S. 967: Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013

113th Congress · introduced 2013-05-16 · Armed Forces and National Security · Latest: Committee on Armed Services. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-320.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2013-05-16 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Committee on Armed Services. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 113-320. 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.

What does this mean?

Official title

Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013

Plain summary

Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), with respect to charges that allege an offense triable by court-martial (with certain exclusions) for which the maximum punishment includes confinement for more than one year, to direct the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to require the Secretaries of the military departments to provide for the determination of whether to try such charges by general or special court-martial to be made by a commissioned officer of grade O-6 or higher with significant experience in such trials and who is outside the chain of command of the accused. Provides that a determination not to proceed to trial shall not preclude a commanding officer from either referring such charges for trial by summary court-martial or imposing non-judicial punishment. Requires Rule 306 (relating to policy on initial disposition of offenses) of the Manual for Courts-Martial to be amended to strike the character and military service of the accused from factors to be considered by the disposition authority. Revises the list of officers authorized to convene general and special courts-martial to include those in grade O-6 or higher assigned such responsibility by their department chief of staff (with the same prohibition against an officer in the same chain of command as the accused). Requires each chief of staff to establish an office which shall convene general and special courts-martial and detail judges and members. Requires a military judge to call a general or special court-martial trial into session within 90 days of the determination of its necessity. Requires a convening authority (the official acting on the sentence of a court-martial), when taking any action other than approving a sentence, to prepare a written justification of such action which shall be made part of the record of the court-martial. Prohibits a convening authority from: (1) dismissing or setting aside a finding of guilty, or (2) reducing a finding of guilty to a finding of guilty to a lesser included offense. Requires a commanding officer who receives a report of a sexual-related offense involving a member in such officer's chain of command to act immediately upon such report by way of referral to the appropriate criminal investigative office or service. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 to require an independent panel established by the DOD Secretary to monitor and assess the implementation and efficacy of this Act and its amendments.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] · 38 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] reported raising $3.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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 (4)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
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.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-113s967.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/113/s>

Record fed-us-cong113-s967 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong113 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong113