[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1913 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1913
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 30, 2009
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and
Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, 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 ``Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes
Prevention Act of 2009''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF HATE CRIME.
In this Act--
(1) the term ``crime of violence'' has the meaning given
that term in section 16, title 18, United States Code;
(2) the term ``hate crime'' has the meaning given such term
in section 280003(a) of the Violent Crime Control and Law
Enforcement Act of 1994 (28 U.S.C. 994 note); and
(3) the term ``local'' means a county, city, town,
township, parish, village, or other general purpose political
subdivision of a State.
SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS AND PROSECUTIONS BY STATE,
LOCAL, AND TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.
(a) Assistance Other Than Financial Assistance.--
(1) In general.--At the request of a State, local, or
tribal law enforcement agency, the Attorney General may provide
technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of
assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any
crime that--
(A) constitutes a crime of violence;
(B) constitutes a felony under the State, local, or
tribal laws; and
(C) is motivated by prejudice based on the actual
or perceived race, color, religion, national origin,
gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or
disability of the victim, or is a violation of the
State, local, or tribal hate crime laws.
(2) Priority.--In providing assistance under paragraph (1),
the Attorney General shall give priority to crimes committed by
offenders who have committed crimes in more than one State and
to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the
extraordinary expenses relating to the investigation or
prosecution of the crime.
(b) Grants.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General may award grants to
State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies for
extraordinary expenses associated with the investigation and
prosecution of hate crimes.
(2) Office of justice programs.--In implementing the grant
program under this subsection, the Office of Justice Programs
shall work closely with grantees to ensure that the concerns
and needs of all affected parties, including community groups
and schools, colleges, and universities, are addressed through
the local infrastructure developed under the grants.
(3) Application.--
(A) In general.--Each State, local, or Tribal law
enforcement agency that desires a grant under this
subsection shall submit an application to the Attorney
General at such time, in such manner, and accompanied
by or containing such information as the Attorney
General shall reasonably require.
(B) Date for submission.--Applications submitted
pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be submitted during
the 60-day period beginning on a date that the Attorney
General shall prescribe.
(C) Requirements.--A State, local, or Tribal law
enforcement agency applying for a grant under this
subsection shall--
(i) describe the extraordinary purposes for
which the grant is needed;
(ii) certify that the State, local
government, or Indian tribe lacks the resources
necessary to investigate or prosecute the hate
crime;
(iii) demonstrate that, in developing a
plan to implement the grant, the State, local,
or Tribal law enforcement agency has consulted
and coordinated with nonprofit, nongovernmental
violence recovery service programs that have
experience in providing services to victims of
hate crimes; and
(iv) certify that any Federal funds
received under this subsection will be used to
supplement, not supplant, non-Federal funds
that would otherwise be available for
activities funded under this subsection.
(4) Deadline.--An application for a grant under this
subsection shall be approved or denied by the Attorney General
not later than 180 business days after the date on which the
Attorney General receives the application.
(5) Grant amount.--A grant under this subsection shall not
exceed $100,000 for any single jurisdiction in any 1-year
period.
(6) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2011, the Attorney
General shall submit to Congress a report describing the
applications submitted for grants under this subsection, the
award of such grants, and the purposes for which the grant
amounts were expended.
(7) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011.
SEC. 4. GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Authority To Award Grants.--The Office of Justice Programs of
the Department of Justice may award grants, in accordance with such
regulations as the Attorney General may prescribe, to State, local, or
tribal programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles,
including programs to train local law enforcement officers in
identifying, investigating, prosecuting, and preventing hate crimes.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO ASSIST STATE, LOCAL,
AND TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of
Justice, including the Community Relations Service, for fiscal years
2010, 2011, and 2012, such sums as are necessary to increase the number
of personnel to prevent and respond to alleged violations of section
249 of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 7 of this Act.
SEC. 6. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN HATE CRIME ACTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 249. Hate crime acts
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Offenses involving actual or perceived race, color,
religion, or national origin.--Whoever, whether or not acting
under color of law, willfully causes bodily injury to any
person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous
weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause
bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived
race, color, religion, or national origin of any person--
``(A) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years,
fined in accordance with this title, or both; and
``(B) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or
for life, fined in accordance with this title, or both,
if--
``(i) death results from the offense; or
``(ii) the offense includes kidnaping or an
attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or
an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse,
or an attempt to kill.
``(2) Offenses involving actual or perceived religion,
national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity,
or disability.--
``(A) In general.--Whoever, whether or not acting
under color of law, in any circumstance described in
subparagraph (B), willfully causes bodily injury to any
person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a
dangerouse weapon, or an explosive or incendiary
device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person,
because of the actual or perceived religion, national
origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or
disability of any person--
``(i) shall be imprisoned not more than 10
years, fined in accordance with this title, or
both; and
``(ii) shall be imprisoned for any term of
years or for life, fined in accordance with
this title, or both, if--
``(I) death results from the
offense; or
``(II) the offense includes
kidnaping or an attempt to kidnap,
aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt
to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or
an attempt to kill.
``(B) Circumstances described.--For purposes of
subparagraph (A), the circumstances described in this
subparagraph are that--
``(i) the conduct described in subparagraph
(A) occurs during the course of, or as the
result of, the travel of the defendant or the
victim--
``(I) across a State line or
national border; or
``(II) using a channel, facility,
or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce;
``(ii) the defendant uses a channel,
facility, or instrumentality of interstate or
foreign commerce in connection with the conduct
described in subparagraph (A);
``(iii) in connection with the conduct
described in subparagraph (A), the defendant
employs a firearm, explosive or incendiary
device, or other weapon that has traveled in
interstate or foreign commerce; or
``(iv) the conduct described in
subparagraph (A)--
``(I) interferes with commercial or
other economic activity in which the
victim is engaged at the time of the
conduct; or
``(II) otherwise affects interstate
or foreign commerce.
``(3) Additional federal nexus for offense.--Whoever, in
the special maritime or territorial jurisdiction of the United
States, or in Indian country, engages in conduct described in
paragraph (1) or in paragraph (2)(A) (without regard to whether
that conduct occurred in a circumstance described in paragraph
(2)(B)) shall be subject to the same penalties as those
provided for offenses under those paragraphs.
``(b) Certification Requirement.--No prosecution of any offense
described in this subsection may be undertaken by the United States,
except under the certification in writing of the Attorney General, the
Deputy Attorney General, the Associate Attorney General, or any
Assistant Attorney General specially designated by the Attorney General
that--
``(1) such certifying individual has reasonable cause to
believe that the actual or perceived race, color, religion,
national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity,
or disability of any person was a motivating factor underlying
the alleged conduct of the defendant; and
``(2) such certifying individual has consulted with State
or local law enforcement officials regarding the prosecution
and determined that--
``(A) the State does not have jurisdiction or does
not intend to exercise jurisdiction;
``(B) the State has requested that the Federal
Government assume jurisdiction;
``(C) the State does not object to the Federal
Government assuming jurisdiction; or
``(D) the verdict or sentence obtained pursuant to
State charges left demonstratively unvindicated the
Federal interest in eradicating bias-motivated
violence.
``(c) Definitions.--
``(1) In this section--
``(A) the term `explosive or incendiary device' has
the meaning given such term in section 232 of this
title;
``(B) the term `firearm' has the meaning given such
term in section 921(a) of this title; and
``(C) the term `State' includes the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other territory or
possession of the United States.
``(2) For the purposes of this chapter, the term `gender
identity' means actual or perceived gender-related
characteristics.
``(d) Statute of Limitations.--
``(1) Offenses not resulting in death.--Except as provided
in paragraph (2), no person shall be prosecuted, tried, or
punished for any offense under this section unless the
indictment for such offense is found, or the information for
such offense is instituted, not later than 7 years after the
date on which the offense was committed.
``(2) Death resulting offenses.--An indictment or
information alleging that an offense under this section
resulted in death may be found or instituted at any time
without limitation.
``(e) Rule of Evidence.--In a prosecution for an offense under this
section, evidence of expression or associations of the defendant may
not be introduced as substantive evidence at trial, unless the evidence
specifically relates to that offense. However, nothing in this section
affects the rules of evidence governing impeachment of a witness.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections at
the beginning of chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is amended
by adding at the end the following new item:
``249. Hate crime acts.''.
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the
application of such provision or amendment to any person or
circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act,
the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions
of such to any person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.
SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this Act, shall be
construed to prohibit any expressive conduct protected from legal
prohibition by, or any activities protected by, the Constitution.
Passed the House of Representatives April 29, 2009.
Attest:
LORRAINE C. MILLER,
Clerk.