[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4398 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4398

   To provide grants to States in order to prevent racial profiling.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 18, 2012

  Ms. Norton introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide grants to States in order to prevent racial profiling.

    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 ``Racial Profiling Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM TO PROHIBIT RACIAL PROFILING.

    (a) Grants.--Subject to the requirements of this section, the 
Secretary shall make grants to a State that--
            (1)(A) has enacted and is enforcing a law that prohibits 
        the use of racial profiling in the enforcement of State laws 
        regulating the use of Federal-aid highways; and
            (B) is maintaining and allows public inspection of 
        statistical information for each motor vehicle stop made by a 
        law enforcement officer on a Federal-aid highway in the State 
        regarding the race and ethnicity of the driver and any 
        passengers; or
            (2) provides assurances satisfactory to the Secretary that 
        the State is undertaking activities to comply with the 
        requirements of paragraph (1).
    (b) Eligible Activities.--A grant received by a State under 
subsection (a) shall be used by the State--
            (1) in the case of a State eligible under subsection 
        (a)(1), for costs of--
                    (A) collecting and maintaining of data on traffic 
                stops;
                    (B) evaluating the results of the data; and
                    (C) developing and implementing programs to reduce 
                the occurrence of racial profiling, including programs 
                to train law enforcement officers; and
            (2) in the case of a State eligible under subsection 
        (a)(2), for costs of--
                    (A) activities to comply with the requirements of 
                subsection (a)(1); and
                    (B) any eligible activity under paragraph (1).
    (c) Racial Profiling.--
            (1) In general.--To meet the requirement of subsection 
        (a)(1), a State law shall prohibit, in the enforcement of State 
        laws regulating the use of Federal-aid highways, a State or 
        local law enforcement officer from using the race or ethnicity 
        of the driver or passengers to any degree in making routine or 
        spontaneous law enforcement decisions, such as ordinary traffic 
        stops on Federal-aid highways.
            (2) Limitation.--Nothing in this subsection shall alter the 
        manner in which a State or local law enforcement officer 
        considers race or ethnicity whenever there is trustworthy 
        information, relevant to the locality or time frame, that links 
        persons of a particular race or ethnicity to an identified 
        criminal incident, scheme, or organization.
    (d) Limitations.--
            (1) Maximum amount of grants.--The total amount of grants 
        made to a State under this section in a fiscal year may not 
        exceed 5 percent of the amount made available to carry out this 
        section in the fiscal year.
            (2) Eligibility.--A State may not receive a grant under 
        subsection (a)(2) in more than 2 fiscal years.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
        from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit 
        Account) to carry out this section $7,500,000 for each of 
        fiscal years 2013 through 2017.
            (2) Contract authority.--Funds authorized by this 
        subsection shall be available for obligation in the same manner 
        as if the funds were apportioned under chapter 1 of title 23, 
        United States Code, except the Federal share of the cost of 
        activities carried out using such funds shall be 80 percent, 
        and such funds shall remain available until expended and shall 
        not be transferable.
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