[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4760 Introduced in House (IH)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4760

   To make an attack on a police officer a hate crime, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 16, 2016

 Mr. Buck (for himself, Mr. Gowdy, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Chaffetz, and Mr. 
  Ratcliffe) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To make an attack on a police officer a hate crime, 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 ``Blue Lives Matter Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. HATE CRIME AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 13 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 250. Hate crimes against police officers
    ``(a) In General.--Whoever, in any circumstance described in 
section 249(a)(2)(B) of this title, knowingly causes bodily injury to 
any person, or attempts to do so, because of the actual or perceived 
status of the person as a police officer--
            ``(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined in 
        accordance with this title, or both; and
            ``(2) shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for 
        life, fined in accordance with this title, or both, if--
                    ``(A) death results from the offense; or
                    ``(B) the offense includes kidnapping or an attempt 
                to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to 
                commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill.
    ``(b) Certification Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--No prosecution of any offense described 
        in this section may be undertaken by the United States, except 
        under the certification in writing of the Attorney General, or 
        a designee, that--
                    ``(A) the State does not have jurisdiction;
                    ``(B) the State has requested that the Federal 
                Government assume jurisdiction;
                    ``(C) the verdict or sentence obtained pursuant to 
                State charges left demonstratively unvindicated the 
                Federal interest in eradicating bias-motivated 
                violence; or
                    ``(D) a prosecution by the United States is in the 
                public interest and necessary to secure substantial 
                justice.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed to limit the authority of Federal officers, 
        or a Federal grand jury, to investigate possible violations of 
        this section.
    ``(c) Guidelines.--All prosecutions conducted by the United States 
under this section shall be undertaken pursuant to guidelines issued by 
the Attorney General, or the designee of the Attorney General, to be 
included in the United States Attorneys' Manual that shall establish 
neutral and objective criteria for determining whether a crime was 
committed because of the actual or perceived status of any person.
    ``(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) Offenses resulting in death.--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) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Police officer.--The term `police officer' means any 
        officer or employee of the United States, any State, or any 
        political subdivision of a State, while engaged in the 
        enforcement or prosecution of any of the criminal laws of the 
        United States, a State, or any political subdivision of a 
        State.
            ``(2) State.--The term `State' includes the District of 
        Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession of 
        the United States.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``250. Hate crimes against police officers.''.
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