer, alteration, or destruction process that could affect covered evidence;

“(3) issue and document a preservation instruction to relevant personnel, contractors, task-force participants, laboratories, detention facilities, communications providers, and evidence custodians;

“(4) preserve available metadata, system logs, access histories, and prior versions sufficient to identify any alteration, deletion, or transfer; and

“(5) take reasonable steps to obtain and preserve covered evidence held by a person from whom the Federal entity has a contractual, supervisory, possessory, or legal right to obtain it.

“(e) Incident inventory.—Not later than 24 hours after receipt of an activation notice, the lead Federal entity shall provide the authorized State investigative authority a tamper-evident inventory that—

“(1) describes each category of covered evidence known to exist;

“(2) identifies the present custodian and location of each item or category;

“(3) states when and by whom each item was collected, created, received, copied, transferred, tested, altered, or accessed;

“(4) identifies evidence known or reasonably believed to have been lost, destroyed, overwritten, materially altered, or not created, and explains the circumstances; and

“(5) includes a cryptographic hash or comparable authentication measure for digital evidence when technically practicable.

“The inventory shall be supplemented not later than 24 hours after additional covered evidence is identified, received, created, transferred, tested, lost, or materially altered.

“(f) Preservation period.—Covered evidence shall be preserved until the later of—

“(1) 5 years after the covered incident;

“(2) 1 year after the final disposition of every known Federal or State investigation, judicial proceeding, administrative proceeding, or civil action materially related to the incident; or

“(3) the expiration of a longer period required by other law or court order.

“§ 60703. Activation and investigative access¶

“(a) Activation notice.—An authorized State investigative authority may activate the duties under this section by delivering to the lead Federal entity a signed notice that—

“(1) identifies the covered incident;

“(2) certifies that the authority is conducting an investigation authorized by State law; and

“(3) designates the officials permitted to receive covered evidence.

“(b) No item-by-item demand required.—An activation notice need not identify each item sought. The duty to provide covered evidence is determined by the definition in section 60701 and is not limited by the Federal entity's assessment of which evidence is favorable, inculpatory, exculpatory, material to a Federal theory, or necessary to the State investigation.

“(c) Scene access.—If a Federal entity controls or materially restricts access to the scene of a covered incident, the lead Federal entity shall provide the authorized State investigative authority access—

“(1) as soon as immediate threats to life and safety are controlled; and

“(2) before the scene is materially altered or released, unless alteration is strictly necessary to protect life or prevent imminent substantial harm.

“Nothing in this subsection authorizes a State official to direct an ongoing Federal operation or interfere with emergency medical care, the apprehension of a fleeing person, the neutralization of an immediate threat, or a safety measure applied without regard to the investigating sovereign.

“(d) Production schedule.—Except as provided in section 60705, the lead Federal entity shall provide—

“(1) the identification required by section 60702(c) not later than 12 hours after activation;

“(2) the incident inventory required by section 60702(e) not later than 24 hours after activation;

“(3) an authenticated duplicate of each readily reproducible item of covered evidence not later than 72 hours after activation or, for later-acquired evidence, not later than 72 hours after acquisition;

“(4) inspection of nonreproducible physical evidence and arrangements for duplicate sampling or independent testing not later than 5 days after activation or acquisition, whichever is later; and

“(5) reasonable continuing access to later-created investigative records, forensic results, supplemental recordings, and chain-of-custody information not later than 72 hours after creation or receipt.

“(e) Forensic access.—Before conducting a test that will consume, destroy, materially alter, or exhaust a nonfungible item of covered evidence, a Federal entity shall provide the authorized State investigative authority reasonable notice and an opportunity to—

“(1) observe and document the test;

“(2) obtain a duplicate sample when reasonably feasible; and

“(3) propose a reasonable alternative protocol that preserves independent testing without materially compromising safety or evidentiary reliability.

“(f) Witnesses.—A Federal entity may not instruct, pressure, or retaliate against a witness for voluntarily communicating with an authorized State investigative authority. This subsection does not compel any person to provide a statement, waive a right, disclose privileged information, or submit to an interview without counsel.

