Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016

Summary: Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016 This bill permanently reauthorizes the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 (Emmett Till Act) and expands the responsibilities of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to include the investigation and prosecution of criminal civil rights statutes violations that resulted in a death, regardless of when the violations occurred. (Currently, the Emmett Till Act is scheduled to expire at the end of FY2017 and such investigations are limited to violations that occurred before 1970.) The bill expresses the sense of Congress that all authorities with jurisdiction should: (1) coordinate information sharing; (2) hold accountable individuals who were perpetrators of, or accomplices in, unsolved civil rights murders; and (3) comply with Freedom of Information Act requests. In investigating a complaint, DOJ may coordinate activities with entities that DOJ determines to be appropriate.  DOJ shall reopen and review cases closed without an in-person investigation conducted by DOJ or the FBI. DOJ must establish a task force to conduct a thorough investigation of Emmett Till Act cases. In an annual report to Congress, DOJ must indicate: (1) the number of cases referred by a civil rights organization, an institution of higher education, or a state or local law enforcement agency; (2) the number of such cases that resulted in federal charges; (3) the date any such charges were filed; (4) whether DOJ has declined to prosecute or participate in an investigation of a referred case; and (5) any activity on reopened cases. DOJ may award grants to civil rights organizations, institutions of higher education, and other eligible entities for expenses associated with investigating offenses under the Emmett Till Act.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights 
Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016''.

SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION OF UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMES.

    The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 (28 U.S.C. 
509 note) is amended--
            (1) in section 2--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting a semicolon; and
                    (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) coordinate the sharing of information between the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation, the civil rights community, 
        and other entities;
            ``(4) hold accountable individuals who were perpetrators 
        of, or accomplices in, unsolved civil rights murders;
            ``(5) express the condolences of the authority to the 
        communities affected by unsolved civil rights murders, and to 
        the families of the victims of such murders; and
            ``(6) comply with requests for information received 
        pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code 
        (commonly known as the `Freedom of Information Act').'';
            (2) in section 3--
                    (A) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 
                        ``occurred not later than December 31, 1969, 
                        and'';
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting before 
                        the period at the end the following: ``, and 
                        eligible entities''; and
                            (iii) by adding after paragraph (2) the 
                        following:
            ``(3) Review of closed cases.--The Deputy Chief shall 
        reopen and review any case involving a violation described in 
        paragraph (1) that was closed prior to the date of the 
        enactment of the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes 
        Reauthorization Act of 2016 without an in-person investigation 
        conducted by an officer or employee of the Criminal Section of 
        the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice or by an 
        agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
            ``(4) Task force.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Deputy Chief shall establish 
                a task force that includes representatives from the 
                Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Community 
                Relations Service of the Department of Justice, State 
                and local law enforcement agencies, and eligible 
                entities to conduct a thorough investigation of, and 
                make recommendations to the Deputy Chief regarding, the 
                cases involving violations described in paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition 
                to amounts made available to carry out this Act under 
                section 6, there is authorized to be appropriated to 
                the Attorney General $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2016 
                and each subsequent fiscal year to carry out this 
                paragraph.''; and
                    (B) in subsection (c)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1)--
                                    (I) in subparagraph (A), by 
                                striking ``that occurred not later than 
                                December 31, 1969'';
                                    (II) in subparagraph (F), by 
                                striking ``and'' at the end;
                                    (III) in subparagraph (G), by 
                                striking the period at the end and 
                                inserting ``; and''; and
                                    (IV) by inserting after 
                                subparagraph (G) the following:
                    ``(H) the number of cases referred by an eligible 
                entity or a State or local law enforcement agency or 
                prosecutor to the Department within the study period, 
                the number of such cases that resulted in Federal 
                charges being filed, the date the charges were filed, 
                and if the Department declines to prosecute or 
                participate in an investigation of a case so referred, 
                the fact that it did so.''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting before 
                        the period at the end the following: ``and a 
                        description of the activities conducted under 
                        subsection (b)(3)'';
            (3) in section 4(b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``occurred not 
                later than December 31, 1969, and''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the 
                period at the end the following: ``, and eligible 
                entities'';
            (4) in section 5--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by inserting after ``local law 
                        enforcement agencies'' the following: ``, or 
                        eligible entities,''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``occurred not later than 
                        December 31, 1969, and''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``each of the 
                fiscal years 2008 through 2017'' and inserting ``fiscal 
                year 2016 and each subsequent fiscal year'';
            (5) in section 6--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) by striking ``each of the fiscal years 
                        2008 through 2017'' and inserting ``fiscal year 
                        2016 and each subsequent fiscal year''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``occurred not later than 
                        December 31, 1969, and''; and
                    (B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice.--
Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Community Relations 
Service of the Department of Justice shall provide technical assistance 
by bringing together law enforcement agencies and communities in the 
investigation of violations described in section 4(b).'';
            (6) in section 7--
                    (A) in the heading, by striking ``definition of 
                `criminal civil rights statutes''' and inserting 
                ``definitions'';
                    (B) by striking ``In this Act, the term'' and 
                inserting: ``In this Act:
            ``(1) Criminal civil rights statutes.--The term''; and
                    (C) by inserting at the end the following:
            ``(2) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means an 
        organization whose primary purpose is to promote civil rights, 
        an institution of higher education, or another entity, 
        determined by the Attorney General to be appropriate.''; and
            (7) by striking section 8.