HR 5748 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To eliminate racial profiling by law enforcement, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

July 15, 2010CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mr. WU, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mrs. MALONEY, Ms. WATERS, Mr. PRICE of North Carolina, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. FARR, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. STARK, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. KILPATRICK of Michigan, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. WATT, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. COHEN, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Ms. CHU, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. WEINER, Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California, Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. FILNER, Mr. CLAY, Mr. RUSH, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. HONDA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. ESHOO, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the JudiciaryCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To eliminate racial profiling by law enforcement, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the ‘End Racial Profiling Act of 2010’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents of this Act is as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 2. Definitions.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE I--PROHIBITION OF RACIAL PROFILING

Sec. 101. Prohibition.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 102. Enforcement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE II--PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING BY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Sec. 201. Policies to eliminate racial profiling.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE III--PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING BY STATE, LOCAL, AND INDIAN TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Sec. 301. Policies required for grants.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 302. Involvement of Attorney General.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 303. Data collection demonstration project.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 304. Best practices development grants.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 305. Authorization of appropriations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE IV--DATA COLLECTION

Sec. 401. Attorney General to issue regulations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 402. Publication of data.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 403. Limitations on publication of data.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REGULATIONS AND REPORTS ON RACIAL PROFILING IN THE UNITED STATES

Sec. 501. Attorney General to issue regulations and reports.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Severability.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 602. Savings clause.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) COVERED PROGRAM- The term ‘covered program’ means any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program under part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) the ‘Cops on the Beat’ program under part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd et seq.), except that no program, project, or other activity specified in section 1701(b)(13) of such part shall be a covered program under this paragraph.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) GOVERNMENTAL BODY- The term ‘governmental body’ means any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of Federal, State, local, or Indian tribal government.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) INDIAN TRIBE- The term ‘Indian tribe’ has the same meaning as in section 103 of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5603).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY- The term ‘law enforcement agency’ means any Federal, State, local, or Indian tribal public agency engaged in the prevention, detection, or investigation of violations of criminal, immigration, or customs laws.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT- The term ‘law enforcement agent’ means any Federal, State, local, or Indian tribal official responsible for enforcing criminal, immigration, or customs laws, including police officers and other agents of a law enforcement agency.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) RACIAL PROFILING- The term ‘racial profiling’ means the practice of a law enforcement agent or agency relying, to any degree, on race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion in selecting which individual to subject to routine or spontaneous investigatory activities or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law enforcement activity following the initial investigatory procedure, except when there is trustworthy information, relevant to the locality and timeframe, that links a person of a particular race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion to an identified criminal incident or scheme.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) ROUTINE OR SPONTANEOUS INVESTIGATORY ACTIVITIES- The term ‘routine or spontaneous investigatory activities’ means the following activities by a law enforcement agent:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) Interviews.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) Traffic stops.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) Pedestrian stops.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) Frisks and other types of body searches.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) Consensual or nonconsensual searches of the persons, property, or possessions (including vehicles) of individuals using any form of public or private transportation, including motorists and pedestrians.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) Inspections and interviews of entrants into the United States that are more extensive than those customarily carried out.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(G) Immigration-related workplace investigations.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(H) Such other types of law enforcement encounters compiled for or by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) REASONABLE REQUEST- The term ‘reasonable request’ means all requests for information, except for those that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) are immaterial to the investigation;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) would result in the unnecessary disclosure of personal information; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) would place a severe burden on the resources of the law enforcement agency given its size.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(9) STATE- The term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession of the United States.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(10) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT- The term ‘unit of local government’ means--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) any city, county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) any law enforcement district or judicial enforcement district that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) is established under applicable State law; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) has the authority to, in a manner independent of other State entities, establish a budget and impose taxes; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) any Indian tribe that performs law enforcement functions, as determined by the Secretary of the Interior.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE I--PROHIBITION OF RACIAL PROFILINGCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 101. PROHIBITION.

No law enforcement agent or law enforcement agency shall engage in racial profiling.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 102. ENFORCEMENT.

