II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1145 

To provide Federal assistance to States and local jurisdictions to prosecute 

hate crimes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 26, 2005 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. SMITH, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. 

SCHUMER, Mr. CHAFEE, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. BAYH, Mr. 

BIDEN, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mrs. BOXER, Ms. CANTWELL, Mrs. CLINTON, 

Mr. COLEMAN, Mr. CORZINE, Mr. DAYTON, Mr. DODD, Mr. DURBIN, 

Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KERRY, 

Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. LEVIN, Mrs. LINCOLN, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. 

REED, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. SARBANES, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. LAUTENBERG, 

Mr. PRYOR, and Mr. ROCKEFELLER) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide Federal assistance to States and local 

jurisdictions to prosecute hate crimes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Local Law Enforce5 ment Enhancement Act of 2005’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The incidence of violence motivated by the 

4 actual or perceived race, color, religion, national ori5 gin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of the 

6 victim poses a serious national problem. 

7 (2) Such violence disrupts the tranquility and 

8 safety of communities and is deeply divisive. 

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

10 continue to be responsible for prosecuting the over11 whelming majority of violent crimes in the United 

12 States, including violent crimes motivated by bias. 

13 These authorities can carry out their responsibilities 

14 more effectively with greater Federal assistance. 

15 (4) Existing Federal law is inadequate to ad16 dress this problem. 

17 (5) The prominent characteristic of a violent 

18 crime motivated by bias is that it devastates not just 

19 the actual victim and the family and friends of the 

20 victim, but frequently savages the community shar21 ing the traits that caused the victim to be selected. 

22 (6) Such violence substantially affects interstate 

23 commerce in many ways, including— 

24 (A) by impeding the movement of members 

25 of targeted groups and forcing such members to 
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1 move across State lines to escape the incidence 

2 or risk of such violence; and 

3 (B) by preventing members of targeted 

4 groups from purchasing goods and services, ob5 taining or sustaining employment, or partici6 pating in other commercial activity. 

7 (7) Perpetrators cross State lines to commit 

8 such violence. 

9 (8) Channels, facilities, and instrumentalities of 

10 interstate commerce are used to facilitate the com11 mission of such violence. 

12 (9) Such violence is committed using articles 

13 that have traveled in interstate commerce. 

14 (10) For generations, the institutions of slavery 

15 and involuntary servitude were defined by the race, 

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

17 and involuntary servitude were enforced, both prior 

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

19 the Constitution of the United States, through wide20 spread public and private violence directed at per21 sons because of their race, color, or ancestry, or per22 ceived race, color, or ancestry. Accordingly, elimi23 nating racially motivated violence is an important 

24 means of eliminating, to the extent possible, the 
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1 badges, incidents, and relics of slavery and involun2 tary servitude. 

3 (11) Both at the time when the 13th, 14th, and 

4 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United 

5 States were adopted, and continuing to date, mem6 bers of certain religious and national origin groups 

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

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

9 badges, incidents, and relics of slavery, it is nec10 essary to prohibit assaults on the basis of real or 

11 perceived religions or national origins, at least to the 

12 extent such religions or national origins were re13 garded as races at the time of the adoption of the 

14 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitu15 tion of the United States. 

16 (12) Federal jurisdiction over certain violent 

17 crimes motivated by bias enables Federal, State, and 

18 local authorities to work together as partners in the 

19 investigation and prosecution of such crimes. 

20 (13) The problem of crimes motivated by bias 

21 is sufficiently serious, widespread, and interstate in 

22 nature as to warrant Federal assistance to States 

23 and local jurisdictions. 
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITION OF HATE CRIME. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘hate crime’’ has the same 

3 meaning as in section 280003(a) of the Violent Crime 

4 Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (28 U.S.C. 

5 994 note). 

6 SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS AND 

7 PROSECUTIONS BY STATE AND LOCAL LAW 

8 ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. 

9 (a) ASSISTANCE OTHER THAN FINANCIAL ASSIST10 ANCE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the request of a law en12 forcement official of a State or Indian tribe, the At13 torney General may provide technical, forensic, pros14 ecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the 

15 criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime 

16 that— 

17 (A) constitutes a crime of violence (as de18 fined in section 16 of title 18, United States 

19 Code); 

20 (B) constitutes a felony under the laws of 

21 the State or Indian tribe; and 

22 (C) is motivated by prejudice based on the 

23 race, color, religion, national origin, gender, 

24 sexual orientation, or disability of the victim, or 

25 is a violation of the hate crime laws of the State 

26 or Indian tribe. 
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1 (2) PRIORITY.—In providing assistance under 

2 paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall give pri3 ority to crimes committed by offenders who have 

4 committed crimes in more than 1 State and to rural 

5 jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the ex6 traordinary expenses relating to the investigation or 

7 prosecution of the crime. 

8 (b) GRANTS.— 

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

10 award grants to assist State, local, and Indian law 

11 enforcement officials with the extraordinary expenses 

12 associated with the investigation and prosecution of 

13 hate crimes. 

14 (2) OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS.—In imple15 menting the grant program, the Office of Justice 

16 Programs shall work closely with the funded juris17 dictions to ensure that the concerns and needs of all 

18 affected parties, including community groups and 

19 schools, colleges, and universities, are addressed 

20 through the local infrastructure developed under the 

21 grants. 

22 (3) APPLICATION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State that desires 

24 a grant under this subsection shall submit an 

25 application to the Attorney General at such 
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1 time, in such manner, and accompanied by or 

2 containing such information as the Attorney 

3 General shall reasonably require. 

4 (B) DATE FOR SUBMISSION.—Applications 

5 submitted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

6 be submitted during the 60-day period begin7 ning on a date that the Attorney General shall 

8 prescribe. 

9 (C) REQUIREMENTS.—A State or political 

10 subdivision of a State or tribal official applying 

11 for assistance under this subsection shall— 

12 (i) describe the extraordinary pur13 poses for which the grant is needed; 

14 (ii) certify that the State, political 

15 subdivision, or Indian tribe lacks the re16 sources necessary to investigate or pros17 ecute the hate crime; 

18 (iii) demonstrate that, in developing a 

19 plan to implement the grant, the State, po20 litical subdivision, or tribal official has con21 sulted and coordinated with nonprofit, non22 governmental victim services programs 

23 that have experience in providing services 

24 to victims of hate crimes; and 
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1 (iv) certify that any Federal funds re2 ceived under this subsection will be used to 

3 supplement, not supplant, non-Federal 

4 funds that would otherwise be available for 

5 activities funded under this subsection. 

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

7 under this subsection shall be approved or dis8 approved by the Attorney General not later than 30 

9 business days after the date on which the Attorney 

10 General receives the application. 

11 (5) GRANT AMOUNT.—A grant under this sub12 section shall not exceed $100,000 for any single ju13 risdiction within a 1 year period. 

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

15 2006, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 

16 a report describing the applications submitted for 

17 grants under this subsection, the award of such 

18 grants, and the purposes for which the grant 

19 amounts were expended. 

20 (7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

21 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

23 2006 and 2007. 
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1 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) AUTHORITY TO MAKE GRANTS.—The Office of 

3 Justice Programs of the Department of Justice shall 

4 award grants, in accordance with such regulations as the 

5 Attorney General may prescribe, to State and local pro6 grams designed to combat hate crimes committed by juve7 niles, including programs to train local law enforcement 

8 officers in identifying, investigating, prosecuting, and pre9 venting hate crimes. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 

12 necessary to carry out this section. 

13 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION FOR ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO 

14 ASSIST STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCE15 MENT. 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to the De17 partment of the Treasury and the Department of Justice, 

18 including the Community Relations Service, for fiscal 

19 years 2006, 2007, and 2008 such sums as are necessary 

20 to increase the number of personnel to prevent and re21 spond to alleged violations of section 249 of title 18, 

22 United States Code, as added by section 7. 

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

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

25 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol26 lowing: 
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1 ‘‘§ 249. Hate crime acts 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

3 ‘‘(1) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PER4 CEIVED RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, OR NATIONAL ORI5 GIN.—Whoever, whether or not acting under color of 

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

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

8 incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to 

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

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

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

12 years, fined in accordance with this title, or 

13 both; and 

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

15 years or for life, fined in accordance with this 

16 title, or both, if— 

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

18 ‘‘(ii) the offense includes kidnaping or 

19 an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual 

20 abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated 

21 sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill. 

