Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2001 (Introduced in the
House)
HR 1343 IH
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1343
To provide Federal assistance to States and local jurisdictions to prosecute
hate crimes, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 3, 2001
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mrs. MORELLA, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. FRANK, Mr. GEPHARDT,
Mr. SKELTON, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. SHAYS, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. BERMAN, Mr.
BOUCHER, Mr. NADLER, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr.
DELAHUNT, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. WEINER, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. ACKERMAN,
Mr. ALLEN, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. BACA, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. BARRETT of
Wisconsin, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. BENTSEN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. BISHOP,
Mr. BLAGOJEVICH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. BONIOR, Mr. BORSKI, Mr.
BOSWELL, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. BROWN of Ohio,
Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. CARSON of Indiana, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN,
Mr. CLAY, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. COYNE, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. CUMMINGS,
Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DEFAZIO, Ms. DEGETTE,
Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DEUTSCH, Mr. DICKS, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. DOOLEY of
California, Mr. ENGEL, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. EVANS, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Mr. FARR of
California, Mr. FILNER, Mr. FORD, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. FROST, Mr. GILMAN,
Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Ms. HARMAN, Mr.
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. HOEFFEL,
Mr. HOLT, Mr. HONDA, Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Mr. HORN, Mr. HOYER, Mr. INSLEE,
Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mrs. JOHNSON of
Connecticut, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Ms.
KAPTUR, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. KILDEE, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. KIND,
Mr. KIRK, Mr. KLECZKA, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. LANGEVIN, Mr. LANTOS,
Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. LEACH, Ms. LEE, Mr.
LEVIN, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. LUTHER, Mr. MALONEY of
Connecticut, Mrs. MALONEY of New York, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MATSUI, Ms. MCCARTHY
of Missouri, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr.
MCGOVERN, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. MCNULTY, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. MEEKS of New
York, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California,
Mrs. MINK of Hawaii, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mr. MOORE, Mr. MORAN of Virginia, Mrs.
NAPOLITANO, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. OLVER,
Mr. OWENS, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PELOSI, Mr.
PRICE of North Carolina, Ms. PRYCE of Ohio, Mr. QUINN, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. REYES,
Ms. RIVERS, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ROTHMAN, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RUSH, Mr.
SABO, Ms. SANCHEZ, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SANDLIN, Mr. SAWYER, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr.
SERRANO, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. SIMMONS, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Mr. SMITH of Washington,
Mr. SNYDER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr. STARK, Mr. STRICKLAND, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. THOMPSON
of California, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. TIERNEY, Mr.
TOWNS, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Ms.
VELAZQUEZ, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. WALSH, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. WU, and Mr.
WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
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A BILL
To provide Federal assistance to States and local jurisdictions to prosecute
hate crimes, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States
of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention
Act of 2001'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The incidence of violence motivated by the actual or perceived race,
color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability
of the victim poses a serious national problem.
(2) Such violence disrupts the tranquility and safety of communities and is
deeply divisive.
(3) State and local authorities are now and will continue to be responsible
for prosecuting the overwhelming majority of violent crimes in the United
States, including violent crimes motivated by bias. These authorities can
carry out their responsibilities more effectively with greater Federal
assistance.
(4) Existing Federal law is inadequate to address this problem.
(5) The prominent characteristic of a violent crime motivated by bias is that
it devastates not just the actual victim and the family and friends of the
victim, but frequently savages the community sharing the traits that caused
the victim to be selected.
(6) Such violence substantially affects interstate commerce in many ways,
including--
(A) by impeding the movement of members of targeted groups and forcing such
members to move across State lines to escape the incidence or risk of such
violence; and
(B) by preventing members of targeted groups from purchasing goods and
services, obtaining or sustaining employment, or participating in other
commercial activity.
(7) Perpetrators cross State lines to commit such violence.
(8) Channels, facilities, and instrumentalities of interstate commerce are
used to facilitate the commission of such violence.
(9) Such violence is committed using articles that have traveled in
interstate commerce.
(10) For generations, the institutions of slavery and involuntary servitude
were defined by the race, color, and ancestry of those held in bondage.
