To amend title 11, District of Columbia Official Code, to implement the increase provided under the District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2008, in the amount of funds made available for the compensation of attorneys representing indigent defendants in the District of Columbia courts, and for other purposes.
Public Law 110-335 · H.R. 5551 · 110th Congress · began in the House
Signed by George W. Bush (R) on Oct 2, 2008 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL-7)
Cosponsors (1): Rep. Eleanor Norton
Passage votes
- HouseVoice vote
- SenateUnanimous consent
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Amends the District of Columbia Official Code to increase from $65 to $80 the hourly rate of attorneys representing indigent defendants in the District of Columbia courts.
Revises the current cap on total compensation paid to an attorney representing such a defendant to apply the corresponding caps under the federal criminal code. Increases the cap: (1) before the Superior Court of the District from $1,900 to $2,000 for misdemeanors and from $3,600 to $7,000 for felonies; and (2) to the same amounts for post-trial matters for misdemeanors or felonies.
Sets the cap for representation of a defendant before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals at $5,000, the limitation under the federal criminal code for representation of a defendant in an appellate court.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Oversight and Accountability Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Information Technology Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Related bills
The record lists no related bills.
Data notes
Related bills are identified by the Congressional Research Service, the House and the Senate: companion and identical bills, bills with similar text, bills that were folded into this law, and rules that brought it to the floor. A bill that is itself a public law in this site’s data links here; the others link to Congress.gov.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 24 actions.
- Oct 2, 2008Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 110-335.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Sep 23, 2008FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Sep 17, 2008FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- Sep 16, 2008FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- OtherOther · Cleared for White House.
- Jul 25, 2008CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 900.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Lieberman without amendment. With written report No. 110-432.
- Apr 10, 2008CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Apr 2, 2008CommitteeCommittee · Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- Apr 1, 2008FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 5551.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Davis (IL) moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Mar 31, 2008CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 343.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported by the Committee on Oversight and Government. H. Rept. 110-560.
- Mar 13, 2008CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- CommitteeCommittee · Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia Discharged.
- Mar 10, 2008CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Post Office, and the District of Columbia.
- Mar 6, 2008CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
- CommitteeCommittee · Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E320)
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in House
Data notes
Every action the Library of Congress lists for the bill, from introduction to signing, plus the dated committee hearings. The source lists many steps twice (the chamber’s own entry and the Library of Congress copy, or a presidential and a became-law entry with the same words); those are shown once. Amendments are listed in their own section.
Amendments
No amendments to this bill are on record.
Data notes
Amendments offered to this bill in either chamber, as the Library of Congress records them: each with a status read from its last recorded step: agreed to, rejected, withdrawn, ruled out of order, fell with another amendment, or offered with no vote recorded (most Senate amendments are only ever offered). The wording of each amendment is the source’s. Amendments to amendments and amendments to other bills are not listed.
Official record
The bill’s full text is on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.