Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 1752 (rh) To make improvements in the operation and administration of the Federal courts, and for other purposes. [Reported in House] ...H.R. 1752 (rh) To make improvements in the operation and administration of the Federal courts, and for other purposes. [Reported in House] ...
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 1752
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 23, 2000
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To make improvements in the operation and administration of the Federal
courts, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Courts
Improvement Act of 2000''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
TITLE I--JUDICIAL FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 101. Transfer of retirement funds.
Sec. 102. Judiciary Information Technology Fund.
Sec. 103. Bankruptcy fees.
Sec. 104. Disposition of miscellaneous fees.
Sec. 105. Repeal of statute setting Court of Federal Claims filing fee.
Sec. 106. Technical amendment relating to the treatment of certain
bankruptcy fees collected.
Sec. 107. Increase in fee for converting a chapter 7 or chapter 13
bankruptcy case to a chapter 11 bankruptcy
case.
Sec. 108. Increase in chapter 9 bankruptcy filing fee.
Sec. 109. Creation of certifying officers in the judicial branch.
Sec. 110. Fee authority for technology resources in the courts.
TITLE II--JUDICIAL PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
Sec. 201. Extension of statutory authority for magistrate judge
positions to be established in the district
courts of Guam and the Northern Mariana
Islands.
Sec. 202. Magistrate judge contempt authority.
Sec. 203. Consent to magistrate judge authority in petty offense cases
and magistrate judge authority in
misdemeanor cases involving juvenile
defendants.
Sec. 204. Savings and loan data reporting requirements.
Sec. 205. Place of holding court in the Eastern District of Texas.
Sec. 206. Federal substance abuse treatment program reauthorization.
Sec. 207. Membership in circuit judicial councils.
Sec. 208. Sunset of Civil Justice Expense and Delay Reduction Plans.
Sec. 209. Technical bankruptcy correction.
Sec. 210. Authority of presiding judge to allow media coverage of court
proceedings.
TITLE III--JUDICIARY PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION, BENEFITS, AND
PROTECTIONS
Sec. 301. Disability retirement and cost-of-living adjustments of
annuities for territorial judges.
Sec. 302. Federal Judicial Center personnel matters.
Sec. 303. Judicial administrative officials retirement matters.
Sec. 304. Judges' firearms training.
Sec. 305. Removal of automatic excuse from jury service for members of
the Armed Services, members of fire and
police departments, and public officers.
Sec. 306. Expanded workers' compensation coverage for jurors.
Sec. 307. Property damage, theft, and loss claims of jurors.
Sec. 308. Elimination of the public drawing requirements for selection
of juror wheels.
Sec. 309. Annual leave limit for court unit executives.
Sec. 310. Payments to Military Survivor Benefit Plan.
Sec. 311. Authorization of a circuit executive for the Federal Circuit.
Sec. 312. Amendment to the jury selection process.
Sec. 313. Supplemental attendance fee for petit jurors serving on
lengthy trials.
Sec. 314. Service on territorial courts.
Sec. 315. Residence of retired judges.
Sec. 316. Court of Federal Claims Judicial Conference.
Sec. 317. Recall of judges on disability status.
Sec. 318. Senior status provision.
Sec. 319. Miscellaneous provision.
TITLE IV--CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT AMENDMENTS
Sec. 401. Maximum amounts of compensation for attorneys.
Sec. 402. Maximum amounts of compensation for services other than
counsel.
Sec. 403. Tort Claims Act amendments relating to liability of Federal
public defenders.
TITLE I--JUDICIAL FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION
SEC. 101. TRANSFER OF RETIREMENT FUNDS.
Section 377 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(p) Transfer of Retirement Funds.--Upon election by a bankruptcy
judge or a magistrate judge under subsection (f) of this section, all
of the accrued employer contributions and accrued interest on those
contributions made on behalf of the bankruptcy judge or magistrate
judge to the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund under section
8348 of title 5 shall be transferred to the fund established under
section 1931 of this title, except that if the bankruptcy judge or
magistrate judge elects, under section 2(c) of the Retirement and
Survivors' Annuities for Bankruptcy Judges and Magistrates Act of 1988
(Public Law 100-659), to receive a retirement annuity under both this
section and title 5, only the accrued employer contributions and
accrued interest on such contributions made on behalf of the bankruptcy
judge or magistrate judge for service credited under this section may
be transferred.''.
SEC. 102. JUDICIARY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FUND.
Section 612 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``equipment'' each place it appears and
inserting ``resources'';
(2) by striking subsection (f) and redesignating subsequent
subsections accordingly;
(3) in subsection (g), as so redesignated, by striking
paragraph (3); and
(4) in subsection (i), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking ``Judiciary'' and inserting
``judiciary'';
(B) by striking ``subparagraph (c)(1)(B)'' and
inserting ``subsection (c)(1)(B)''; and
(C) by striking ``under (c)(1)(B)'' and inserting
``under subsection (c)(1)(B)''.
SEC. 103. BANKRUPTCY FEES.
Subsection (a) of section 1930 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new paragraph:
``(7) In districts that are not part of a United States
trustee region as defined in section 581 of this title, the
Judicial Conference of the United States may require the debtor
in a case under chapter 11 of title 11 to pay fees equal to
those imposed by paragraph (6). Such fees shall be deposited
into the fund established under section 1931.''.
SEC. 104. DISPOSITION OF MISCELLANEOUS FEES.
For fiscal year 2000 and thereafter, any portion of miscellaneous
fees collected as prescribed by the Judicial Conference of the United
States pursuant to sections 1913, 1914(b), 1926(a), 1930(b), and 1932
of title 28, United States Code, exceeding the amount of such fees
established on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be deposited
into the special fund of the Treasury established under section 1931 of
title 28, United States Code.
SEC. 105. REPEAL OF STATUTE SETTING COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS FILING FEE.
Section 2520 of title 28, United States Code, and the item relating
to such section in the table of contents for chapter 165 of such title,
are repealed.
SEC. 106. TECHNICAL AMENDMENT RELATING TO THE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN
BANKRUPTCY FEES COLLECTED.
(a) Amendment.--The first sentence of section 406(b) of the
Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1990 (Public Law 101-162; 103 Stat. 1016)
is amended by striking ``service enumerated after item 18'' and
inserting ``service not of a kind described in any of the items
enumerated as items 1 through 7 and as items 9 through 18, as in effect
on November 21, 1989, (and not of a kind described in items enumerated
as items 8.1, 8.2, and 23, as in effect on January 1, 1998)''.
(b) Application of Amendment.--The amendment made by subsection (a)
shall not apply with respect to fees collected before the date of the
enactment of this Act.
SEC. 107. INCREASE IN FEE FOR CONVERTING A CHAPTER 7 OR CHAPTER 13
BANKRUPTCY CASE TO A CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY CASE.
The flush paragraph at the end of section 1930(a) of title 28,
United States Code, is amended by striking ``of $400'' and inserting
``which is the amount equal to the difference between the fee specified
in paragraph (3) and the fee specified in paragraph (1)''.
SEC. 108. INCREASE IN CHAPTER 9 BANKRUPTCY FILING FEE.
Section 1930(a)(2) of title 28, United States Code, is amended by
striking ``$300'' and inserting ``an amount equal to the fee specified
in paragraph (3) for filing a case under chapter 11 of title 11. The
amount by which the fee payable under this paragraph exceeds $300 shall
be deposited in the fund established under section 1931 of this
title''.
SEC. 109. CREATION OF CERTIFYING OFFICERS IN THE JUDICIAL BRANCH.
(a) Appointment of Disbursing and Certifying Officers.--Chapter 41
of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``Sec. 613. Disbursing and certifying officers
``(a) Disbursing Officers.--The Director may designate in writing
officers and employees of the judicial branch of the Government,
including the courts as defined in section 610 other than the Supreme
Court, to be disbursing officers in such numbers and locations as the
Director considers necessary. Such dispersing officers shall--
``(1) disburse moneys appropriated to the judicial branch
and other funds only in strict accordance with payment requests
certified by the Director or in accordance with subsection (b);
``(2) examine payment requests as necessary to ascertain
whether they are in proper form, certified, and approved; and
``(3) be held accountable for their actions as provided by
law, except such a disbursing officer shall not be held
accountable or responsible for any illegal, improper, or
incorrect payment resulting from any false, inaccurate, or
misleading certificate for which a certifying officer is
responsible under subsection (b).
``(b) Certifying Officers.--(1) The Director may designate in
writing officers and employees of the judicial branch of the
Government, including the courts as defined in section 610 other than
the Supreme Court, to certify payment requests payable from
appropriations and funds. These certifying officers shall be
responsible and accountable for--
``(A) the existence and correctness of the facts recited in
the certificate or other request for payment or its supporting
papers;
``(B) the legality of the proposed payment under the
appropriation or fund involved; and
``(C) the correctness of the computations of certified
payment requests.
``(2) The liability of a certifying officer shall be enforced in
the same manner and to the same extent as provided by law with respect
to the enforcement of the liability of disbursing and other accountable
officers. A certifying officer shall be required to make restitution to
the United States for the amount of any illegal, improper, or incorrect
payment resulting from any false, inaccurate, or misleading
certificates made by the certifying officer, as well as for any payment
prohibited by law or which did not represent a legal obligation under
the appropriation or fund involved.
``(c) Rights.--A certifying or disbursing officer--
``(1) has the right to apply for and obtain a decision by
the Comptroller General on any question of law involved in a
payment request presented for certification; and
``(2) is entitled to relief from liability arising under
this section in accordance with title 31.
``(d) Other Authority Not Affected.--Nothing in this section
affects the authority of the courts with respect to moneys deposited
with the courts under chapter 129 of this title.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 41 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
``613. Disbursing and certifying officers.''.
(c) Duties of Director.--Paragraph (8) of subsection (a) of section
604 of title 28, United States Code, is amended to read as follows:
``(8) Disburse appropriations and other funds for the
maintenance and operation of the courts;''.
SEC. 110. FEE AUTHORITY FOR TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES IN THE COURTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 41 of title 28, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 614. Authority to prescribe fees for technology resources in the
courts
``The Judicial Conference is authorized to prescribe reasonable
fees pursuant to sections 1913, 1914, 1926, 1930, and 1932, for use of
information technology resources provided by the judiciary to improve
the efficiency of and access to the courts. Fees collected pursuant to
this section are to be deposited in the Judiciary Information
Technology Fund to be available to the Director without fiscal year
limitation for reinvestment in information technology resources which
will advance the purposes of this section.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 41 of
title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following new item:
``614. Authority to prescribe fees for technology resources in the
courts.''.
TITLE II--JUDICIAL PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
SEC. 201. EXTENSION OF STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR MAGISTRATE JUDGE
POSITIONS TO BE ESTABLISHED IN THE DISTRICT COURTS OF
GUAM AND THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.
Section 631 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking the first two sentences of subsection (a)
and inserting the following: ``The judges of each United States
district court and the district courts of the Virgin Islands,
Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands shall appoint United
States magistrate judges in such numbers and to serve at such
locations within the judicial districts as the Conference may
determine under this chapter. In the case of a magistrate judge
appointed by the district court of the Virgin Islands, Guam, or
the Northern Mariana Islands, this chapter shall apply as
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