I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7488 
To reform pattern and practice investigations conducted by the Department 
of Justice, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 2, 2020 
Mr. RICHMOND (for himself, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. HASTINGS) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To reform pattern and practice investigations conducted by 
the Department of Justice, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhancing Oversight 
to End Discrimination in Policing Act’’. 
SEC. 2. RESCISSION OF DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE MEMO-
RANDUM RELATING TO CIVIL CONSENT DE-
CREES. 
The memorandum issued by the Attorney General ti-
tled ‘‘Principles and Procedures for Civil Consent Decrees 
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and Settlement Agreements with State and Local Govern-
mental Entities’’ on November 8, 2018, or any other sub-
stantially similar memorandum, shall have no force or ef-
fect. 
SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR PATTERN OR PRACTICE INVESTIGA-
TIONS. 
(a) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—There are authorized to 
be appropriated, in addition to any other amounts author-
ized, $445,000,000 to the Civil Rights Division of the De-
partment of Justice for each of fiscal years 2020 through 
2029, of which not less than $100,000,000 shall be made 
available each fiscal year for investigations conducted 
under section 210401 of the Violent Crime Control and 
Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601). 
(b) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.—Section 210401(a) of 
the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 
1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘in-
cluding a prosecutor or other agency involved in the ad-
ministration of justice,’’ before ‘‘to engage’’. 
(c) AUTHORITY FOR STATE INVESTIGATIONS.—Sec-
tion 210401(b) of the Violent Crime Control and Law En-
forcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601(b)) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1) FEDERAL
ENFORCE-
MENT.—’’ before ‘‘Whenever’’; 
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(2) in paragraph (1), as so designated, by strik-
ing ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 
and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) STATE ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Whenever an attorney 
general of a State has reasonable cause to be-
lieve that a violation of subsection (a) has oc-
curred by a governmental authority, or agent 
thereof, of the State, including a prosecutor or 
other agency involved in the administration of 
justice, the attorney general, or another official 
or agency designated by a State, may in a civil 
action brought in any appropriate district court 
of the United States obtain appropriate equi-
table and declaratory relief to eliminate the pat-
tern or practice. 
‘‘(B) TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE.—The At-
torney General shall provide technical assist-
ance and training to States and units of local 
government to assist States and units of local 
governments in carrying out pattern or practice 
investigations and cases.’’. 
(d) GRANT PROGRAM.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
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(A) the term ‘‘State’’ means each of the 
several States, the District of Columbia, and 
each commonwealth, territory, or possession of 
the United States; and 
(B) the term ‘‘Tribal government’’ means 
the governing body of an Indian Tribe included 
on the most recent list published by the Sec-
retary pursuant to section 104 of the Federally 
Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 
U.S.C. 5131). 
(2) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General 
may award grants to States and Tribal governments 
to assist such States and Tribal governments in pur-
suing pattern or practice investigations and cases 
under section 210401 of the Violent Crime Control 
and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 
12601). 
(3) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this subsection, a State or Tribal gov-
ernment shall submit an application to the Attorney 
General that— 
(A) contains clearly defined and measur-
able objectives for the grant funds; 
(B) describes how the State or Tribal gov-
ernment intends to use the grant funds to pur-
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sue pattern or practice investigations and cases 
under section 210401 of the Violent Crime Con-
trol and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 
U.S.C. 12601); and 
(C) outlines the qualifications and training 
of the attorneys, staff, and other personnel who 
are, or who may be, assigned to lead or assist 
pattern or practice investigations and cases. 
(4) REQUIRED REPORTING.— 
(A) GRANTEE REPORTING.—In each fiscal 
year a State or Tribal government receives a 
grant under this subsection, the State or Tribal 
government shall submit to the Attorney Gen-
eral a report detailing— 
(i) how the grant funds were used; 
and 
(ii) the progress made towards ad-
dressing patterns and practices identified 
under section 210401 of the Violent Crime 
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 
(34 U.S.C. 12601). 
(B) REPORTS
TO
CONGRESS.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
Act, and once each year thereafter, the Attor-
ney General shall submit to the Committee on 
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the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee 
on the Judiciary of the House of Representa-
tives a report on the grant program established 
under this subsection, which shall include— 
(i) a detailed summary of how grant 
funds awarded under the grant program 
were used; and 
(ii) recommendations, if any, for im-
provements needed for the grant program. 
(5) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the At-
torney General $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2020 through 2029 to carry out this subsection. 
Æ 
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