H.R. 3811: National Center for the Right to Counsel Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-09-21 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-09-21 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-22] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice. 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

National Center for the Right to Counsel Act

Plain summary

National Center for the Right to Counsel Act This bill establishes in the District of Columbia a private, nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Center for the Right to Counsel to provide: (1) financial support to supplement funding for public defense systems that provide legal assistance to indigent defendants, and (2) financial and substantive support for training programs to improve delivery of legal services to indigent defendants. The bill requires each state to have a state advisory council to: (1) monitor, receive, and investigate complaints regarding the compliance of public defense systems that receive funding with applicable laws and regulations; (2) notify the center of any apparent violations; and (3) collect data on the delivery of public defense services and facilitate information sharing among the state's public defense systems. The center must make available to the public an online database that includes the contact information for all public defense systems in every state. The bill requires the center to establish regional backup service centers to assist public defense systems with access to investigators, sentencing mitigation specialists, and information about available grants. The Government Accountability Office must complete a study four years after this bill is enacted about the effects of the center on providing public defense services and on the cost of the criminal justice system.

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.

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

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

National Center for the Right to Counsel Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Deutch, Theodore E. [D-FL-22] · 6 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Adam Smith (D-WA)

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 (2)

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).
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 House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hr3811.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr3811 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115