Slavery and involuntary servitude were enforced, both prior to and after the
adoption of the 13th amendment to the Constitution of the United States,
through widespread public and private violence directed at persons because of
their race, color, or ancestry, or perceived race, color, or ancestry.
Accordingly, eliminating racially motivated violence is an important means of
eliminating, to the extent possible, the
badges, incidents, and relics of slavery and involuntary servitude.
(11) Both at the time when the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the
Constitution of the United States were adopted, and continuing to date,
members of certain religious and national origin groups were and are
perceived to be distinct `races'. Thus, in order to eliminate, to the extent
possible, the badges, incidents, and relics of slavery, it is necessary to
prohibit assaults on the basis of real or perceived religions or national
origins, at least to the extent such religions or national origins were
regarded as races at the time of the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th
amendments to the Constitution of the United States.
(12) Federal jurisdiction over certain violent crimes motivated by bias
enables Federal, State, and local authorities to work together as partners in
the investigation and prosecution of such crimes.
(13) The problem of crimes motivated by bias is sufficiently serious,
widespread, and interstate in nature as to warrant Federal assistance to
States and local jurisdictions.
SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HATE CRIME.
In this Act, the term `hate crime' has the same meaning as in section
280003(a) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (28
U.S.C. 994 note).
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS BY STATE AND
LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.
(a) ASSISTANCE OTHER THAN FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE-
(1) IN GENERAL- At the request of a law enforcement official of a State or
Indian tribe, the Attorney General may provide technical, forensic,
prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation
or prosecution of any crime that--
(A) constitutes a crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of title 18,
United States Code);
(B) constitutes a felony under the laws of the State or Indian tribe; and
(C) is motivated by prejudice based on the race, color, religion, national
origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the victim, or is a
violation of the hate crime laws of the State or Indian tribe.
(2) PRIORITY- In providing assistance under paragraph (1), the Attorney
General shall give priority to crimes committed by offenders who have
committed crimes in more than 1 State and to rural jurisdictions that have
difficulty covering the extraordinary expenses relating to the investigation
or prosecution of the crime.
(b) GRANTS-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General may award grants to assist State, local
, and Indian law enforcement officials with the extraordinary expenses
associated with the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.
(2) OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS- In implementing the grant program, the Office
of Justice Programs shall work closely with the funded jurisdictions to
ensure that the concerns and needs of all affected parties, including
community groups and schools, colleges, and universities, are addressed
through the local infrastructure developed under the grants.
(3) APPLICATION-
(A) IN GENERAL- Each State that desires a grant under this subsection shall
submit an application to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner,
and accompanied by or containing such information as the Attorney General
shall reasonably require.
(B) DATE FOR SUBMISSION- Applications submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A)
shall be submitted during the 60-day period beginning on a date that the
Attorney General shall prescribe.
(C) REQUIREMENTS- A State or political subdivision of a State or tribal
official applying for assistance under this subsection shall--
(i) describe the extraordinary purposes for which the grant is needed;
(ii) certify that the State, political subdivision, or Indian tribe lacks the
resources necessary to investigate or prosecute the hate crime;
(iii) demonstrate that, in developing a plan to implement the grant, the
State, political subdivision, or tribal official has consulted and
coordinated with nonprofit, nongovernmental victim services programs that
have experience in providing services to victims of hate crimes; and
(iv) certify that any Federal funds received under this subsection will be
used to supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise be
available for activities funded under this subsection.
(4) DEADLINE- An application for a grant under this subsection shall be
approved or disapproved by the Attorney General not later than 30
business days after the date on which the Attorney General receives the
application.
(5) GRANT AMOUNT- A grant under this subsection shall not exceed $100,000 for
any single jurisdiction within a 1 year period.
(6) REPORT- Not later than December 31, 2002, the Attorney General shall
submit to Congress a report describing the applications submitted for grants
under this subsection, the award of such grants, and the purposes for which
the grant amounts were expended.
(7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated
to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 and
2003.
SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS- The Office of Justice Programs of the
Department of Justice shall award grants, in accordance with such regulations
as the Attorney General may prescribe, to State and local programs designed
to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles, including programs to train
local law enforcement officers in identifying, investigating, prosecuting,
and preventing hate crimes.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated
such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO ASSIST STATE AND LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT .
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of the Treasury and
the Department of Justice, including the Community Relations Service, for
fiscal years 2002, 2003, and 2004 such sums as are necessary to increase the
number of personnel to prevent and respond to alleged violations of section
249 of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 7.
SEC. 7. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN HATE CRIME ACTS.
(a) IN GENERAL- Chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
`Sec. 249. Hate crime acts
`(a) IN GENERAL-
`(1) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, OR
NATIONAL ORIGIN- Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law ,
willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a
firearm, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily
injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color,
religion, or national origin of any person--
`(A) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in accordance with
this title, or both; and
`(B) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined in
accordance with this title, or both, if--
`(i) death results from the offense; or
`(ii) the offense includes kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated
sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt
to kill.
`(2) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PERCEIVED RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN,
GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, OR DISABILITY-
`(A) IN GENERAL- Whoever, whether or not acting under color of law , in any
circumstance described in subparagraph (B), willfully causes bodily injury to
any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive or
incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of
the actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation, or disability of any person--
`(i) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in accordance with
this title, or both; and
`(ii) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life, fined in
accordance with this title, or both, if--
`(I) death results from the offense; or
`(II) the offense includes kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated
sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt
to kill.
`(B) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED- For purposes of subparagraph (A), the
circumstances described in this subparagraph are that--
`(i) the conduct described in subparagraph (A) occurs during the course of,
or as the result of, the travel of the defendant or the victim--
`(I) across a State line or national border; or
`(II) using a channel, facility, or instrumentality of interstate or foreign
commerce;
`(ii) the defendant uses a channel, facility, or instrumentality of
interstate or foreign commerce in connection with the conduct described in
subparagraph (A);
`(iii) in connection with the conduct described in subparagraph (A), the
defendant employs a firearm, explosive or incendiary device, or other weapon
that has traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; or
`(iv) the conduct described in subparagraph (A)--
`(I) interferes with commercial or other economic activity in which the
victim is engaged at the time of the conduct; or
`(II) otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce.
`(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT- No prosecution of any offense described in
this subsection may be undertaken by the United States, except under the
certification in writing of the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney
General, the Associate Attorney General, or any Assistant Attorney General
specially designated by the Attorney General that--
`(1) he or she has reasonable cause to believe that the actual or perceived
race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or
disability of any person was a motivating factor underlying the alleged
conduct of the defendant; and
`(2) he or his designee or she or her designee has consulted with State or
local law enforcement officials regarding the prosecution and determined
that--
`(A) the State does not have jurisdiction or does not intend to exercise
jurisdiction;
`(B) the State has requested that the Federal Government assume jurisdiction;
`(C) the State does not object to the Federal Government assuming
jurisdiction; or
`(D) the verdict or sentence obtained pursuant to State charges left
demonstratively unvindicated the Federal interest in eradicating
bias-motivated violence.
`(c) DEFINITIONS- In this section--
`(1) the term `explosive or incendiary device' has the meaning given the term
in section 232 of this title; and
`(2) the term `firearm' has the meaning given the term in section 921(a) of
this title.'.
(b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The analysis for chapter 13 of title
18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
`249. Hate crime acts.'.
SEC. 8. DUTIES OF FEDERAL SENTENCING COMMISSION.
(a) AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDELINES- Pursuant to the authority
provided under section 994 of title 28, United States Code, the United States
Sentencing Commission shall study the issue of adult recruitment of juveniles
to commit hate crimes and shall, if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing
guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements (in addition to the sentencing
enhancement provided for the use of a minor during the commission of an
offense) for adult defendants who recruit juveniles to assist in the
commission of hate crimes.
(b) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER GUIDELINES- In carrying out this section, the
United States Sentencing Commission shall--
(1) ensure that there is reasonable consistency with other Federal sentencing
guidelines; and
(2) avoid duplicative punishments for substantially the same offense.
SEC. 9. STATISTICS.
Subsection (b)(1) of the first section of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act (28
U.S.C. 534 note) is amended by inserting `gender,' after `race,'.
SEC. 10. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the
application of such provision or amendment to any person or circumstance is
held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made
by this Act, and the application of the provisions of such to any person or
circumstance shall not be affected thereby.