H.R. 6628: SAFER Act of 2012
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H.R. 6628: SAFER Act of 2012
112th Congress · introduced 2012-12-04 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2012-12-04 · official record
- Who proposed it: Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
SAFER Act of 2012
Plain summary
Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry Act of 2012 or the SAFER Act of 2012 - Amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to authorize the Attorney General to make Debbie Smith grants under such Act to states or local governments to conduct audits of samples of sexual assault evidence that are awaiting testing, provided such government submits an audit plan that includes a good-faith estimate of the number of such samples. Requires between 5% and 10% of Debbie Smith grant funds distributed in FY2014-FY2018 to be awarded for such purpose if sufficient applications to justify such amounts are received by the Attorney General, provided such award doesn't decrease funds for other distribution requirements. Requires the Attorney General to establish a Sexual Assault Forensic Evidence Registry that: (1) allows state and local governments to enter specified information about samples of sexual assault evidence in their possession that are awaiting testing, and (2) tracks the testing and processing of such samples. Requires such a government: (1) to complete a funded audit and enter such information about the sample into the Registry within one year after receiving a grant under this Act; (2) within 21 days after receiving a sample that was not in such government's possession at the time of the initiation of such audit, to enter information about such sample into the Registry; (3) to update the status of a sample within 30 days after any change; (4) to provide that the chief law enforcement officer of such government is the individual responsible for such government's compliance with registry requirements; and (5) to assign each sample a unique numeric or alphanumeric identifier. Exempts from such Registry-requirements samples that are not considered criminal evidence or that relate to a sexual assault for which the prosecution of each perpetrator is barred by a statute of limitations. Requires the Attorney General to make publicly available on a website aggregate non-individualized and non-personally identifying data compiled from information required to be entered into the Registry, to allow for comparison of backlog data by state and local governments. Requires, for each fiscal year through FY2018, not less than: (1) 40% of Debbie Smith grant amounts to be awarded to carry out DNA analyses of samples from crime scenes for inclusion in the Combined DNA Index System, and (2) 75% of grant amounts to be awarded for a combination of that purpose and to increase the capacity of state or local government laboratories to carry out DNA analyses.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
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What does this mean? (plain words)
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2] · 4 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Jim Costa (D-CA), William R. Keating (D-MA)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (3)
- Authorization
- A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
- Fiscal year
- The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
- Statute
- A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-112hr6628.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/112/hr>
Record fed-us-cong112-hr6628 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112