IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1913 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 30, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

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. DEFINITION OF HATE CRIME. 

5 In this Act— 

6 (1) the term ‘‘crime of violence’’ has the mean7 ing given that term in section 16, title 18, United 

8 States Code; 

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

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

11 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 

12 (28 U.S.C. 994 note); and 

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

14 township, parish, village, or other general purpose 

15 political subdivision of a State. 

16 SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS AND 

17 PROSECUTIONS BY STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIB18 AL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. 

19 (a) ASSISTANCE OTHER THAN FINANCIAL ASSIST20 ANCE.— 

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

22 local, or tribal law enforcement agency, the Attorney 

23 General may provide technical, forensic, prosecu24 torial, or any other form of assistance in the crimi25 nal investigation or prosecution of any crime that— 

26 (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 Tribal 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, or 

6 Tribal 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, or 

18 Tribal 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, or Tribal 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 180 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. 4. 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. 5. 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. 6. 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, a dangerous 

15 weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, at16 tempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because 

17 of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or na18 tional origin of any person— 

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

20 years, fined in accordance with this title, or 

21 both; and 

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

23 years or for life, fined in accordance with this 

24 title, or both, if— 

25 ‘‘(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, a dangerouse 

14 weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, at15 tempts to cause bodily injury to any person, be16 cause of the actual or perceived religion, na17 tional origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender 

18 identity, or disability 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 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL FEDERAL NEXUS FOR OF16 FENSE.—Whoever, in the special maritime or terri17 torial jurisdiction of the United States, or in Indian 

18 country, engages in conduct described in paragraph 

19 (1) or in paragraph (2)(A) (without regard to 

20 whether that conduct occurred in a circumstance de21 scribed in paragraph (2)(B)) shall be subject to the 

22 same penalties as those provided for offenses under 

23 those paragraphs. 

24 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No prosecu25 tion of any offense described in this subsection may be 


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1 undertaken by the United States, except under the certifi2 cation in writing of the Attorney General, the Deputy At3 torney General, the Associate Attorney General, or any 

4 Assistant Attorney General specially designated by the At5 torney General that— 

6 ‘‘(1) such certifying individual has reasonable 

7 cause to believe that the actual or perceived race, 

8 color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual ori9 entation, gender identity, or disability of any person 

10 was a motivating factor underlying the alleged con11 duct of the defendant; and 

12 ‘‘(2) such certifying individual has consulted 

13 with State or local law enforcement officials regard14 ing the prosecution and determined that— 

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

16 or does not intend to exercise jurisdiction; 

17 ‘‘(B) the State has requested that the Fed18 eral Government assume jurisdiction; 

19 ‘‘(C) the State does not object to the Fed20 eral Government assuming jurisdiction; or 

21 ‘‘(D) the verdict or sentence obtained pur22 suant to State charges left demonstratively 

23 unvindicated the Federal interest in eradicating 

24 bias-motivated violence. 

25 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) In this section— 

2 ‘‘(A) the term ‘explosive or incendiary de3 vice’ has the meaning given such term in sec4 tion 232 of this title; 

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

6 given such term in section 921(a) of this title; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(C) the term ‘State’ includes the District 

9 of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any other terri10 tory or possession of the United States. 

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

12 ‘gender identity’ means actual or perceived gender13 related characteristics. 

14 ‘‘(d) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) OFFENSES NOT RESULTING IN DEATH.— 

16 Except as provided in paragraph (2), no person shall 

17 be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any offense 

18 under this section unless the indictment for such of19 fense is found, or the information for such offense 

20 is instituted, not later than 7 years after the date 

21 on which the offense was committed. 

22 ‘‘(2) DEATH RESULTING OFFENSES.—An in23 dictment or information alleging that an offense 

24 under this section resulted in death may be found or 

25 instituted at any time without limitation. 


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1 ‘‘(e) 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. 7. SEVERABILITY. 

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

14 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend15 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti16 tutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made 

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

18 to any person or circumstance shall not be affected there19 by. 

20 SEC. 8. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

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

22 Act, shall be construed to prohibit any expressive conduct 


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1 protected from legal prohibition by, or any activities pro2 tected by, the Constitution. 

Passed the House of Representatives April 29, 2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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