HR 1592
5-3-07, Bill Passed House 237-180
Referred to Senate Committee
on the Judiciary
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1592
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2007
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
AN ACT
To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and
Indian tribes 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 2007'.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF HATE CRIME.
(1) the term `crime of violence' has the meaning given that term in section
16, title 18, United States Code;
(2) the term `hate crime' has the meaning given such term in section 280003(a)
of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (28 U.S.C.
994 note); and
(3) the term `local' means a county, city, town, township, parish, village,
or other general purpose political subdivision of a State.
SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS BY STATE, LOCAL,
AND TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.
(a) Assistance Other Than Financial Assistance-
(1) IN GENERAL- At the request of State, local, or Tribal law enforcement
agency, 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;
(B) constitutes a felony under the State, local, or Tribal laws; and
(C) is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color,
religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity,
or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the State, local, or
Tribal hate crime laws.
(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 one State and to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty
covering the extraordinary expenses relating to the investigation or prosecution
of the crime.
(1) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General may award grants to State, local, and
Indian law enforcement agencies for extraordinary expenses associated with
the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes.
(2) OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS- In implementing the grant program under
this subsection, the Office of Justice Programs shall work closely with
grantees 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.
(A) IN GENERAL- Each State, local, and Indian law enforcement agency 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, local, and Indian law enforcement agency applying
for a grant under this subsection shall--
(i) describe the extraordinary purposes for which the grant is needed;
(ii) certify that the State, local government, 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, local, and Indian law enforcement agency has consulted and
coordinated with nonprofit, nongovernmental violence recovery service
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 denied 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 in any 1-year period.
(6) REPORT- Not later than December 31, 2008, 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 2008 and
2009.
SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Authority To Award Grants- The Office of Justice Programs of the Department
of Justice may award grants, in accordance with such regulations as the Attorney
General may prescribe, to State, local, or Tribal 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. 5. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO ASSIST STATE, LOCAL, AND
TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Justice, including
the Community Relations Service, for fiscal years 2008, 2009, and 2010 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 of this Act.
SEC. 6. 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
`(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, GENDER IDENTITY, 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,
gender identity 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) such certifying individual has reasonable cause to believe that the
actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity, or disability of any person was a motivating
factor underlying the alleged conduct of the defendant; and
`(2) such certifying individual 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 such
term in section 232 of this title;
`(2) the term `firearm' has the meaning given such term in section 921(a)
of this title; and
`(3) the term `gender identity' for the purposes of this chapter means actual
or perceived gender-related characteristics.
`(d) Rule of Evidence- In a prosecution for an offense under this section,
evidence of expression or associations of the defendant may not be introduced
as substantive evidence at trial, unless the evidence specifically relates
to that offense. However, nothing in this section affects the rules of evidence
governing impeachment of a witness.'.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment- The table of sections at the beginning
of chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the
end the following new item:
SEC. 7. 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.
SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be construed
to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal prohibition by, or
any activities protected by the free speech or free exercise clauses of, the
First Amendment to the Constitution.
Passed the House of Representatives May 3, 2007.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.
END
