[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 923 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 923

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                June 14 (legislative day, June 5), 1995

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 23, United States Code, to provide for 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 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) accidents occurring as a result of high speed motor 
        vehicle pursuits of fleeing motor vehicles by law enforcement 
        officers are becoming increasingly common across the United 
        States;
            (2) the extent of the problem of those pursuits is evident 
        despite significant underreporting;
            (3) because the problem of those pursuits is extensive, it 
        is essential for all law enforcement agencies to develop and 
        implement policies and training procedures for dealing with 
        high speed motor vehicle pursuits;
            (4) a high speed motor vehicle pursuit in a community by a 
        law enforcement officer should be treated in the same manner as 
        the firing of a police firearm because a high speed motor 
        vehicle pursuit involves the use of a deadly force with the 
        potential for causing harm or death to pedestrians and 
        motorists;
            (5) the Federal Government should provide an incentive for 
        States to enact laws to prevent high speed motor vehicle 
        pursuits;
            (6) to demonstrate leadership in response to the national 
        problem of high speed motor vehicle pursuits, all Federal law 
        enforcement agencies should--
                    (A) develop policies and procedures governing motor 
                vehicle pursuits; and
                    (B) provide assistance to State and local law 
                enforcement agencies in instituting such policies and 
                procedures and in conducting training; and
            (7) the policies referred to in paragraph (6) should 
        balance reasonably the need--
                    (A) to apprehend promptly dangerous criminals; and
                    (B) to address 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--
            (1) in each of subparagraphs (A) through (D), by striking 
        the period at the end and inserting a semicolon;
            (2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(F) on and after January 1, 1997, have in effect 
        throughout the State--
                    ``(i) a law that--
                            ``(I) makes it unlawful for the driver of a 
                        motor vehicle to increase speed or to take any 
                        other deliberately evasive action if a law 
                        enforcement officer clearly signals the driver 
                        to stop the motor vehicle; and
                            ``(II) provides that any driver who 
                        violates that law shall be subject to a minimum 
                        penalty of--
                                    ``(aa) imprisonment for a period of 
                                not less 3 months; and
                                    ``(bb) seizure of the motor vehicle 
                                at issue; and
                    ``(ii) a requirement that each State agency and 
                each agency of a political subdivision of the State 
                that employs law enforcement officers who, in the 
                course of employment, may conduct a motor vehicle 
                pursuit shall--
                            ``(I) have in effect a policy that meets 
                        requirements that the Secretary shall establish 
                        concerning the manner and circumstances in 
                        which a motor vehicle pursuit may be conducted 
                        by law enforcement officers;
                            ``(II) train all law enforcement officers 
                        of the agency in accordance with the policy 
                        referred to in subclause (I); and
                            ``(III) for each fiscal year, transmit to 
                        the chief executive officer of the State a 
                        report containing information on each motor 
                        vehicle pursuit conducted by a law enforcement 
                        officer of the agency.''.

SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General of the United States, 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 the Congress a report 
containing--
            (1) the policy of the department or agency headed by that 
        individual concerning motor vehicle pursuits by law enforcement 
        officers of that department or agency; and
            (2) a description of the procedures that the department or 
        agency uses to train law enforcement officers in the 
        implementation of the policy referred to in paragraph (1).
    (b) Requirement.--Each policy referred to in subsection (a)(1) 
shall meet the requirements established by the Secretary of 
Transportation pursuant to section 402(b)(1)(F)(ii)(I) of title 23, 
United States Code, concerning the manner and circumstances in which a 
motor vehicle pursuit may be conducted.
                                 <all>