(a) Remedy- The United States, or an individual injured by racial profiling, may enforce this title in a civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief, filed either in a State court of general jurisdiction or in a district court of the United States.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Parties- In any action brought under this title, relief may be obtained against--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) any governmental body that employed any law enforcement agent who engaged in racial profiling;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) any agent of such body who engaged in racial profiling; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) any person with supervisory authority over such agent.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Nature of Proof- Proof that the routine or spontaneous investigatory activities of law enforcement agents in a jurisdiction have had a disparate impact on racial, ethnic, or religious minorities shall constitute prima facie evidence of a violation of this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Attorney’s Fees- In any action or proceeding to enforce this title against any governmental body, the court may allow a prevailing plaintiff, other than the United States, reasonable attorney’s fees as part of the costs, and may include expert fees as part of the attorney’s fee.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE II--PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING BY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 201. POLICIES TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING.

(a) In General- Federal law enforcement agencies shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) maintain adequate policies and procedures designed to eliminate racial profiling; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) cease existing practices that permit racial profiling.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Policies- The policies and procedures described in subsection (a)(1) shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) a prohibition on racial profiling;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) training on racial profiling issues as part of Federal law enforcement training;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the collection of data in accordance with the regulations issued by the Attorney General under section 401;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) procedures for receiving, investigating, and responding meaningfully to complaints alleging racial profiling by law enforcement agents; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) any other policies and procedures the Attorney General determines to be necessary to eliminate racial profiling by Federal law enforcement agencies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE III--PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING BY STATE, LOCAL, AND INDIAN TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 301. POLICIES REQUIRED FOR GRANTS.

(a) In General- An application by a State, a unit of local government, or a State, local, or Indian tribal law enforcement agency for funding under a covered program shall include a certification that such State, unit of local government, or law enforcement agency, and any law enforcement agency to which it will distribute funds--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) maintains adequate policies and procedures designed to eliminate racial profiling; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) has eliminated any existing practices that permit or encourage racial profiling.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Policies- The policies and procedures described in subsection (a)(1) shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) a prohibition on racial profiling;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) training on racial profiling issues as part of law enforcement training;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the collection of data in accordance with the regulations issued by the Attorney General under section 401; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) participation in an administrative complaint procedure or independent audit program that meets the requirements of section 302.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Effective Date- This section shall take effect 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 302. INVOLVEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL.

(a) Regulations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act and in consultation with stakeholders, including Federal, State, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies and community, professional, research, and civil rights organizations, the Attorney General shall issue regulations for the operation of administrative complaint procedures and independent audit programs to ensure that such programs and procedures provide an appropriate response to allegations of racial profiling by law enforcement agents or agencies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) GUIDELINES- The regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall contain guidelines that ensure the fairness, effectiveness, and independence of the administrative complaint procedures and independent auditor programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Noncompliance- If the Attorney General determines that the recipient of a grant from any covered program is not in compliance with the requirements of section 301 or the regulations issued under subsection (a), the Attorney General shall withhold, in whole or in part (at the discretion of the Attorney General), funds for 1 or more grants to the recipient under the covered program, until the recipient establishes compliance.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Private Parties- The Attorney General shall provide notice and an opportunity for private parties to present evidence to the Attorney General that a recipient of a grant from any covered program is not in compliance with the requirements of this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 303. DATA COLLECTION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

(a) Competitive Awards-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General may, through competitive grants or contracts, carry out a 2-year demonstration project for the purpose of developing and implementing data collection programs on the hit rates for stops and searches by law enforcement agencies. The data collected shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, national origin, and religion.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) NUMBER OF GRANTS- The Attorney General shall provide not more than 5 grants or contracts under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) ELIGIBLE GRANTEES- Grants or contracts under this section shall be awarded to law enforcement agencies that serve communities where there is a significant concentration of racial or ethnic minorities and that are not already collecting data voluntarily.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Required Activities- Activities carried out with a grant under this section shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) developing a data collection tool and reporting the compiled data to the Attorney General; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) training of law enforcement personnel on data collection, particularly for data collection on hit rates for stops and searches.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Evaluation- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall enter into a contract with an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) to analyze the data collected by each of the grantees funded under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out activities under this section--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) $5,000,000, over a 2-year period, to carry out the demonstration program under subsection (a); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) $500,000 to carry out the evaluation under subsection (c).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 304. BEST PRACTICES DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

