District of Columbia Courts, Public Defender Service, and Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency Act of 2015
Public Law 114-118 · S. 1629 · 114th Congress · began in the Senate
Signed by Barack Obama (D) on Jan 28, 2016 · Government Operations and Politics
Sponsor: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
Cosponsors (1): Sen. Thomas Carper
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.
District of Columbia Courts, Public Defender Service, and Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency Act of 2015
(Sec. 2) Amends the District of Columbia Code to authorize the Executive Officer of the District of Columbia courts to:
• collect debts owed to the District of Columbia courts because of erroneous payments made to current and former court employees, or any other debt; and
• purchase uniforms to be worn by certain nonjudicial employees of the District courts, so long as the cost of furnishing a uniform during a year does not exceed the amount applicable to the uniform allowance for federal employees.
(Sec. 3) Amends the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 to authorize the Director of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency to develop and operate intermediate incentive programs for sentenced offenders.
Makes permanent the Director's authority to accept, solicit, and use on behalf of the Agency: (1) any monetary or nonmonetary gift, donation, bequest, or use of facilities, property, or services to aid or facilitate the work of the Agency; and (2) reimbursements from the District government for space and services provided, on a cost reimbursable basis.
(Sec. 4) Amends the District of Columbia Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 to:
• authorize the Public Defender Service, upon approval of the Board of Trustees, to accept (as currently allowed) and use public grants, private contributions, and voluntary and uncompensated (gratuitous) services to assist it; and
• deem members of the Board of Trustees, as of October 21, 1998, to be employees of the Service instead of District employees for purposes of any action brought against them.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
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. 20 actions.
- Jan 28, 2016Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 114-118.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Jan 19, 2016FloorFloor · Presented to President.
- Jan 11, 2016FloorFloor · 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 S. 1629.
- FloorFloor · Considered under suspension of the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Chaffetz moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
- Dec 3, 2015CalendarCalendar · Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 281.
- CommitteeCommittee · Reported by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. H. Rept. 114-368.
- Oct 9, 2015CommitteeCommittee · Ordered to be Reported by Unanimous Consent.
- Sep 11, 2015FloorFloor · Message on Senate action sent to the House.
- FloorFloor · Received in the House.
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
- Sep 10, 2015FloorFloor · Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
- Aug 3, 2015CalendarCalendar · Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 190.
- CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Reported by Senator Johnson without amendment. With written report No. 114-110.
- Jun 24, 2015CommitteeCommittee · Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Jun 18, 2015CommitteeCommittee · Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in Senate
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.