Carla Walker Act of 2022

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9568 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9568

To direct the Attorney General to establish a grant program for certain 
      State and local forensic activities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 15, 2022

Mr. Armstrong introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Attorney General to establish a grant program for certain 
      State and local forensic activities, 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 ``Carla Walker Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO IMPROVE STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FORENSIC 
              ACTIVITIES.

    Part OO of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

``SEC. 3056. GRANTS TO IMPROVE STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FORENSIC 
              ACTIVITIES.

    ``(a) Authorization of Grants.--The Attorney General may award a 
grant to an eligible recipient described in subsection (b) for the 
purpose of utilizing forensic genetic genealogical DNA analysis and 
searching to generate investigative leads for criminal investigations.
    ``(b) Eligible Recipient.--An eligible recipient seeking a grant 
under this section shall include a--
            ``(1) State;
            ``(2) Tribal or local law enforcement agency;
            ``(3) local prosecutor's office;
            ``(4) medical examiner;
            ``(5) coroner office; or
            ``(6) private entity working with an eligible recipient 
        under paragraphs (1) through (5).
    ``(c) Applications.--An eligible recipient seeking a grant under 
this section shall submit an application to the Attorney General at 
such time and in such form as the Attorney General may require.
    ``(d) Use of Grant.--An eligible recipient that receives a grant 
under this section shall use the grant funds to do any one or more of 
the following:
            ``(1) Carry out DNA analyses of samples collected under 
        applicable legal authority from crime scenes, rape kits, or 
        other sexual assault evidence, or taken from an unidentified 
        suspect or an unidentified victim, using advanced DNA testing 
        technologies if such samples are ineligible for inclusion in or 
        submission to the Combined DNA Index System of the Federal 
        Bureau of Investigation.
            ``(2) Carry out DNA analyses of samples collected under 
        applicable legal authority using advanced DNA testing 
        technologies if the submission of such samples to the Combined 
        DNA Index System has failed to produce investigative leads.
            ``(3) Carry out DNA analyses of any unidentified human 
        remains using advanced DNA testing technologies if submission 
        of such samples to the Combined DNA Index System has failed to 
        provide an identity.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--For each of fiscal years 
2023 through 2027, there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this section, $20,000,000, of which not less than $5,000,000 shall be 
made available to carry out forensic genetic genealogical DNA analysis 
and shall not be made available for staffing, training, travel, 
equipment, or other related overhead expenses.
    ``(f) Advanced DNA Testing Technologies Defined.--In this section, 
the term `advanced DNA testing technologies' means any technology 
performed in a forensic laboratory capable of producing a forensic 
genealogy profile with a minimum of 100,000 genetic markers and 
compatible with multiple genealogical databases consented for law 
enforcement use.''.
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