[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2100 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2100

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase public awareness 
          concerning crime on college and university campuses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 1998

 Mr. Specter (for himself, Mr. Mack, and Mr. Faircloth) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                       Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase public awareness 
          concerning crime on college and university campuses.

    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 ``Campus Crime Disclosure Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) According to the General Accounting Office, 63 
        institutions of higher education were in violation of the 
        amendments made by the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act 
        of 1990 since the enactment of such Act in 1990. The Department 
        of Education has not taken punitive action against these 
        institutions.
            (2) The Department of Education's interpretation of the 
        statutory definition of campus has enabled institutions of 
        higher education to underreport the instances of crimes 
        committed against students.
            (3) In order to improve public awareness of crimes 
        committed on college and university campuses, it is essential 
        that Congress act to clarify existing law and to discourage 
        underreporting of offenses covered by the amendments made by 
        the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL CRIME CATEGORIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 485(f)(1) of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by amending subparagraph (F) to read as follows:
                    ``(F) Statistics concerning the occurrence on 
                campus, during the most recent calendar year, and 
                during the 2 preceding calendar years for which data 
                are available, of criminal offenses reported to campus 
                security authorities or local police agencies, and of 
                referrals of persons for campus disciplinary action, 
                for the following:
                            ``(i) Murder.
                            ``(ii) Sex offenses, forcible or 
                        nonforcible.
                            ``(iii) Robbery.
                            ``(iv) Aggravated assault.
                            ``(v) Burglary.
                            ``(vi) Motor vehicle theft.
                            ``(vii) Manslaughter.
                            ``(viii) Larceny.
                            ``(ix) Arson.
                            ``(x) Liquor law violations, drug-related 
                        violations, and weapons violations.'';
            (2) by striking subparagraph (H); and
            (3) by redesignating subparagraph (I) as subparagraph (H).
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 485(f) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)) is amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) of paragraph 
        (4), by striking ``paragraphs (1)(F) and (1)(H)'' and inserting 
        ``paragraph (1)(F)''; and
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking ``paragraphs (1)(F) and 
        (1)(H)'' and inserting ``paragraph (1)(F)''.

SEC. 4. TIMELY MANNER.

    Section 485(f)(3) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(f)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Such 
reports shall be readily available to students and employees through 
various mediums such as resident advisors, electronic mail, school 
newspapers, and announcement postings throughout the campus.''.

SEC. 5. DEFINITION OF CAMPUS.

    Subparagraph (A) of section 485(f)(5) of the Higher Education Act 
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092(f)(5)) is amended to read as follows: ``(A) For 
purposes of this section the term `campus' means--
                    ``(i) any building or property owned or controlled 
                by an institution of higher education within the same 
                reasonably contiguous geographic area of the 
                institution, including a building or property owned by 
                the institution, but controlled by another person, such 
                as a food or other retail vendor;
                    ``(ii) any building or property owned or controlled 
                by a student organization recognized by the 
                institution;
                    ``(iii) all public property that is within the same 
                reasonably contiguous geographic area of the 
                institution, such as a sidewalk, a street, other 
                thoroughfare, or parking facility, that provides 
                immediate access to facilities owned or controlled by 
                the institution;
                    ``(iv) any building or property owned, controlled, 
                or used by an institution of higher education in direct 
                support of, or related to the institution's educational 
                purposes, that is used by students, and that is not 
                within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area 
                of the institution; and
                    ``(v) all dormitories or other student residential 
                facilities owned or controlled by the institution.''.

SEC. 6. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092) 
is amended further by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8)(A) The Secretary shall report to the appropriate 
        committees of Congress each institution of higher education 
        that the Secretary determines is not in compliance with the 
        reporting requirements of this subsection.
            ``(B) The Secretary shall provide to an institution of 
        higher education that the Secretary determines is having 
        difficulty, or is not in compliance, with the reporting 
        requirements of this subsection--
                    ``(i) data and analysis regarding successful 
                practices employed by institutions of higher education 
                to reduce campus crime; and
                    ``(ii) technical assistance.
            ``(9) For purposes of reporting the statistics described in 
        paragraph (1)(F), an institution of higher education shall 
        distinguish, by means of a separate category, any criminal 
        offenses, and any referrals for campus disciplinary actions, 
        that occur--
                    ``(A) on publicly owned sidewalks, streets, or 
                other thoroughfares, or in parking facilities, that 
                provide immediate access to facilities owned by the 
                institution and are within the same reasonably 
                contiguous geographic area of the institution; and
                    ``(B) in dormitories or other residential 
                facilities for students, or in other facilities 
                affiliated with the institution.''.

SEC. 7. FINES.

    Section 485(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1092(f)) is amended further by adding after paragraph (9) (as added by 
section 6) the following:
            ``(10)(A) Upon determination, after reasonable notice and 
        opportunity for a hearing, that an institution of higher 
        education--
                    ``(i) has violated or failed to carry out any 
                provision of this subsection or any regulation 
                prescribed under this subsection; or
                    ``(ii) has engaged in substantial misrepresentation 
                of the nature of the institution's activities under 
                this subsection,
        the Secretary shall impose a civil penalty upon the institution 
        of not to exceed $25,000 for each violation, failure, or 
        misrepresentation.
            ``(B) Any civil penalty may be compromised by the 
        Secretary. In determining the amount of such penalty, or the 
        amount agreed upon in compromise, the appropriateness of the 
        penalty to the size of the institution of higher education 
        subject to the determination, and the gravity of the violation, 
        failure, or misrepresentation shall be considered. The amount 
        of such penalty, when finally determined, or the amount agreed 
        upon in compromise, may be deducted from any sums owing by the 
        United States to the institution charged.''.
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