(a) Grant Authorization- The Attorney General, through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, may make grants to States, local law enforcement agencies, and units of local government to develop and implement best practice devices and systems to eliminate racial profiling.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Use of Funds- The funds provided under subsection (a) shall be used for programs that include the following purposes:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) The development and implementation of training to prevent racial profiling and to encourage more respectful interaction with the public.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) The acquisition and use of technology to facilitate the accurate collection and analysis of data.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) The development and acquisition of feedback systems and technologies that identify officers or units of officers engaged in, or at risk of engaging in, racial profiling or other misconduct.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) The establishment and maintenance of an administrative complaint procedure or independent auditor program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Equitable Distribution- The Attorney General shall ensure that grants under this section are awarded in a manner that reserves an equitable share of funding for small and rural law enforcement agencies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Application- Each State, local law enforcement agency, or unit of local government desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Attorney General may reasonably require.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 305. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this title.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE IV--DATA COLLECTIONCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 401. ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.

(a) Regulations- Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with stakeholders, including Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and community, professional, research, and civil rights organizations, shall issue regulations for the collection and compilation of data under sections 201 and 301.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Requirements- The regulations issued under subsection (a) shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) provide for the collection of data on all routine or spontaneous investigatory activities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) provide that the data collected shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) be collected by race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, and religion, as perceived by the law enforcement officer;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) include the date, time, and location of such investigatory activities; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) include detail sufficient to permit an analysis of whether a law enforcement agency is engaging in racial profiling;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) provide that a standardized form shall be made available to law enforcement agencies for the submission of collected data to the Department of Justice;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) provide that law enforcement agencies shall compile data on the standardized form made available under paragraph (3), and submit the form to the Civil Rights Division and the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) provide that law enforcement agencies shall maintain all data collected under this Act for not less than 4 years;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) include guidelines for setting comparative benchmarks, consistent with best practices, against which collected data shall be measured; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) provide that the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) analyze the data for any statistically significant disparities, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) disparities in the percentage of drivers or pedestrians stopped relative to the proportion of the population passing through the neighborhood;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) disparities in the percentage of false stops relative to the percentage of drivers or pedestrians stopped; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) disparities in the frequency of searches performed on minority drivers and the frequency of searches performed on non-minority drivers; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) prepare a report regarding the findings of the analysis conducted under subparagraph (A);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) provide such report to Congress; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) make such report available to the public, including on a Web site of the Department of Justice.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 402. PUBLICATION OF DATA.

The Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics shall provide to Congress and make available to the public, together with each annual report described in section 401, the data collected pursuant to this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 403. LIMITATIONS ON PUBLICATION OF DATA.

The name or identifying information of a law enforcement officer, complainant, or any other individual involved in any activity for which data is collected and compiled under this Act shall not be--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) released to the public;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) disclosed to any person, except for such disclosures as are necessary to comply with this Act; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) subject to disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly know as the Freedom of Information Act).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE V--DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REGULATIONS AND REPORTS ON RACIAL PROFILING IN THE UNITED STATESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 501. ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ISSUE REGULATIONS AND REPORTS.

(a) Regulations- In addition to the regulations required under sections 303 and 401, the Attorney General shall issue such other regulations as the Attorney General determines are necessary to implement this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Reports-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report on racial profiling by law enforcement agencies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) SCOPE- Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) a summary of data collected under sections 201(b)(3) and 301(b)(3) and from any other reliable source of information regarding racial profiling in the United States;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) a discussion of the findings in the most recent report prepared by the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics under section 401(b)(7);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) the status of the adoption and implementation of policies and procedures by Federal law enforcement agencies under section 201 and by the State and local law enforcement agencies under sections 301 and 302; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) a description of any other policies and procedures that the Attorney General believes would facilitate the elimination of racial profiling.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 601. SEVERABILITY.

If any provision of this Act, or the application of such a provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act and the application of the remaining provisions of this Act to any person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 602. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) to limit legal or administrative remedies under section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983), section 210401 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14141), the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.), or title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) to affect any Federal, State, or tribal law that applies to an Indian tribe because of the political status of the tribe; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) to waive the sovereign immunity of an Indian tribe without the consent of the tribe.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink