[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4170 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4170
To reform pattern or practice investigations conducted by the
Department of Justice, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 2, 2020
Ms. Warren (for herself, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr.
Markey, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Wyden, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Heinrich, and Mr. Whitehouse) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reform pattern or practice investigations conducted by the
Department of Justice, 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 ``Enhancing Oversight to End
Discrimination in Policing Act''.
SEC. 2. RESCISSION OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE MEMORANDUM RELATING TO
CIVIL CONSENT DECREES.
The memorandum issued by the Attorney General titled ``Principles
and Procedures for Civil Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements with
State and Local Governmental Entities'' on November 8, 2018, or any
other substantially similar memorandum, shall have no force or effect.
SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR PATTERN OR PRACTICE INVESTIGATIONS.
(a) Additional Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated,
in addition to any other amounts authorized, $445,000,000 to the Civil
Rights Division of the Department of Justice for each of fiscal years
2020 through 2029, of which not less than $100,000,000 shall be made
available each fiscal year for investigations conducted under section
210401 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34
U.S.C. 12601).
(b) Unlawful Conduct.--Section 210401(a) of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601(a)) is amended
by inserting ``including a prosecutor or other agency involved in the
administration of justice,'' before ``to engage''.
(c) Authority for State Investigations.--Section 210401(b) of the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C.
12601(b)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(1) Federal enforcement.--'' before
``Whenever'';
(2) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by striking
``paragraph (1)'' and inserting ``subsection (a)''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) State enforcement.--
``(A) In general.--Whenever an attorney general of
a State has reasonable cause to believe that a
violation of subsection (a) has occurred by a
governmental authority, or agent thereof, of the State,
including a prosecutor or other agency involved in the
administration of justice, the attorney general, or
another official or agency designated by a State, may
in a civil action brought in any appropriate district
court of the United States obtain appropriate equitable
and declaratory relief to eliminate the pattern or
practice.
``(B) Technical assistance.--The Attorney General
shall provide technical assistance and training to
States and units of local government to assist States
and units of local governments in carrying out pattern
or practice investigations and cases.''.
(d) Grant Program.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
(A) the term ``State'' means each of the several
States, the District of Columbia, and each
commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United
States; and
(B) the term ``Tribal government'' means the
governing body of an Indian Tribe included on the most
recent list published by the Secretary pursuant to
section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe
List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131).
(2) Authorization.--The Attorney General may award grants
to States and Tribal governments to assist such States and
Tribal governments in pursuing pattern or practice
investigations and cases under section 210401 of the Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C.
12601).
(3) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this subsection, a State or Tribal government shall submit an
application to the Attorney General that--
(A) contains clearly defined and measurable
objectives for the grant funds;
(B) describes how the State or Tribal government
intends to use the grant funds to pursue pattern or
practice investigations and cases under section 210401
of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of
1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601); and
(C) outlines the qualifications and training of the
attorneys, staff, and other personnel who are, or who
may be, assigned to lead or assist pattern or practice
investigations and cases.
(4) Required reporting.--
(A) Grantee reporting.--In each fiscal year a State
or Tribal government receives a grant under this
subsection, the State or Tribal government shall submit
to the Attorney General a report detailing--
(i) how the grant funds were used; and
(ii) the progress made towards addressing
patterns and practices identified under section
210401 of the Violent Crime Control and Law
Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601).
(B) Reports to congress.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, and once each
year thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to
the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of
Representatives a report on the grant program
established under this subsection, which shall
include--
(i) a detailed summary of how grant funds
awarded under the grant program were used; and
(ii) recommendations, if any, for
improvements needed for the grant program.
(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to the Attorney General $150,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2020 through 2029 to carry out this
subsection.
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