[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 535 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 535

To establish an Unsolved Crimes Section in the Civil Rights Division of 
     the Department of Justice, and an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime 
Investigative Office in the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of 
                 Investigation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 8, 2007

  Mr. Dodd (for himself and Mr. Leahy) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish an Unsolved Crimes Section in the Civil Rights Division of 
     the Department of Justice, and an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime 
Investigative Office in the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of 
                 Investigation, 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 ``Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights 
Crime Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that all authorities with jurisdiction, 
including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other entities within 
the Department of Justice, should--
            (1) expeditiously investigate unsolved civil rights 
        murders, due to the amount of time that has passed since the 
        murders and the age of potential witnesses; and
            (2) provide all the resources necessary to ensure timely 
        and thorough investigations in the cases involved.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Chief investigator.--The term ``Chief Investigator'' 
        means the Chief Investigator of the Unit.
            (2) Criminal civil rights statutes.--The term ``criminal 
        civil rights statutes'' means--
                    (A) section 241 of title 18, United States Code 
                (relating to conspiracy against rights);
                    (B) section 242 of title 18, United States Code 
                (relating to deprivation of rights under color of law);
                    (C) section 245 of title 18, United States Code 
                (relating to federally protected activities);
                    (D) sections 1581 and 1584 of title 18, United 
                States Code (relating to involuntary servitude and 
                peonage);
                    (E) section 901 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 
                3631); and
                    (F) any other Federal law that--
                            (i) was in effect on or before December 31, 
                        1969; and
                            (ii) the Criminal Section of the Civil 
                        Rights Division of the Department of Justice 
                        enforced, prior to the date of enactment of 
                        this Act.
            (3) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Unsolved Civil 
        Rights Crime Investigative Office established under section 5.
            (4) Deputy.--The term ``Deputy'' means the Deputy for the 
        Unsolved Civil Rights Era Crimes Unit.
            (5) Unit.--The term ``Unit'' (except when used as part of 
        the term ``Criminal Section'') means the Unsolved Civil Rights 
        Era Crimes Unit established under section 4.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTION IN CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION.

    (a) In General.--There is established in the Criminal Section of 
the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice an Unsolved 
Civil Rights Era Crimes Unit. The Unit shall be headed by a Deputy for 
the Unsolved Civil Rights Era Crimes Unit.
    (b) Responsibility.--
            (1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        Federal law, and except as provided in section 5, the Deputy 
        shall be responsible for investigating and prosecuting 
        violations of criminal civil rights statutes, in cases in which 
        a complaint alleges that such a violation--
                    (A) occurred not later than December 31, 1969; and
                    (B) resulted in a death.
            (2) Coordination.--
                    (A) Investigative activities.--In investigating a 
                complaint under paragraph (1), the Deputy shall 
                coordinate investigative activities with State and 
                local law enforcement officials.
                    (B) Venue.--After investigating a complaint under 
                paragraph (1), or receiving a report of an 
                investigation conducted under section 5, if the Deputy 
                determines that an alleged practice that is a violation 
                of a criminal civil rights statute occurred in a State, 
                or political subdivision of a State, that has a State 
                or local law prohibiting the practice alleged and 
                establishing or authorizing a State or local law 
                enforcement official to grant or seek relief from such 
                practice or to institute criminal proceedings with 
                respect to the practice on receiving notice of the 
                practice, the Deputy shall consult with the official 
                regarding the appropriate venue for the case involved.
            (3) Referral.--After investigating a complaint under 
        paragraph (1), or receiving a report of an investigation 
        conducted under section 5, the Deputy shall refer the complaint 
        to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division, if the 
        Deputy determines that the subject of the complaint has 
        violated a criminal civil rights statute in the case involved 
        but the violation does not meet the requirements of 
        subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1).
    (c) Study and Report.--
            (1) Study.--The Deputy shall annually conduct a study of 
        the cases under the jurisdiction of the Deputy or under the 
        jurisdiction of the Chief Investigator and, in conducting the 
        study, shall determine the cases--
                    (A) for which the Deputy has sufficient evidence to 
                prosecute violations of criminal civil rights statutes; 
                and
                    (B) for which the Deputy has insufficient evidence 
                to prosecute those violations.
            (2) Report.--Not later than September 30 of 2007 and of 
        each subsequent year, the Deputy shall prepare and submit to 
        Congress a report containing the results of the study conducted 
        under paragraph (1), including a description of the cases 
        described in paragraph (1)(B).

SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE IN FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.

    (a) In General.--There is established in the Civil Rights Unit of 
the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice an 
Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office. The Office shall be 
headed by a Deputy Investigator.
    (b) Responsibility.--
            (1) In general.--In accordance with an agreement 
        established between the Deputy Investigator and the Deputy, the 
        Deputy Investigator shall be responsible for investigating 
        violations of criminal civil rights statutes, in cases 
        described in section 4(b).
            (2) Coordination.--
                    (A) Investigative activities.--In investigating a 
                complaint under paragraph (1), the Deputy Investigator 
                shall coordinate the investigative activities with 
                State and local law enforcement officials.
                    (B) Referral.--After investigating a complaint 
                under paragraph (1), the Deputy Investigator shall--
                            (i) determine whether the subject of the 
                        complaint has violated a criminal rights 
                        statute in the case involved; and
                            (ii) refer the complaint to the Deputy, 
                        together with a report containing the 
                        determination and the results of the 
                        investigation.
                    (C) Resources.--The Federal Bureau of 
                Investigation, in coordination with the Department of 
                Justice, Civil Rights Division, shall have discretion 
                to re-allocate investigative personnel to jurisdictions 
                to carry out the goals of this section.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this Act $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each subsequent 
fiscal year through 2017. These funds shall be allocated by the 
Attorney General to the Unsolved Civil Rights Era Crime Unit of the 
Department of Justice and the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation in order to advance the purposes set forth in this 
Act.
    (b) Additional Appropriations.--Any funds appropriated under this 
section shall consist of additional appropriations for the activities 
described in this Act, rather than funds made available through 
reductions in the appropriations authorized for other enforcement 
activities of the Department of Justice.
    (c) Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice.--In 
addition to any amounts authorized to be appropriated under title XI of 
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000h et seq.), there are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Community Relations Service of the 
Department of Justice $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each 
subsequent fiscal year, to enable the Service (in carrying out the 
functions described in title X of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000g et seq.)) 
to provide technical assistance by bringing together law enforcement 
agencies and communities in the investigation of violations of criminal 
civil rights statutes, in cases described in section 4(b).

SEC. 7. SUNSET.

    Sections 1 through 6 of this Act shall expire at the end of fiscal 
year 2017.

SEC. 8. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.

    Title XXXVII of the Crime Control Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5779 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 3703. AUTHORITY OF INSPECTORS GENERAL.

    ``(a) In General.--An Inspector General appointed under section 3 
or 8G of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) may 
authorize staff to assist the National Center for Missing and Exploited 
Children--
            ``(1) by conducting reviews of inactive case files to 
        develop recommendations for further investigations; and
            ``(2) by engaging in similar activities.
    ``(b) Limitations.--
            ``(1) Priority.--An Inspector General may not permit staff 
        to engage in activities described in subsection (a) if such 
        activities will interfere with the duties of the Inspector 
        General under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 
        App.).
            ``(2) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be 
        appropriated to carry out this section.''.
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