[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3588 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3588

  To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require a 
State, in order to be eligible for a grant for child abuse and neglect 
   prevention and treatment programs, to have in effect a State law 
 providing for the prosecution of a person who makes a report of child 
abuse or neglect without having a reasonable belief that the report is 
                     true, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 20, 1993

 Mr. Goodling introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require a 
State, in order to be eligible for a grant for child abuse and neglect 
   prevention and treatment programs, to have in effect a State law 
 providing for the prosecution of a person who makes a report of child 
abuse or neglect without having a reasonable belief that the report is 
                     true, 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 ``Child Abuse and Neglect 
Accountability Act of 1993''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL STATE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS FOR CHILD 
              ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS UNDER 
              CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT ACT.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 107(b) of the Child Abuse 
Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(1)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``; and'' and 
        inserting a semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), to read as follows:
                    ``(B)(i) provisions making it a criminal offense 
                under State or local laws for a person to make a report 
                of child abuse or neglect without having a reasonable 
                belief that such report is true;
                    ``(ii) provisions increasing the penalties of the 
                criminal offense described in clause (i) if a person 
                commits such offense with the intent to expose another 
                person to public hatred, contempt, ridicule, criminal 
                investigation, or to gain advantage in a civil 
                proceeding; and
                    ``(iii) provisions for immunity from prosecution 
                under State and local laws for a person who reports 
                instances of child abuse or neglect, other than those 
                instances described in clause (i) or (ii), for 
                circumstances arising from such reporting; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(C)(i) provisions making it a criminal offense 
                under State or local laws for a person to intentionally 
                cause or persuade a child to make an allegation of 
                child abuse or neglect without having a reasonable 
                belief that such allegation is true; and
                    ``(ii) provisions increasing the penalties for the 
                criminal offense described in clause (i) if a person 
                commits such offense with the intent to expose another 
                person to public hatred, contempt, ridicule, criminal 
                investigation, or to gain advantage in a civil 
                proceeding;''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply with respect to grants made on or after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.

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