“(g) Form of access.—The Federal entity may retain original evidence if authenticated duplicates, inspection, sampling, observation, and chain-of-custody access provide functionally equivalent access. If no alternative provides functionally equivalent access, the district court may prescribe shared custody, secure escrow, neutral testing, or another arrangement that preserves the evidentiary interests of both sovereigns.

“(h) No tolling by Federal process.—A deadline under this chapter is not tolled by—

“(1) a pending Federal investigation, administrative review, disciplinary process, or charging decision;

“(2) an agency records or testimony regulation, including a procedure adopted under section 301 of title 5;

“(3) referral of a request or evidence to another Federal entity;

“(4) consideration of a Federal defense or immunity;

“(5) removal of a State proceeding under section 1442 of title 28; or

“(6) an internal assessment of the legal, political, reputational, or litigation consequences of disclosure.

“§ 60704. Secure use and protection of disclosed evidence¶

“(a) Investigative-use limitation.—Covered evidence obtained under this chapter may be used by an authorized State investigative authority for—

“(1) the investigation identified in the activation notice;

“(2) a judicial, grand-jury, charging, medical-examiner, professional-responsibility, or administrative proceeding directly arising from that investigation; or

“(3) another use authorized by the district court for good cause and consistent with this chapter.

“(b) Safeguards.—An authorized State investigative authority receiving covered evidence shall—

“(1) maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the sensitivity of the evidence;

“(2) limit access to persons with an investigative, prosecutorial, forensic, judicial, or defense-related need to know;

“(3) preserve authentication and chain-of-custody information;

“(4) comply with a lawful protective order entered under this chapter; and

“(5) promptly report a material unauthorized access or disclosure to the producing Federal entity and the district court.

“(c) No public-disclosure right.—This chapter does not create a right of public access to covered evidence. If applicable State law would require public disclosure that the United States contends would cause a specific and substantial harm described in section 60705(a), the United States may seek a narrowly tailored protective order before production. The pendency of that application does not stay production to the authorized State investigative authority under an interim protective order.

“(d) Defense access preserved.—Nothing in this section limits disclosure to a criminal defendant required by the Constitution, Federal or State law, or a court order, or authorizes a protective order inconsistent with the rights of an accused.

“§ 60705. Limited withholding and pre-deadline judicial review¶

“(a) Exclusive grounds.—Covered evidence may be withheld, redacted, or subjected to delayed or restricted access only to the minimum extent necessary to protect—

“(1) information properly classified under a statute or Executive order, or Restricted Data as defined in section 11 y. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(y));

“(2) the identity of a confidential human source, or information that would create a specific and substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to an identified person;

“(3) an ongoing operation unrelated to the covered incident, if disclosure would create a specific and imminent risk of materially compromising that operation and no substitute can avoid the risk;

“(4) a matter occurring before a Federal grand jury to the extent protected by rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, except that evidence created or obtained independently of the grand jury may not be withheld solely because it was subpoenaed by, summarized for, or presented to the grand jury;

“(5) an attorney-client communication or attorney work product that was prepared for litigation and does not consist of an underlying factual record otherwise covered by this chapter;

“(6) a compelled statement or information derived from such a statement, but only to the extent and for the period that disclosure to the designated State investigative or prosecutorial team would violate the Constitution or a binding immunity agreement;

“(7) personal information having no material relationship to the covered incident, after reasonably segregable material is produced; or

“(8) intelligence sources, methods, or operational information having no material relationship to the covered incident.

“(b) Grounds that are insufficient.—Covered evidence may not be withheld, delayed, or restricted solely because—

“(1) the evidence is designated law-enforcement sensitive, for official use only, deliberative, predecisional, or part of an open Federal investigation;

“(2) an agency regulation requires permission to produce official records or testimony;

“(3) the evidence may support or undermine a Federal account, Federal-officer immunity, administrative discipline, civil liability, or criminal exposure;

“(4) disclosure could cause embarrassment, criticism, political controversy, litigation risk, or a request for additional evidence; or

“(5) the Federal entity would prefer to complete its investigation, review the evidence, make a charging decision, or negotiate reciprocal production before providing access.

“(c) Pre-deadline application required.—A Federal entity seeking to withhold, redact, delay, or restrict access shall, before the applicable production deadline—

“(1) file an application in the United States district court for the district in which the covered incident occurred;

“(2) provide the authorized State investigative authority an itemized log identifying each disputed item, the precise ground asserted, the duration of the requested restriction, and the reason a less restrictive alternative is inadequate; and

“(3) deposit the disputed evidence with the court under seal, together with any classified or privileged declaration necessary for review.

“Failure to file a timely application constitutes a completed violation and waives authority to withhold or restrict investigative access, except to the minimum extent the court finds that production would itself violate the Constitution, rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, an express statutory prohibition, or the prohibition on disclosing classified information to an unauthorized person. An untimely application does not cure the violation; the court shall order the least restrictive secure access or substitute permitted by law and may grant relief under section 60706. Failure to file does not waive a protection against public disclosure or use beyond that authorized by section 60704.

“(d) De novo determination and burden.—The court shall determine the application de novo. The United States bears the burden of establishing by particularized evidence that each restriction is authorized by subsection (a), no broader than necessary, and unavailable through a less restrictive alternative.

“(e) Required alternatives.—Before authorizing withholding, the court shall consider and, when adequate, order—

“(1) segregation and minimum-necessary redaction;

“(2) an interim or permanent protective order;

“(3) attorneys'-eyes-only or forensic-examiner access;

“(4) secure-facility review;

“(5) a substitution, summary, admission, or stipulation that provides functionally equivalent investigative value;

“(6) delayed disclosure for a definite and shortest practicable period;

“(7) a taint team or other screening procedure for a compelled statement; or

“(8) shared custody, neutral escrow, or court-supervised testing.

“(f) Undisputed evidence.—An application under this section does not stay production of undisputed evidence or suspend a preservation, inventory, notice, or authentication duty.

“(g) Grand-jury material.—If evidence is withheld under subsection (a)(4), the Federal entity shall promptly seek any disclosure authorization available from the court supervising the grand jury and shall produce the same evidence from a non-grand-jury source when reasonably available.

“(h) Classified material.—The court may review classified material ex parte and in camera and may use secure procedures necessary to protect national security. The court shall order the greatest degree of access or an adequate substitute consistent with subsection (a)(1), but nothing in this chapter requires disclosure of classified information to a person not authorized to receive it.

“(i) No automatic stay.—An appeal does not automatically stay an access, preservation, inventory, or production order. A court may enter the narrowest stay necessary upon a particularized showing of likely irreparable harm, and shall expedite any appeal from an order under this section.

“§ 60706. Enforcement, jurisdiction, expedition, and relief¶

“(a) Cause of action.—An authorized State investigative authority may bring a civil action against the United States, a Federal entity, or the head of a Federal entity to enforce this chapter.

“(b) Jurisdiction and venue.—The United States district court for the district in which the covered incident occurred shall have original jurisdiction. If the incident location cannot reasonably be determined, the action may be filed in a district in which material covered evidence is located. The jurisdiction conferred by this subsection is not exclusive of jurisdiction otherwise provided by law.

“(c) Waiver of sovereign immunity.—The United States waives sovereign immunity for relief authorized by this section. The United States may be named as a defendant, and an action may not be dismissed or relief denied on the ground that it is against the United States or that the United States is an indispensable party.

“(d) No exhaustion.—An authorized State investigative authority need not exhaust a remedy under the Administrative Procedure Act, an agency records or testimony regulation, the Freedom of Information Act, or any other administrative disclosure procedure before filing an action under this section.

“(e) Expedition.—In an action under this chapter—

“(1) the court shall address a request for emergency preservation or access as soon as practicable;

“(2) the defendant shall answer a motion for preliminary relief not later than 48 hours after service unless the court sets a shorter period or finds that extraordinary circumstances require not more than 24 additional hours;

“(3) the court shall hold any necessary hearing not later than 7 days after filing; and

“(4) the court shall issue a decision as soon as practicable and, absent extraordinary circumstances stated in writing, not later than 3 days after the hearing or completion of briefing.

