PUBLIC LAW 114–325—DEC. 16, 2016 130 STAT. 1965 

Public Law 114–325 

114th Congress 

An Act 

To reauthorize the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007. 

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 ‘‘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) meet regularly with eligible entities to coordinate the 

sharing of information and to discuss the status of the Department’s work under this Act; 

‘‘(4) support the full accounting of all victims whose deaths 

or disappearances were the result of racially motivated crimes; 

‘‘(5) hold accountable under Federal and State law all 

individuals who were perpetrators of, or accomplices in, 

unsolved civil rights murders and such disappearances; 

‘‘(6) 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 such disappearances; 

‘‘(7) keep families regularly informed about the status of 

the investigations of such murders and such disappearances 

of their loved ones; and 

‘‘(8) expeditiously comply with requests for information 

received pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 

(commonly known as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’) and 

develop a singular, publicly accessible repository of these disclosed documents.’’; 

(2) in section 3— 

(A) in subsection (b)— 

(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘1969’’ and 

inserting ‘‘1979’’; 

(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: 

Compliance. 

Records. 

Public 

information. 

Coordination. 

28 USC 509 note. 

Emmett Till 

Unsolved Civil 

Rights Crimes 

Reauthorization 

Act of 2016. 

Dec. 16, 2016 

[S. 2854] 


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130 STAT. 1966 PUBLIC LAW 114–325—DEC. 16, 2016 

‘‘(3) REVIEW OF CLOSED CASES.—The Deputy Chief may, 

to the extent practicable, 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 or review 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) PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.— 

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Department shall hold meetings 

with representatives of the Civil Rights Division, Federal 

Bureau of Investigation, the Community Relations Service, 

eligible entities, and where appropriate, state and local 

law enforcement to discuss the status of the Department’s 

work under this Act. 

‘‘(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 2017 and each 

of the next 10 subsequent fiscal years to carry out this 

paragraph.’’; and 

(B) in subsection (c)— 

(i) in paragraph (1)— 

(I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘1969’’ 

and inserting ‘‘1979’’; 

(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 the outreach, 

collaboration, and support for investigations and prosecutions of violations of criminal civil rights statutes described 

in section 2(3), including murders and including disappearances described in section 2(4), within Federal, State, and 

local jurisdictions.’’; 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 ‘‘1969’’ and inserting 

‘‘1979’’; 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), by striking ‘‘1969’’ and inserting 

‘‘1979’’; and 


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PUBLIC LAW 114–325—DEC. 16, 2016 130 STAT. 1967 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2854: 

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 162 (2016): 

July 14, considered and passed Senate. 

Dec. 7, considered and passed House, amended. 

Dec. 9, Senate concurred in House amendment. 

Æ 

(B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘each of the fiscal 

years 2008 through 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2017 

and each of the 10 subsequent fiscal years’’; and 

(5) in section 6— 

(A) in subsection (a)— 

(i) by striking ‘‘each of the fiscal years 2008 

through 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2017 and each 

of the 10 subsequent fiscal years’’; and 

(ii) by striking ‘‘1969’’ and inserting ‘‘1979’’; and 

(B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows: 

‘‘(b) COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF

JUSTICE.—Using funds appropriated under section 3(b)(4)(B), the 

Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice shall 

provide technical assistance by bringing together law enforcement 

agencies and communities to address tensions raised by Civil Rights 

era crimes.’’; 

(6) in section 7— 

(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘DEFINITION OF

‘CRIMINAL CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES’’’ and inserting ‘‘DEFINITIONS’’; 

(B) in paragraph (6), by redesignating subparagraphs 

(A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and 

indenting the clauses accordingly; 

(C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as 

subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively, and indenting 

the subparagraphs accordingly; 

(D) by striking ‘‘In this Act, the term’’ and inserting: 

‘‘In this Act: 

‘‘(1) CRIMINAL CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES.—The term’’; and 

(E) 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. 

Approved December 16, 2016. 

Definition. 


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