I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1913 

To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes 

to prosecute hate crimes, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 2, 2009 

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, 

Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. BERMAN, Mrs. 

BIGGERT, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mrs. BONO MACK, 

Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida, Mr. CAO, Mrs. 

CAPPS, Mr. CASTLE, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CUMMINGS, 

Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. DRIEHAUS, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. 

ISRAEL, Ms. KILROY, Mr. KIRK, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. LANCE, Mrs. 

MALONEY, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MOORE of Kansas, Mr. 

MORAN of Virginia, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mr. OLVER, Mr. PETERS, 

Mr. POLIS of Colorado, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SERRANO, Ms. SLAUGHTER, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Ms. WATSON, and Ms. 

WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide Federal assistance to States, local jurisdictions, 

and Indian tribes to prosecute hate crimes, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Law Enforce3 ment Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) The incidence of violence motivated by the 

7 actual or perceived race, color, religion, national ori8 gin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or 

9 disability of the victim poses a serious national prob10 lem. 

11 (2) Such violence disrupts the tranquility and 

12 safety of communities and is deeply divisive. 

13 (3) State and local authorities are now and will 

14 continue to be responsible for prosecuting the over15 whelming majority of violent crimes in the United 

16 States, including violent crimes motivated by bias. 

17 These authorities can carry out their responsibilities 

18 more effectively with greater Federal assistance. 

19 (4) Existing Federal law is inadequate to ad20 dress this problem. 

21 (5) A prominent characteristic of a violent 

22 crime motivated by bias is that it devastates not just 

23 the actual victim and the family and friends of the 

24 victim, but frequently savages the community shar25 ing the traits that caused the victim to be selected. 


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1 (6) Such violence substantially affects interstate 

2 commerce in many ways, including the following: 

3 (A) The movement of members of targeted 

4 groups is impeded, and members of such groups 

5 are forced to move across State lines to escape 

6 the incidence or risk of such violence. 

7 (B) Members of targeted groups are pre8 vented from purchasing goods and services, ob9 taining or sustaining employment, or partici10 pating in other commercial activity. 

11 (C) Perpetrators cross State lines to com12 mit such violence. 

13 (D) Channels, facilities, and instrumental14 ities of interstate commerce are used to facili15 tate the commission of such violence. 

16 (E) Such violence is committed using arti17 cles that have traveled in interstate commerce. 

18 (7) For generations, the institutions of slavery 

19 and involuntary servitude were defined by the race, 

20 color, and ancestry of those held in bondage. Slavery 

21 and involuntary servitude were enforced, both prior 

22 to and after the adoption of the 13th amendment to 

23 the Constitution of the United States, through wide24 spread public and private violence directed at per25 sons because of their race, color, or ancestry, or perVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:01 Apr 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1913.IH H1913

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1 ceived race, color, or ancestry. Accordingly, elimi2 nating racially motivated violence is an important 

3 means of eliminating, to the extent possible, the 

4 badges, incidents, and relics of slavery and involun5 tary servitude. 

6 (8) Both at the time when the 13th, 14th, and 

7 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United 

8 States were adopted, and continuing to date, mem9 bers of certain religious and national origin groups 

10 were and are perceived to be distinct ‘‘races’’. Thus, 

11 in order to eliminate, to the extent possible, the 

12 badges, incidents, and relics of slavery, it is nec13 essary to prohibit assaults on the basis of real or 

14 perceived religions or national origins, at least to the 

15 extent such religions or national origins were re16 garded as races at the time of the adoption of the 

17 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitu18 tion of the United States. 

19 (9) Federal jurisdiction over certain violent 

20 crimes motivated by bias enables Federal, State, and 

21 local authorities to work together as partners in the 

22 investigation and prosecution of such crimes. 

23 (10) The problem of crimes motivated by bias 

24 is sufficiently serious, widespread, and interstate in 


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1 nature as to warrant Federal assistance to States, 

2 local jurisdictions, and Indian tribes. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HATE CRIME. 

4 In this Act— 

5 (1) the term ‘‘crime of violence’’ has the mean6 ing given that term in section 16, title 18, United 

7 States Code; 

8 (2) the term ‘‘hate crime’’ has the meaning 

9 given such term in section 280003(a) of the Violent 

10 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 

11 (28 U.S.C. 994 note); and 

12 (3) the term ‘‘local’’ means a county, city, town, 

13 township, parish, village, or other general purpose 

14 political subdivision of a State. 

15 SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS AND 

16 PROSECUTIONS BY STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIB17 AL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. 

18 (a) ASSISTANCE OTHER THAN FINANCIAL ASSIST19 ANCE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of a State, 

21 local, or Tribal law enforcement agency, the Attor22 ney General may provide technical, forensic, prosecu23 torial, or any other form of assistance in the crimi24 nal investigation or prosecution of any crime that— 

25 (A) constitutes a crime of violence; 


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1 (B) constitutes a felony under the State, 

2 local, or Tribal laws; and 

3 (C) is motivated by prejudice based on the 

4 actual or perceived race, color, religion, national 

5 origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender iden6 tity, or disability of the victim, or is a violation 

7 of the State, local, or Tribal hate crime laws. 

8 (2) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under 

9 paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall give pri10 ority to crimes committed by offenders who have 

11 committed crimes in more than one State and to 

12 rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the 

13 extraordinary expenses relating to the investigation 

14 or prosecution of the crime. 

15 (b) GRANTS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may 

17 award grants to State, local, and Indian law enforce18 ment agencies for extraordinary expenses associated 

19 with the investigation and prosecution of hate 

20 crimes. 

21 (2) OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS.—In imple22 menting the grant program under this subsection, 

23 the Office of Justice Programs shall work closely 

24 with grantees to ensure that the concerns and needs 

25 of all affected parties, including community groups 


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1 and schools, colleges, and universities, are addressed 

2 through the local infrastructure developed under the 

3 grants. 

4 (3) APPLICATION.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State, local, and 

6 Indian law enforcement agency that desires a 

7 grant under this subsection shall submit an ap8 plication to the Attorney General at such time, 

9 in such manner, and accompanied by or con10 taining such information as the Attorney Gen11 eral shall reasonably require. 

12 (B) DATE FOR SUBMISSION.—Applications 

13 submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

14 be submitted during the 60-day period begin15 ning on a date that the Attorney General shall 

16 prescribe. 

17 (C) REQUIREMENTS.—A State, local, and 

18 Indian law enforcement agency applying for a 

19 grant under this subsection shall— 

20 (i) describe the extraordinary pur21 poses for which the grant is needed; 

22 (ii) certify that the State, local gov23 ernment, or Indian tribe lacks the re24 sources necessary to investigate or pros25 ecute the hate crime; 


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1 (iii) demonstrate that, in developing a 

2 plan to implement the grant, the State, 

3 local, and Indian law enforcement agency 

4 has consulted and coordinated with non5 profit, nongovernmental violence recovery 

6 service programs that have experience in 

7 providing services to victims of hate 

8 crimes; and 

9 (iv) certify that any Federal funds re10 ceived under this subsection will be used to 

11 supplement, not supplant, non-Federal 

12 funds that would otherwise be available for 

13 activities funded under this subsection. 

14 (4) DEADLINE.—An application for a grant 

15 under this subsection shall be approved or denied by 

16 the Attorney General not later than 30 business 

17 days after the date on which the Attorney General 

18 receives the application. 

19 (5) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant under this sub20 section shall not exceed $100,000 for any single ju21 risdiction in any 1-year period. 

22 (6) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 

23 2011, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 

24 a report describing the applications submitted for 

25 grants under this subsection, the award of such 


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1 grants, and the purposes for which the grant 

2 amounts were expended. 

3 (7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2010 and 2011. 

7 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) AUTHORITY TO AWARD GRANTS.—The Office of 

9 Justice Programs of the Department of Justice may 

10 award grants, in accordance with such regulations as the 

11 Attorney General may prescribe, to State, local, or Tribal 

12 programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by 

13 juveniles, including programs to train local law enforce14 ment officers in identifying, investigating, prosecuting, 

15 and preventing hate crimes. 

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

18 necessary to carry out this section. 

19 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO 

20 ASSIST STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL LAW EN21 FORCEMENT. 

22 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De23 partment of Justice, including the Community Relations 

24 Service, for fiscal years 2010, 2011, and 2012, such sums 

25 as are necessary to increase the number of personnel to 


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1 prevent and respond to alleged violations of section 249 

2 of title 18, United States Code, as added by section 7 of 

3 this Act. 

4 SEC. 7. PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN HATE CRIME ACTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 13 of title 18, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘§ 249. Hate crime acts 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PER11 CEIVED RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, OR NATIONAL ORI12 GIN.—Whoever, whether or not acting under color of 

13 law, willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, 

14 through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive or 

15 incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to 

16 any person, because of the actual or perceived race, 

17 color, religion, or national origin of any person— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 

19 years, fined in accordance with this title, or 

20 both; and 

21 ‘‘(B) shall be imprisoned for any term of 

22 years or for life, fined in accordance with this 

23 title, or both, if— 

24 ‘‘(i) death results from the offense; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the offense includes kidnaping or 

2 an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual 

3 abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated 

4 sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill. 

5 ‘‘(2) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PER6 CEIVED RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, SEX7 UAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR DIS8 ABILITY.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, whether or 

10 not acting under color of law, in any cir11 cumstance described in subparagraph (B), will12 fully causes bodily injury to any person or, 

13 through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explo14 sive or incendiary device, attempts to cause 

15 bodily injury to any person, because of the ac16 tual or perceived religion, national origin, gen17 der, sexual orientation, gender identity, or dis18 ability of any person— 

19 ‘‘(i) shall be imprisoned not more 

20 than 10 years, fined in accordance with 

21 this title, or both; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall be imprisoned for any term 

23 of years or for life, fined in accordance 

24 with this title, or both, if— 


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1 ‘‘(I) death results from the of2 fense; or 

3 ‘‘(II) the offense includes kid4 naping or an attempt to kidnap, ag5 gravated sexual abuse or an attempt 

6 to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or 

7 an attempt to kill. 

8 ‘‘(B) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED.—For 

9 purposes of subparagraph (A), the cir10 cumstances described in this subparagraph are 

11 that— 

12 ‘‘(i) the conduct described in subpara13 graph (A) occurs during the course of, or 

14 as the result of, the travel of the defendant 

15 or the victim— 

16 ‘‘(I) across a State line or na17 tional border; or 

18 ‘‘(II) using a channel, facility, or 

19 instrumentality of interstate or for20 eign commerce; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the defendant uses a channel, fa22 cility, or instrumentality of interstate or 

23 foreign commerce in connection with the 

24 conduct described in subparagraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) in connection with the conduct 

2 described in subparagraph (A), the defend3 ant employs a firearm, explosive or incen4 diary device, or other weapon that has 

5 traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(iv) the conduct described in sub8 paragraph (A)— 

9 ‘‘(I) interferes with commercial 

10 or other economic activity in which 

11 the victim is engaged at the time of 

12 the conduct; or 

13 ‘‘(II) otherwise affects interstate 

14 or foreign commerce. 

15 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No prosecu16 tion of any offense described in this subsection may be 

17 undertaken by the United States, except under the certifi18 cation in writing of the Attorney General, the Deputy At19 torney General, the Associate Attorney General, or any 

20 Assistant Attorney General specially designated by the At21 torney General that— 

22 ‘‘(1) such certifying individual has reasonable 

23 cause to believe that the actual or perceived race, 

24 color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual ori25 entation, gender identity, or disability of any person 


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1 was a motivating factor underlying the alleged con2 duct of the defendant; and 

3 ‘‘(2) such certifying individual has consulted 

4 with State or local law enforcement officials regard5 ing the prosecution and determined that— 

6 ‘‘(A) the State does not have jurisdiction 

7 or does not intend to exercise jurisdiction; 

8 ‘‘(B) the State has requested that the Fed9 eral Government assume jurisdiction; 

10 ‘‘(C) the State does not object to the Fed11 eral Government assuming jurisdiction; or 

12 ‘‘(D) the verdict or sentence obtained pur13 suant to State charges left demonstratively 

14 unvindicated the Federal interest in eradicating 

15 bias-motivated violence. 

16 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) In this section— 

18 ‘‘(A) the term ‘explosive or incendiary de19 vice’ has the meaning given such term in sec20 tion 232 of this title; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the term ‘firearm’ has the meaning 

22 given such term in section 921(a) of this title. 

23 ‘‘(2) For the purposes of this chapter, the term 

24 ‘gender identity’ means actual or perceived gender25 related characteristics. 


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1 ‘‘(d) RULE OF EVIDENCE.—In a prosecution for an 

2 offense under this section, evidence of expression or asso3 ciations of the defendant may not be introduced as sub4 stantive evidence at trial, unless the evidence specifically 

5 relates to that offense. However, nothing in this section 

6 affects the rules of evidence governing impeachment of a 

7 witness.’’. 

8 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

9 The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 13 of 

10 title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

11 end the following new item: 

‘‘249. Hate crime acts.’’. 

12 SEC. 8. STATISTICS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (b)(1) of the first sec14 tion of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 

15 note) is amended by inserting ‘‘gender and gender iden16 tity,’’ after ‘‘race,’’. 

17 (b) DATA.—Subsection (b)(5) of the first section of 

18 the Hate Crimes Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note) is 

19 amended by inserting ‘‘, including data about crimes com20 mitted by, and crimes directed against, juveniles’’ after 

21 ‘‘data acquired under this section’’. 

22 SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY. 

23 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by 

24 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend25 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconstiVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:01 Apr 08, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1913.IH H1913

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1 tutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made 

2 by this Act, and the application of the provisions of such 

3 to any person or circumstance shall not be affected there4 by. 

5 SEC. 10. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

6 Nothing in this Act, or the amendments made by this 

7 Act, shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct 

8 protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities pro9 tected by the free speech or free exercise clauses of, the 

10 First Amendment to the Constitution. 

Æ 


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