“(f) Relief.—The court may—

“(1) declare a violation of this chapter;

“(2) order preservation, inventory, authentication, identification, inspection, production, sampling, testing access, segregation, or secure disclosure;

“(3) appoint a neutral evidence custodian, special master, or technical expert;

“(4) order a Federal entity to reimburse an authorized State investigative authority for reasonable and documented investigative expenses directly caused by a violation occurring after the effective date of this chapter;

“(5) award reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs to an authorized State investigative authority that substantially prevails;

“(6) order a time-limited compliance plan, independent preservation audit, supplemental inventory, or other prospective measure reasonably necessary to remedy repeated, continuing, or willful noncompliance; and

“(7) grant other legal or equitable relief necessary to enforce this chapter and consistent with the Constitution.

“(g) Completed violation.—A failure to perform a duty by the statutory deadline constitutes a completed violation. Subsequent compliance does not eliminate a claim for relief described in subsection (f)(4), (5), or (6), or other relief that remains constitutionally redressable.

“(h) No personal damages action.—This chapter does not create a cause of action for damages against a Federal officer, employee, contractor, or State official in an individual capacity.

“(i) Appeals.—The court of appeals shall expedite an appeal from an interlocutory or final order under this chapter. The parties shall file any notice of appeal not later than 10 days after entry of the order, without limiting a shorter period required by other law.

“§ 60707. Coordination and anti-circumvention¶

“(a) Lead entity.—Not later than 2 hours after a Federal entity knows or reasonably should know of a covered incident, the participating Federal entities shall designate a lead Federal entity. If no designation is made, the Federal entity employing or directing the officer whose conduct most directly caused or allegedly contributed to the death or serious bodily injury shall serve as the lead Federal entity.

“(b) Shared responsibility.—Designation of a lead Federal entity does not relieve another Federal entity of preservation, production, litigation, or compliance duties concerning evidence in its possession, custody, or control.

“(c) Transfer and custody.—A Federal entity may not avoid or delay a duty under this chapter by—

“(1) transferring evidence, personnel, investigative responsibility, or nominal custody;

“(2) referring a matter to another component, agency, task force, contractor, inspector general, prosecutor, or grand jury;

“(3) declining, suspending, narrowing, or closing a Federal investigation;

“(4) making assistance by one Federal component dependent on a request from another component;

“(5) relabeling a record, operation, investigation, privilege, or security designation;

“(6) storing evidence in a system or location designed or selected to defeat timely access; or

“(7) declining to obtain evidence that the entity has a contractual, supervisory, possessory, or legal right to obtain.

“(d) Contractors and joint operations.—A Federal entity entering or renewing a contract, memorandum of understanding, task-force agreement, deputation, or intergovernmental agreement involving a covered Federal officer shall require compliance with this chapter. The absence of such a term does not limit a duty imposed by this chapter.

“(e) Other sovereign evidence.—This chapter does not require a State or local entity to transfer evidence to the United States as a condition of receiving covered evidence. Nothing in this subsection prevents voluntary reciprocal sharing or compliance with otherwise lawful Federal process.

“§ 60708. Rules of construction¶

“(a) Substantive law and prosecutorial authority unchanged.—Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to—

“(1) create, expand, contract, or determine State criminal, civil, or regulatory jurisdiction;

“(2) authorize or require an arrest, charge, indictment, prosecution, or particular disposition;

“(3) alter an element, burden of proof, defense, privilege, immunity, or standard governing the legality of a covered Federal officer's conduct;

“(4) enlarge or diminish Supremacy Clause immunity or any other Federal defense;

“(5) alter removal jurisdiction under section 1442 of title 28, except that removal does not itself stay a duty imposed by this chapter; or

“(6) express a finding that any covered incident involved unlawful conduct.

