[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2812 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2812

To encourage States to prohibit ``stand your ground'' laws and require 
  neighborhood watch programs to register with local law enforcement 
agencies and the Department of Justice, to direct the Attorney General 
              to study such laws, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2013

Ms. Jackson Lee (for herself, Mr. Cummings, Ms. Bass, Mr. Ellison, Mr. 
Lewis, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Gutierrez, Ms. Hahn, Mr. Lowenthal, 
and Mr. Cohen) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To encourage States to prohibit ``stand your ground'' laws and require 
  neighborhood watch programs to register with local law enforcement 
agencies and the Department of Justice, to direct the Attorney General 
              to study such laws, 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 ``Justice Exists for All of Us Act of 
2013''.

SEC. 2. STATE ``STAND YOUR GROUND'' LAWS AND NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH 
              REGISTRATION.

    (a) In General.--For each fiscal year after the expiration of the 
period of implementation specified in subsection (b), a State shall--
            (1) not have in effect throughout the State any law or 
        policy that allows a person to use deadly force when such 
        person is threatened that does not impose a duty to retreat 
        before using such force in any place where such person is 
        lawfully present (commonly known as ``stand your ground 
        laws''), except that a State may have in place a law or policy 
        that permits a victim of domestic violence to use deadly force 
        when such victim is threatened and does not impose a duty on 
        the victim to retreat before using such force in any place 
        where such victim is lawfully present; and
            (2) have in effect throughout the State laws and policies 
        that make it unlawful to establish, organize, operate, or 
        participate in a neighborhood watch program unless such program 
        is registered with--
                    (A) the local law enforcement agency that has 
                jurisdiction over the neighborhood in which the program 
                is located; and
                    (B) the Department of Justice, in accordance with 
                regulations promulgated by the Attorney General.
    (b) Period for Implementation by States.--
            (1) Deadline.--Each State shall implement this section 
        before 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
            (2) Extensions.--The Attorney General may authorize up to 
        two 1-year extensions of the deadline in paragraph (1).
    (c) Failure of State To Comply.--
            (1) In general.--For any fiscal year after the end of the 
        period for implementation under subsection (b), a State that 
        fails, as determined by the Attorney General, to substantially 
        implement this section shall not receive 20 percent of the 
        funds that would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to 
        the State under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus 
        Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et 
        seq.).
            (2) State constitutionality.--
                    (A) In general.--When evaluating whether a State 
                has substantially implemented this section, the 
                Attorney General shall consider whether the State is 
                unable to substantially implement this section because 
                of a demonstrated inability to implement certain 
                provisions that would place the State in violation of 
                its constitution, as determined by a ruling of the 
                State's highest court.
                    (B) Efforts.--If the circumstances arise under 
                subparagraph (A), then the Attorney General and the 
                State shall make good faith efforts to accomplish 
                substantial implementation of this section and to 
                reconcile any conflicts between this section and the 
                State's constitution. In considering whether compliance 
                with the requirements of this section would likely 
                violate the State's constitution or an interpretation 
                thereof by the State's highest court, the Attorney 
                General shall consult with the chief executive and 
                chief legal officer of the State concerning the State's 
                interpretation of the State's constitution and rulings 
                thereon by the State's highest court.
                    (C) Alternative procedures.--If the State is unable 
                to substantially implement this section because of a 
                limitation imposed by the State's constitution, the 
                Attorney General may determine that the State is in 
                compliance with this Act if the State has implemented, 
                or is in the process of implementing, reasonable 
                alternative procedures or accommodations that are 
                consistent with the purposes of this Act.
                    (D) Funding reduction.--If a State does not comply 
                with subparagraph (C), then the State shall be subject 
                to a funding reduction as specified in paragraph (1).
            (3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated under subpart 1 of 
        part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
        Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) to a State for failure to 
        substantially implement this section shall be reallocated under 
        such subpart to States that have not failed to substantially 
        implement this section or may be reallocated to a State from 
        which they were withheld to be used solely for the purpose of 
        implementing this section.
    (d) Definition of State.--In this section the term ``State'' shall 
have the meaning given such term in section 901(a) of Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3791(a) et seq.).

SEC. 3. STUDY ON ``STAND YOUR GROUND'' LAWS.

    (a) Authority.--Not later than one year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall conduct a study of State laws 
that allow a person to use deadly force when such person is threatened 
and do not impose a duty to retreat before using such force in any 
place where such person is lawfully present (commonly known as ``stand 
your ground laws'').
    (b) Contents of Study.--In conducting the study under subsection 
(a), the Attorney General shall examine each of the following:
            (1) The effect that stand your ground laws have on rates of 
        violent deaths, including determining whether States that have 
        stand your ground laws have higher rates of violent deaths than 
        States that do not have such laws.
            (2) Whether women and minorities are targets of the force 
        authorized by stand your ground laws at a higher rate than the 
        general population.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 180 days after completing the study 
conducted under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall report the 
findings of such study to Congress.
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