118 STAT. 3868 PUBLIC LAW 108–458—DEC. 17, 2004 SEC. 8304. PROTECTION OF CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES BY OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. Section 8I of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(f)(1) The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall designate a senior official within the Office of Inspector General, who shall be a career member of the civil service at the equivalent to the GS–15 level or a career member of the Senior Executive Service, to perform the functions described in paragraph (2). ‘‘(2) The senior official designated under paragraph (1) shall— ‘‘(A) coordinate the activities of the Office of Inspector General with respect to investigations of abuses of civil rights or civil liberties; ‘‘(B) receive and review complaints and information from any source alleging abuses of civil rights and civil liberties by employees or officials of the Department and employees or officials of independent contractors or grantees of the Depart- ment; ‘‘(C) initiate investigations of alleged abuses of civil rights or civil liberties by employees or officials of the Department and employees or officials of independent contractors or grantees of the Department; ‘‘(D) ensure that personnel within the Office of Inspector General receive sufficient training to conduct effective civil rights and civil liberties investigations; ‘‘(E) consult with the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties regarding— ‘‘(i) alleged abuses of civil rights or civil liberties; and ‘‘(ii) any policy recommendations regarding civil rights and civil liberties that may be founded upon an investiga- tion by the Office of Inspector General; ‘‘(F) provide the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties with information regarding the outcome of investigations of alleged abuses of civil rights and civil liberties; ‘‘(G) refer civil rights and civil liberties matters that the Inspector General decides not to investigate to the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties; ‘‘(H) ensure that the Office of the Inspector General pub- licizes and provides convenient public access to information regarding— ‘‘(i) the procedure to file complaints or comments con- cerning civil rights and civil liberties matters; and ‘‘(ii) the status of corrective actions taken by the Department in response to Office of the Inspector General reports; and ‘‘(I) inform the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of any weaknesses, problems, and deficiencies within the Department relating to civil rights or civil liberties.’’. SEC. 8305. PRIVACY OFFICER. Section 222 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 142) is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, who shall report directly to the Secretary,’’ after ‘‘in the Department’’; (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:54 Nov 10, 2005 Jkt 029194 PO 00000 Frm 00402 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 C:\STATUTES\2004\29194PT4.001 APPS10 PsN: 29194PT4
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