I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3217 

To provide that Federal funds may not be made available to lawless 

jurisdictions, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 13, 2021 

Mr. ROSENDALE (for himself, Mr. GOOD of Virginia, Mr. BABIN, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. MOONEY, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, Mrs. BOEBERT, Mr. 

NORMAN, Mr. BUDD, Mr. PERRY, and Mr. ROY) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To provide that Federal funds may not be made available 

to lawless jurisdictions, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lawless Cities Ac5 countability Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) It is the policy and purpose of the United 

2 States Government to protect the lives and property 

3 of all people in the United States from unlawful acts 

4 of violence and destruction. Without law and order, 

5 democracy cannot function, Americans cannot exer6 cise their rights to peaceful expression, assembly, 

7 and protest, property is destroyed, and innocent citi8 zens are injured or killed. 

9 (2) Unfortunately, lawlessness has beset some 

10 of our States and cities. Over the past year, several 

11 State and local governments have contributed to the 

12 violence and destruction in their jurisdictions by fail13 ing to enforce the law, disempowering and signifi14 cantly defunding their police departments, and re15 fusing to accept offers of Federal law enforcement 

16 assistance amidst widespread, sustained violence. As 

17 a result of these State and local government policies, 

18 acts of violence and destruction have skyrocketed 

19 and continue unabated in many of America’s cities. 

20 (3) By shirking their responsibility to carry out 

21 law and order, lawless jurisdictions enabled violent 

22 protestors and rioters to inflict well over $1 billion 

23 in property damage across the United States. Fed24 eral and State buildings, businesses, and infrastruc25 ture were indiscriminately destroyed by arsonists, 


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1 vandals, and looters—harming their owners and tax2 payers—who ultimately bear the costs of unchecked 

3 anarchy in American cities. 

4 (4) The failure of cities to enforce the rule of 

5 law has severe consequences and costs lives. In 

6 2020, homicides in major American cities sky7 rocketed by 33 percent, a trend that continued into 

8 the first quarter of 2021. In certain cities such as 

9 Portland and Minneapolis, the surge in death and 

10 destruction is even starker, with homicides increas11 ing by 733 percent in Portland and 82 percent in 

12 Minneapolis. The Federal government cannot sit idly 

13 by as property is damaged and citizens are mur14 dered in lawless jurisdictions. 

15 (5) After being continually demeaned by radical 

16 activists and politicians, having police funding 

17 slashed, being disempowered from enforcing the rule 

18 of law, and witnessing their cities deteriorate into 

19 lawless zones, our dedicated law enforcement per20 sonnel are demoralized and leaving the force in 

21 record numbers. In 2020, the New York Police De22 partment saw 5,300 personnel leave the department, 

23 a 75 percent increase from the previous year. The 

24 Minneapolis Police Department saw 105 officers 

25 leave the department in 2020, more than double 


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1 their average yearly attrition rate. Compounding the 

2 challenge of mass retirements and an inordinate 

3 number of law enforcement personnel on leaves of 

4 absence, police departments are facing unprece5 dented recruitment challenges, leaving departments 

6 ill-equipped to handle the dramatic rise in violent 

7 crime. 

8 (6) The Federal Government provides States 

9 and localities with hundreds of billions of dollars 

10 every year, which fund a wide array of programs, 

11 such as housing, public transportation, job training, 

12 and social services. These funds have been collected 

13 from American taxpayers who entrusted their money 

14 to the Federal Government to serve our communities 

15 and our citizens. 

16 (7) The Federal Government should not allow 

17 taxpayer dollars to fund jurisdictions that fail to en18 force the rule of law and protect their residents. To 

19 ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted 

20 nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Gov21 ernment’s promise to protect life, liberty, and prop22 erty, it is imperative that the Federal Government 

23 ensure Federal funds and grants do not go to juris24 dictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruc25 tion in America’s cities. This is critical to ensure 


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1 that Federal funds are used effectively, and to safe2 guard taxpayer dollars entrusted to the Federal Gov3 ernment for the benefit of the American people. 

4 SEC. 3. NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR LAWLESS JURISDICTIONS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—No Federal funds may be made 

6 available to a jurisdiction that the Attorney General deter7 mines is a lawless jurisdiction. 

8 (b) ATTORNEY GENERAL DETERMINATIONS.—Not 

9 later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 

10 and not less than quarterly thereafter, the Attorney Gen11 eral shall make determinations on which jurisdictions are 

12 lawless jurisdictions, and shall make such determinations, 

13 and an explanation of each determination, publicly avail14 able. 

15 (c) REINSTATEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—A juris16 diction that the Attorney General determines is a lawless 

17 jurisdiction may begin receiving Federal funds on the later 

18 of— 

19 (1) 180 days after the date on which the Attor20 ney General first determines that the jurisdiction is 

21 lawless; or 

22 (2) the date on which the Attorney General de23 termines that the jurisdiction is no longer a lawless 

24 jurisdiction. 


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1 SEC. 4. DEFINITION. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘lawless jurisdiction’’ means a 

3 State or political subdivision of a State that— 

4 (1) forbids a law enforcement agency from in5 tervening to restore order amid widespread or sus6 tained violence or destruction; 

7 (2) has withdrawn law enforcement protection 

8 from a geographical area or structure that law en9 forcement officers are lawfully entitled to access, but 

10 have been officially prevented from accessing or per11 mitted to access only in exceptional circumstances, 

12 except when law enforcement officers are briefly 

13 withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve 

14 safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing un15 lawful incident posing an imminent threat to the 

16 safety of individuals or law enforcement officers; 

17 (3) disempowers or defunds law enforcement 

18 agencies; or 

19 (4) refuses to accept an offer of law enforce20 ment assistance from the Federal Government amid 

21 widespread or sustained violence or destruction in 

22 the jurisdiction, during which the jurisdiction has 

23 been unable to restore order. 

Æ 


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