I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3670

To provide a civil claim for individuals who are victims of crimes motivated

by actual or perceived race, color, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disability.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NOVEMBER 22, 1993

Mr. NADLER (for himself and Mrs. SCHROEDER) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To provide a civil claim for individuals who are victims

of crimes motivated by actual or perceived race, color,

gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disability.

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 ‘‘Bias Crimes Com5 pensation Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. CIVIL RIGHTS.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) bias-motivated crimes of violence constitute

2 crimes in violation of the victim’s right to be free

3 from discrimination on the basis of actual or per4 ceived race, color, gender, religion, national origin,

5 ethnicity, sexual orientation, or physical or mental

6 disability;

7 (2) State and Federal criminal laws do not ade8 quately protect against the bias element of bias-mo9 tivated crimes of violence, which separates these

10 crimes from acts of random violence, nor do those

11 laws adequately provide victims of bias-motivated

12 crimes of violence the opportunity to vindicate their

13 interests;

14 (3) existing bias and discrimination in the

15 criminal justice system often deprive victims of bias16 motivated crimes of violence of equal protection of

17 the laws and the redress to which they are entitled;

18 (4) bias-motivated crimes of violence have a

19 substantial adverse effect on interstate commerce, by

20 deterring potential victims from traveling interstate,

21 from engaging in employment in interstate business,

22 and from transacting with business, and in places

23 involved, in interstate commerce;

24 (5) bias-motivated crimes of violence have a

25 substantial adverse effect on interstate commerce, by
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1 diminishing national productivity, increasing medical

2 and other costs, and decreasing the supply of and

3 the demand for interstate products;

4 (6) a Federal civil rights claim, as created in

5 this section, is necessary to guarantee equal protec6 tion of the laws and to reduce the substantial ad7 verse effects of bias-motivated crimes of violence on

8 interstate commerce; and

9 (7) victims of bias-motivated crimes of violence

10 have a right to equal protection of the laws, includ11 ing a system of justice that is unaffected by bias or

12 discrimination and that, at every relevant stage,

13 treats such crimes as seriously as other violent

14 crimes.

15 (b) RIGHT.—All individuals within the United States,

16 and the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the

17 United States, shall have the right to be free from bias18 motivated crimes of violence.

19 (c) CLAIM.—Any person, including a person who acts

20 under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom,

21 or usage of any State, who deprives an individual of the

22 right secured by subsection (b) shall be liable to the indi23 vidual injured, in a civil action in any court of competent

24 jurisdiction, for compensatory damages of not less than
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1 $100,000, punitive damages, injunctive relief, declaratory

2 relief, or any combination thereof.

3 (d) LIMITATION, PROCEDURE, AND RULE OF CON4 STRUCTION.—

5 (1) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section enti6 tles an individual to a claim under subsection (c) for

7 random acts of violence unrelated to bias or for acts

8 that cannot be demonstrated, by a preponderance of

9 the evidence, to be bias-motivated crimes of violence.

10 (2) NO PRIOR CRIMINAL ACTION.—Nothing in

11 this section requires a prior criminal complaint,

12 prosecution, or conviction to establish the necessary

13 elements of a claim under subsection (c).

14 (3) CONCURRENT JURISDICTION.—The Federal

15 and State courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction

16 over actions brought pursuant to this section.

17 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Neither section

18 1367 of title 28 of the United States Code nor sub19 section (c) of this section shall be construed, by rea20 son of a claim arising under such subsection, to con21 fer on the courts of the United States supplemental

22 jurisdiction of any State law claim seeking the estab23 lishment of a divorce, alimony, equitable distribution

24 of marital property, or child custody decree.

25 (e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—
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1 (1) the term ‘‘bias-motivated’’ means committed

2 because of, on the basis of, and due to (at least in

3 part) an animus based on, actual or perceived race,

4 color, gender, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sex5 ual orientation, or physical or mental disability of

6 the victim;

7 (2) the term ‘‘crime of violence’’ means—

8 (A) an act or series of acts that would con9 stitute State or Federal offense of a kind de10 scribed in section 16 of title 18, United States

11 Code, and punishable by a maximum term of

12 imprisonment exceeding one year, but excludes

13 an offense against property that presents no se14 rious risk of physical or mental disability injury

15 to an individual; or

16 (B) one or more actions that would con17 stitute such offense but for the relationship be18 tween the person who takes such actions and

19 the individual against whom such actions are

20 taken;

21 whether or not such offense or such actions result in

22 criminal charges, prosecution, or conviction and

23 whether or not such actions were taken within the

24 United States or the special maritime and territorial

25 jurisdiction of the United States;
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1 (3) the term ‘‘disability’’ has the meaning given

2 it in section 3(2) of the Americans With Disabilities

3 Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102(2)); and

4 (4) the term ‘‘special maritime and territorial

5 jurisdiction of the United States’’ has the meaning

6 given such term in section 7 of title 18, United

7 States Code.

8 (f) LIMITATION ON REMOVAL.—Section 1445 of title

9 28, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end

10 the following:

11 ‘‘(d) A civil action in any State court arising under

12 section 2 of the Bias Crimes Compensation Act of 1993

13 may not be removed to any district court of the United

14 States.’’.

15 (g) AUTHORITY TO AWARD ATTORNEY’S FEE.—Sec16 tion 722(b) of the Revised Statutes of the United States

17 (42 U.S.C. 1988(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘section 2

18 of the Bias Crimes Compensation Act of 1993,’’ after

19 ‘‘Public Law 92–318,’’.

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