All Roll Calls
Yes: 406 • No: 20
117-hr-3359117th Congress
Homicide Victims' Families' Rights Act of 2021
Sponsored By: Representative Swalwell, Eric [D-CA-14]
Became Law
Summary
Family-initiated cold case reviews give surviving relatives and similarly situated people a formal way to ask federal law enforcement to reexamine unsolved murders and to be consulted and updated during that process. The law sets deadlines, limits on who can review or reinvestigate, and reporting requirements to track results and agency compliance.
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- Families: Designated family members can file a written application to request a case file review. Agencies must acknowledge receipt, explain the applicant's rights, consult with them during the review and provide periodic updates, and meet with them at the review's end.
- Agencies and rules: Agencies must create a written application process and complete initial case file reviews within 6 months, with one possible extension up to 6 months if needed. The law directs agencies to issue regulations to promote compliance within 1 year and requires the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to publish statistics beginning 3 years after enactment and then annually.
- Investigations and limits: If a review finds likely probative leads the agency must conduct a full reinvestigation by someone who did not previously work the case. If no suspect is identified after a reinvestigation, no further reviews or reinvestigations occur for 5 years unless materially new evidence appears. The law applies to cold case murders from January 1, 1970 onward.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Families can trigger federal cold case review
Immediate family or a similar person can ask a federal agency to review a cold case murder. The case must be over three years old, previously investigated by a federal agency, with all leads exhausted and no likely suspect. The agency must finish the review in six months, with one possible extension of up to six more months. If useful leads are found, a new team must reinvestigate. Only one review or reinvestigation happens at a time, and agencies must coordinate. After a no‑reinvestigation decision or a reinvestigation with no suspect, no new reviews are allowed for five years unless new, significant evidence appears. The agency must acknowledge your request, consult with you, give updates, and meet to explain its decision.
Justice Department publishes annual cold case stats
Beginning three years after enactment, the Justice Department publishes national cold case murder statistics every year. The reports show case circumstances, offense type, and which agency handled each case.
Limits on info shared with families
Agencies may withhold case details from a designated person when sharing would risk safety, harm an active investigation, violate a court order, or break privacy laws. These limits apply during reviews and reinvestigations.
Agencies must set complaint and discipline rules
Within one year, each federal agency sets rules to handle family complaints about cold case reviews and reinvestigations. The rules must name an office to take complaints, train staff, and allow discipline, including suspension or firing, for willful failures. The agency head or a designee makes the final decision on complaints, and you cannot ask a court to review that final decision.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Swalwell, Eric [D-CA-14]
CA • D
Cosponsors
Rep. McCaul, Michael T. [R-TX-10]
TX • R
Sponsored 5/19/2021
Rep. Eshoo, Anna G. [D-CA-16]
CA • D
Sponsored 7/22/2021
Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36]
CA • D
Sponsored 7/22/2021
Rep. Escobar, Veronica [D-TX-16]
TX • D
Sponsored 7/22/2021
Sen. Gallego, Ruben [D-AZ]
AZ • D
Sponsored 7/30/2021
Rep. Demings, Val Butler [D-FL-10]
FL • D
Sponsored 7/30/2021
Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7]
AL • D
Sponsored 7/30/2021
Rep. Pressley, Ayanna [D-MA-7]
MA • D
Sponsored 7/30/2021
Rep. Stanton, Greg [D-AZ-4]
AZ • D
Sponsored 7/30/2021
Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21]
CA • D
Sponsored 9/10/2021
Rep. Ross, Deborah K. [D-NC-2]
NC • D
Sponsored 10/8/2021
Rep. Sherrill, Mikie [D-NJ-11]
NJ • D
Sponsored 10/8/2021
Rep. Garcia, Sylvia R. [D-TX-29]
TX • D
Sponsored 10/8/2021
Rep. Jackson Lee, Sheila [D-TX-18]
TX • D
Sponsored 12/7/2021
Rep. Correa, J. Luis [D-CA-46]
CA • D
Sponsored 12/7/2021
Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]
PA • R
Sponsored 3/24/2022
Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5]
GA • D
Sponsored 3/28/2022
Roll Call Votes
house vote • 3/29/2022
On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended
Yes: 406 • No: 20