22 ‘‘(2) OFFENSES INVOLVING ACTUAL OR PER23 CEIVED RELIGION, NATIONAL ORIGIN, GENDER, SEX24 UAL ORIENTATION, OR DISABILITY.— 

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

26 not acting under color of law, in any cir-
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1 cumstance described in subparagraph (B), will2 fully causes bodily injury to any person or, 

3 through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explo4 sive or incendiary device, attempts to cause 

5 bodily injury to any person, because of the ac6 tual or perceived religion, national origin, gen7 der, sexual orientation, or disability of any per8 son— 

9 ‘‘(i) shall be imprisoned not more 

10 than 10 years, fined in accordance with 

11 this title, or both; and 

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

13 of years or for life, fined in accordance 

14 with this title, or both, if— 

15 ‘‘(I) death results from the of16 fense; or 

17 ‘‘(II) the offense includes kid18 naping or an attempt to kidnap, ag19 gravated sexual abuse or an attempt 

20 to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or 

21 an attempt to kill. 

22 ‘‘(B) CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED.—For 

23 purposes of subparagraph (A), the cir24 cumstances described in this subparagraph are 

25 that— 
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1 ‘‘(i) the conduct described in subpara2 graph (A) occurs during the course of, or 

3 as the result of, the travel of the defendant 

4 or the victim— 

5 ‘‘(I) across a State line or na6 tional border; or 

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

8 instrumentality of interstate or for9 eign commerce; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the defendant uses a channel, fa11 cility, or instrumentality of interstate or 

12 foreign commerce in connection with the 

13 conduct described in subparagraph (A); 

14 ‘‘(iii) in connection with the conduct 

15 described in subparagraph (A), the defend16 ant employs a firearm, explosive or incen17 diary device, or other weapon that has 

18 traveled in interstate or foreign commerce; 

19 or 

20 ‘‘(iv) the conduct described in sub21 paragraph (A)— 

22 ‘‘(I) interferes with commercial 

23 or other economic activity in which 

24 the victim is engaged at the time of 

25 the conduct; or 
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1 ‘‘(II) otherwise affects interstate 

2 or foreign commerce. 

3 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—No prosecu4 tion of any offense described in this subsection may be 

5 undertaken by the United States, except under the certifi6 cation in writing of the Attorney General, the Deputy At7 torney General, the Associate Attorney General, or any 

8 Assistant Attorney General specially designated by the At9 torney General that— 

10 ‘‘(1) he or she has reasonable cause to believe 

11 that the actual or perceived race, color, religion, na12 tional origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability 

13 of any person was a motivating factor underlying the 

14 alleged conduct of the defendant; and 

15 ‘‘(2) he or his designee or she or her designee 

16 has consulted with State or local law enforcement of17 ficials regarding the prosecution and determined 

18 that— 

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

20 or does not intend to exercise jurisdiction; 

21 ‘‘(B) the State has requested that the Fed22 eral Government assume jurisdiction; 

23 ‘‘(C) the State does not object to the Fed24 eral Government assuming jurisdiction; or 
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1 ‘‘(D) the verdict or sentence obtained pur2 suant to State charges left demonstratively 

3 unvindicated the Federal interest in eradicating 

4 bias-motivated violence. 

5 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘explosive or incendiary device’ 

7 has the meaning given the term in section 232 of 

8 this title; and 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘firearm’ has the meaning given 

10 the term in section 921(a) of this title.’’. 

11 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—

12 The analysis for chapter 13 of title 18, United States 

13 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘249. Hate crime acts’’.

14 SEC. 8. DUTIES OF FEDERAL SENTENCING COMMISSION. 

15 (a) AMENDMENT OF FEDERAL SENTENCING GUIDE16 LINES.—Pursuant to the authority provided under section 

17 994 of title 28, United States Code, the United States 

18 Sentencing Commission shall study the issue of adult re19 cruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes and shall, 

20 if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing guidelines 

21 to provide sentencing enhancements (in addition to the 

22 sentencing enhancement provided for the use of a minor 

23 during the commission of an offense) for adult defendants 

24 who recruit juveniles to assist in the commission of hate 

25 crimes. 
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1 (b) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER GUIDELINES.—In 

2 carrying out this section, the United States Sentencing 

3 Commission shall— 

4 (1) ensure that there is reasonable consistency 

5 with other Federal sentencing guidelines; and 

6 (2) avoid duplicative punishments for substan7 tially the same offense. 

8 SEC. 9. STATISTICS. 

9 Subsection (b)(1) of the first section of the Hate 

10 Crimes Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. 534 note) is amended 

11 by inserting ‘‘gender,’’ after ‘‘race,’’. 

12 SEC. 10. 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.

Æ