H.R. 1272: Cold Case Record Collections Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-03-01 · Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues · Latest: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-03-01 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Unanimous Consent. 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

Cold Case Record Collections Act of 2017

Plain summary

Cold Case Record Collections Act of 2017 This bill requires the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to establish a collection of cold case records about unsolved criminal civil rights cases that government offices must: (1) publicly disclose in the collection without redaction or withholding, or (2) submit to a protected collection of records for which public disclosure may be postponed. The Cold Case Records Review Board is established as an independent agency of impartial private citizens to: (1) facilitate the review, transmission to NARA, and public disclosure of government records related to such cases; (2) hold hearings and render decisions on determinations by government offices to seek to postpone the disclosure of such records; (3) direct government offices to make information available to the board; (4) subpoena private persons to compel testimony and records; and (5) receive information from the public. Postponement is permitted based on clear and convincing evidence that public disclosure would: (1) impair national security or reveal intelligence sources or methods; (2) reveal the name of, and pose substantial harm to, a living person who provided confidential information; (3) constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy that outweighs the public interest; (4) compromise an understanding of confidentiality currently requiring protection between a government agent and a cooperating individual or group; or (5) reveal a security or protective procedure of the Secret Service or another executive agency responsible for protecting government officials. NARA and the originating agency must review postponed or redacted records every 180 days. The reasons for any continuation of postponement must be published in the Federal Register. Each cold case record shall be publicly disclosed and shall be available in NARA's collection not later than 25 years after enactment of this bill, unless: (1) continued postponement is made necessary by an identifiable harm to military defense, intelligence operations, or the conduct of foreign relations; and (2) the gravity of the identifiable harm outweighs the public interest in disclosure. The President has sole and nondelegable authority to require disclosure or postponement of an executive branch cold case record under the grounds set forth in this bill after the board has made a formal determination concerning a record obtained or developed solely within the executive branch. The board may request the Department of Justice to petition courts to release information related to cold cases under seal or held under the injunction of secrecy of a grand jury.

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

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PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Cold Case Record Collections Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Rush, Bobby L. [D-IL-1] · 24 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: H.R. 1272, Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 (2018-12-06)

Cosponsors on this site

Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Gwen Moore (D-WI), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL), Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), André Carson (D-IN), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY)

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)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Federal Register: The official daily publication of the U.S. government for agency rules, proposed rules, public notices and presidential documents.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

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-115hr1272.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr1272 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115