Center for Defense Services Act
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
Center for Defense Services Act - Declares the policy of Congress to aid State and local efforts to promote the fair administration of criminal justice in State court proceedings and the uniform provision of defense services to individuals unable to afford counsel. Establishes in the District of Columbia the Center for Defense Services as a private, nonmembership, nonprofit corporation. Grants the Center the authority to: (1) make grants and contracts to programs to provide defense services to eligible clients which substantially comply with nationally recognized standards; (2) provide research and technical assistance, and make grants or contracts for demonstration projects to further the purposes of this Act; (3) provide for the review, monitoring, and evaluation of the provision of defense services, whether or not furnished by a recipient of funds from the Center; and (4) make other grants or contracts to carry out the purposes of this Act. Directs the Center to promulgate regulations and guidelines to carry out this Act, including provision for substantial participation and advice from eligible clients in the decisionmaking process of defense services programs receiving assistance. Sets forth requirements with respect to grants and contracts made by the Center, such as the authority to require matching funds and a requirement that recipients of funds keep records. Requires the accounts of the Center to be audited annually and the report of the annual audit to be filed with the General Accounting Office.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 19, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 19, 1980: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
PETER RODINO (D-NJ) introduced it on March 19, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 19, 1980, 16976 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16976 days ago, on March 19, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers