Access to Information About Missing Children Act of 2012
Latest action · Aug 2, 2012 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 487.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 31, 2011
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Access to Information About Missing Children Act of 2012 - Amends the federal criminal code to require, upon the grant of an ex parte order by a federal judge or magistrate, an individual's mailing address held by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to be open to inspection by, or disclosure to, any federal law enforcement officer who is directly engaged in an investigation, judicial or administrative proceeding, or federal grand jury proceeding relating to the case of a missing or exploited child. Prohibits such federal law enforcement officer from willfully disclosing such information to any person not directly engaged in the investigation or proceeding. Makes any such violation a felony.
Directs a federal law enforcement officer seeking such an order to submit an application to a federal district court judge or magistrate. Authorizes the judge or magistrate to grant the order upon determining that: (1) there is reasonable cause to believe that an act of kidnapping or exploitation of a minor has been committed and that the information sought is relevant to a matter relating to the act; (2) the information is sought exclusively for use in a criminal investigation or proceeding concerning the act; (3) the information relates to an individual who, there is reasonable cause to believe, has committed, has conspired to commit, has aided or abetted, or has direct knowledge of, the act; and (4) the information sought cannot reasonably be obtained from another source.
Authorizes a federal law enforcement officer, upon a state or local law enforcement agency's written request that contains sufficient information to allow such officer to submit an application meeting such requirements, to: (1) apply for such an ex parte order on behalf of such agency; and (2) disclose the individual's mailing address obtained to such agency for use exclusively in a criminal investigation or proceeding concerning a missing or exploited child. Prohibits any individual employed by such agency from willfully disclosing the information to another person. Makes any such violation a felony.
Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from disclosing any information with respect to an individual if the Secretary certifies to the court that issued an order under this Act that such a disclosure would identify a confidential informant or seriously impair a civil or criminal investigation.
Cosponsors 6
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 31, 2011 to Aug 2, 2012; 2 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-TX | John Cornyn | Original | Jan 31, 2011 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Jan 31, 2011 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Jul 31, 2012 | |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Jul 31, 2012 | |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Jul 31, 2012 | |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Aug 2, 2012 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Judiciary Committee | Referred Jan 31, 2011Markup Aug 2, 2012Reported Aug 2, 2012 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 2, 2012Committee on the Judiciary. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Aug 2, 2012Committee on the Judiciary. Reported by Senator Leahy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Aug 2, 2012Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 487.
- Jan 31, 2011Introduced in Senate
- Jan 31, 2011Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Aug 10, 2012S. 225, Access to Information About Missing Children Act of 2012As reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on August 2, 2012
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to permit the disclosure of certain information for the purpose of missing child investigations.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Access to Information About Missing Children Act of 2011
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Access to Information About Missing Children Act of 2012
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 2, 2012Reported to Senate
- Jan 31, 2011Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