“(b) Constitutional and criminal-process protections.—Nothing in this chapter authorizes—

“(1) compelled self-incrimination;

“(2) disclosure or use of a compelled statement in violation of the Constitution or a binding immunity agreement;

“(3) disclosure of matter occurring before a Federal grand jury except as authorized by law or the court supervising the grand jury;

“(4) denial of due process, assistance of counsel, confrontation, compulsory process, or disclosure owed to an accused; or

“(5) disclosure of classified information to a person not authorized to receive it.

“(c) No operational command.—This chapter does not authorize a State or local official to command, supervise, approve, or veto a Federal operation, deployment, policy, arrest, search, seizure, detention, or charging decision.

“(d) Existing recordings only.—This chapter governs preservation of and access to recordings and other evidence that exist or are created under another source of law or policy. It does not independently require an officer or Federal entity to create a body-worn-camera, vehicle-camera, or other recording.

“(e) No public or private access right.—Except for an authorized State investigative authority, this chapter creates no right to obtain covered evidence. A person may not use this chapter as a substitute for discovery, the Freedom of Information Act, or a State public-records law.

“(f) No suppression or dismissal remedy.—A violation of this chapter does not, standing alone, require suppression of evidence, dismissal of a charge, or termination of an investigation or proceeding.

“(g) More protective access laws.—This chapter does not displace another Federal law that requires earlier or broader investigative access, except to the extent that the other law authorizes withholding inconsistent with this chapter.

“§ 60709. Implementation, oversight, and reporting¶

“(a) Uniform regulations.—Not later than 180 days after enactment of the Federal Critical-Incident Evidence Access Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with the Archivist of the United States, the heads of Federal entities with law-enforcement authority, State attorneys general, State and local prosecutors and investigative agencies, and appropriate privacy and civil-liberties officials, shall issue uniform regulations to implement this chapter.

“(b) Limits on regulations.—A regulation or agency policy may not—

“(1) narrow the definition of covered evidence or covered incident;

“(2) add a withholding ground;

“(3) extend a statutory deadline;

“(4) condition access on reciprocal production, waiver, or exhaustion; or

“(5) postpone compliance pending issuance or amendment of a regulation.

“(c) Agency implementation.—Each Federal entity that employs or directs covered Federal officers shall—

“(1) designate a continuously available critical-incident evidence officer;

“(2) maintain secure preservation, duplication, transfer, and audit capability;

“(3) train covered Federal officers, evidence custodians, attorneys, contractors, and task-force participants concerning this chapter; and

“(4) publish contact and activation procedures that do not require disclosure of sensitive operational information.

“(d) Inspector General review.—The Inspector General of each Federal entity involved in a covered incident shall have access to the compliance record and may investigate an alleged violation. A knowing or willful violation by an officer or employee shall be referred for appropriate administrative or disciplinary review consistent with due process and applicable law.

“(e) Annual report.—Not later than March 31 of each year, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress and publish a report stating for the preceding calendar year—

“(1) the number of covered incidents, organized by Federal entity and State;

“(2) the number and disposition of activation notices;

“(3) median and maximum times for notice, inventory, identification, production, and forensic access;

“(4) the number of applications under section 60705, the grounds asserted, and the disposition of each application;

“(5) the number of adjudicated violations and the relief awarded; and

“(6) implementation recommendations.

“The public report shall not identify a person or disclose evidence protected under section 60705 or by a court order.

“§ 60710. Authorization of appropriations¶

“There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter to carry out this chapter, including secure evidence systems, authentication and duplication, forensic access, training, inspector-general review, reimbursement ordered under section 60706, and grants or reimbursements to authorized State investigative authorities for secure receipt and handling of covered evidence.

“§ 60711. Application to existing incidents¶

“(a) Prospective duties concerning retained evidence.—On or after the effective date of this chapter, an authorized State investigative authority may submit an activation notice concerning a covered incident that occurred during the 5-year period preceding that date if—

“(1) an investigation authorized by State law remains open or may lawfully be reopened; and

“(2) a Federal entity retains covered evidence concerning the incident.

“(b) Deadlines.—For an activation under subsection (a), the duties and deadlines under sections 60702 through 60707 begin upon receipt of the activation notice.

“(c) No retroactive liability.—A Federal entity or person may not be held liable under this chapter for failing, before the effective date, to perform a duty created by this chapter. This subsection does not excuse post-effective-date destruction, withholding, delay, or noncompliance and does not limit liability under another law.”.

SEC. 4. DEATH IN CUSTODY REPORTING ACT CONFORMING AMENDMENT.¶

Section 3 of the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (Public Law 113–242; 128 Stat. 2861) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(d) Relationship to Critical-Incident Evidence Duties.¶

“A report under this section does not satisfy or limit a preservation, identification, inventory, or investigative-access duty under chapter 607 of title 34, United States Code. Compliance with that chapter may not be delayed pending preparation or submission of a report under this section.”.

SEC. 5. PRIVACY ACT CONFORMING AMENDMENT.¶

Section 552a(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in paragraph (12), by striking “or” at the end;

(2) in paragraph (13), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

“(14) to an authorized State investigative authority as required by chapter 607 of title 34, subject to the use, security, and protective-order requirements of that chapter.”.

SEC. 6. EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.¶

Section 1657(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by striking “section 1826 of this title,” and inserting “section 1826 of this title or chapter 607 of title 34,”.

SEC. 7. FEDERAL-OFFICER REMOVAL; NO AUTOMATIC STAY.¶

Section 1442 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(e) Critical-Incident Evidence Duties.¶

“Removal of a proceeding under this section does not toll or stay a preservation, notice, inventory, identification, or production duty under chapter 607 of title 34. A district court may alter a production obligation only in accordance with section 60705 of title 34.”.

SEC. 8. CLERICAL AMENDMENT.¶

The table of chapters for subtitle VI of title 34, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“607. Federal Critical-Incident Evidence Preservation and State Investigative Access ................................................ 60701”.

SEC. 9. EFFECTIVE DATE; INTERIM IMPLEMENTATION.¶

(a) Effective date.¶

The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 270 days after the date of enactment.

(b) Interim preservation.¶

Beginning on the date of enactment, a Federal entity may not knowingly destroy, overwrite, transfer for the purpose of evasion, or materially alter evidence that the entity reasonably expects would become covered evidence under chapter 607 of title 34, United States Code, as added by this Act.

(c) Rules not prerequisite.¶

Failure to issue a regulation, policy, form, agreement, or technical standard does not delay the effective date or excuse compliance with chapter 607 of title 34, United States Code.

Budgetary Impact Statement¶

Budget authority is likely required; no dollar estimate is assigned pending source-backed cost data. The bill authorizes appropriations for secure evidence systems, authentication and duplication, forensic access, training, inspector-general review, and State reimbursement, while relying in part on existing recording, evidence, investigative, and court functions.

Note: Preliminary ARRP assessment only; not a CBO, OMB, agency, or legislative-counsel score.

Drafting Notes¶

Vehicle fit: The bill adds a self-contained chapter to title 34 because the existing Death in Custody Reporting Act supplies only retrospective reporting duties. Section 4 preserves that Act as the reporting anchor while distinguishing reporting from investigative access.
Narrow subject: The bill governs existing evidence and access to an investigation. It does not mandate new recording equipment, create a public-disclosure right, authorize State prosecution, or modify Supremacy Clause immunity.
Local adjudication: The district where the incident occurred receives jurisdiction because scene preservation and evidence access are local and time-sensitive. This proposal does not use the JUD-011 D.D.C. framework.
Existing incidents: Section 60711 creates prospective access duties for retained evidence concerning recent incidents without imposing retroactive liability for conduct predating the Act.
First-draft questions: further internal review should test the 6-hour, 12-hour, 24-hour, 72-hour, and 5-day deadlines; the definition of covered Federal officer; compelled-statement screening; grand-jury coordination; classified-information procedure; tribal-jurisdiction coverage; reimbursement and Judgment Fund mechanics; and whether the 5-year transition window should be longer.