[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S10118]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 2452. A bill to amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 
to require States receiving funds under section 106 of such act to have 
in effect a State law providing for a criminal penalty on an individual 
who fails to report witnessing another individual engaging in sexual 
abuse of a child; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


                          sherrice iverson act

 Mr. BOXER. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Congressman 
Nick Lampson of Texas today in introducing the Sherrice Iverson Act. 
This ``good samaritan'' legislation is named in honor of the 7-year old 
girl molested and murdered in a Nevada casino in May of 1997, while a 
bystander did nothing.
  Nevada authorities report this vicious attack was at least partially 
witnessed by David Cash, Jr. the best friend of the assailant. Mr. Cash 
was in a position to stop this brutal murder, yet he did nothing. He 
then failed to report the crime to the proper authorities. Nevada 
officials considered prosecuting Mr. Cash for his callous disregard of 
human life but found no legal basis for a criminal prosecution.
  Nevada officials had no legal recourse because the state does not 
have a ``good Samaritan'' law requiring witnesses to report crimes to 
the proper authorities.
  This is wrong and we need to address that aspect of our laws. That is 
exactly what the Service Iverson Act does. It requires that states pass 
laws requiring witnesses of child sexual abuse to report that crime to 
the police. If they do not pass such laws, states would become 
ineligible for federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act funds. 
The details of these laws, including the penalties imposed, are left to 
the states.
  The bill only requires people to report the crimes they witness; it 
does not require them to intervene in potentially dangerous situations. 
Only two states, Vermont and Minnesota, currently have such ``good 
samaritan'' laws.
  I want to thank Representative Nick Lampson for all his hard work on 
this issue, and I look forward to working with him to pass this 
important legislation; I ask unanimous consent that the text of this 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2452

       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 ``Sherrice Iverson Act''.

     SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT ON STATES RECEIVING GRANTS FOR CHILD 
                   ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT 
                   PROGRAMS.

       (a) In General.--Section 106(b)(2) of the Child Abuse 
     Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) an assurance in the form of a certification by the 
     chief executive officer of the State that the State has in 
     effect and is enforcing a State law providing for a criminal 
     penalty on an individual 18 years of age or older who fails 
     to report to a State or local law enforcement official that 
     the individual has witnessed another individual in the State 
     engaging in sexual abuse of a child.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on December 31, 2004.
                                 ______