[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1424 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1424

  To amend chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, to establish a 
 national program concerning motor vehicle pursuits by law enforcement 
                   officers, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

               August 6 (legislative day, June 30), 1993

  Mr. Dorgan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend chapter 4 of title 23, United States Code, to establish a 
 national program concerning motor vehicle pursuits by law enforcement 
                   officers, 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 ``National Police Pursuit Policy Act 
of 1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) accidents occurring as a result of high speed motor 
        vehicle pursuits by law enforcement officers are becoming 
        increasingly common across the United States;
            (2) the extent of this problem, which is evident despite 
        significant underreporting, makes it essential for all law 
        enforcement agencies to develop and implement both policies and 
        training procedures for dealing with these pursuits;
            (3) a high speed motor vehicle pursuit by a law enforcement 
        officer should be treated like the firing of a police firearm 
        because it involves the use in the community of a deadly force 
        with the potential for causing harm or death to pedestrians and 
        motorists;
            (4) to demonstrate leadership in response to this national 
        problem, all Federal law enforcement agencies must develop 
        policies and procedures governing motor vehicle pursuits, and 
        provide assistance to State and local law enforcement agencies 
        in instituting such policies and training; and
            (5) such policies should reasonably balance the need for 
        prompt apprehension of dangerous criminals with the threat to 
        the safety of the general public posed by high speed pursuits.

SEC. 3. MOTOR VEHICLE PURSUIT REQUIREMENTS FOR STATE HIGHWAY SAFETY 
              PROGRAMS.

    Section 402(b)(1) of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(F) on and after July 31, 1995, have in effect throughout 
        the State--
                    ``(i) a law (I) that makes it unlawful for the 
                driver of a motor vehicle to increase speed or take any 
                other evasive action if a law enforcement officer 
                signals the driver to stop the motor vehicle, and (II) 
                that provides, for that any driver who commits such an 
                unlawful act, a minimum penalty of imprisonment for 3 
                months and seizure of the driver's vehicle; and
                    ``(ii) a requirement that each public agency in the 
                State which employs law enforcement officers who in the 
                course of employment may conduct a motor vehicle 
                pursuit (I) shall have in effect a policy, which meets 
                the requirements established by the Secretary, 
                concerning the manner and circumstances in which such a 
                pursuit should be conducted, (II) shall train all law 
                enforcement officers of the agency in accordance with 
                such policy, and (III) shall transmit to the State in 
                such fiscal year a report containing information on 
                each motor vehicle pursuit conducted by a law 
                enforcement officer of the agency.''.

SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    Not later than one hundred and eighty days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the 
Treasury, the Chief of the Capitol Police, and the Administrator of 
General Services shall each transmit to Congress a report containing--
            (1) the policy of the respective department or agency on 
        motor vehicle pursuits by law enforcement officers of the 
        department or agency; and
            (2) a description of procedures being used to train law 
        enforcement officers of the department or agency in 
        implementation of such policy.
The policy of a department or agency contained in a report required by 
this section shall meet the requirements of section 402(b)(1)(F) of 
title 23, United States Code, as added by section 3 of this Act.

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