Lawless Cities Accountability Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.3217 | Sponsor: Rep. Rosendale Sr., Matthew M. (R-MT)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Lawless Cities Accountability Act of 2021
This bill prohibits federal funding for a jurisdiction that is a lawless jurisdiction.
The term lawless jurisdiction means a state or political subdivision of a state that does one of the following:

To provide that Federal funds may not be made available to lawless 
                 jurisdictions, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Lawless Cities Accountability Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) It is the policy and purpose of the United States 
        Government to protect the lives and property of all people in 
        the United States from unlawful acts of violence and 
        destruction. Without law and order, democracy cannot function, 
        Americans cannot exercise their rights to peaceful expression, 
        assembly, and protest, property is destroyed, and innocent 
        citizens are injured or killed.
            (2) Unfortunately, lawlessness has beset some of our States 
        and cities. Over the past year, several State and local 
        governments have contributed to the violence and destruction in 
        their jurisdictions by failing to enforce the law, 
        disempowering and significantly defunding their police 
        departments, and refusing to accept offers of Federal law 
        enforcement assistance amidst widespread, sustained violence. 
        As a result of these State and local government policies, acts 
        of violence and destruction have skyrocketed and continue 
        unabated in many of America's cities.
            (3) By shirking their responsibility to carry out law and 
        order, lawless jurisdictions enabled violent protestors and 
        rioters to inflict well over $1 billion in property damage 
        across the United States. Federal and State buildings, 
        businesses, and infrastructure were indiscriminately destroyed 
        by arsonists, vandals, and looters--harming their owners and 
        taxpayers--who ultimately bear the costs of unchecked anarchy 
        in American cities.
            (4) The failure of cities to enforce the rule of law has 
        severe consequences and costs lives. In 2020, homicides in 
        major American cities skyrocketed by 33 percent, a trend that 
        continued into the first quarter of 2021. In certain cities 
        such as Portland and Minneapolis, the surge in death and 
        destruction is even starker, with homicides increasing by 733 
        percent in Portland and 82 percent in Minneapolis. The Federal 
        government cannot sit idly by as property is damaged and 
        citizens are murdered in lawless jurisdictions.
            (5) After being continually demeaned by radical activists 
        and politicians, having police funding slashed, being 
        disempowered from enforcing the rule of law, and witnessing 
        their cities deteriorate into lawless zones, our dedicated law 
        enforcement personnel are demoralized and leaving the force in 
        record numbers. In 2020, the New York Police Department saw 
        5,300 personnel leave the department, a 75 percent increase 
        from the previous year. The Minneapolis Police Department saw 
        105 officers leave the department in 2020, more than double 
        their average yearly attrition rate. Compounding the challenge 
        of mass retirements and an inordinate number of law enforcement 
        personnel on leaves of absence, police departments are facing 
        unprecedented recruitment challenges, leaving departments ill-
        equipped to handle the dramatic rise in violent crime.
            (6) The Federal Government provides States and localities 
        with hundreds of billions of dollars every year, which fund a 
        wide array of programs, such as housing, public transportation, 
        job training, and social services. These funds have been 
        collected from American taxpayers who entrusted their money to 
        the Federal Government to serve our communities and our 
        citizens.
            (7) The Federal Government should not allow taxpayer 
        dollars to fund jurisdictions that fail to enforce the rule of 
        law and protect their residents. To ensure that Federal funds 
        are neither unduly wasted nor spent in a manner that directly 
        violates our Government's promise to protect life, liberty, and 
        property, it is imperative that the Federal Government ensure 
        Federal funds and grants do not go to jurisdictions that permit 
        anarchy, violence, and destruction in America's cities. This is 
        critical to ensure that Federal funds are used effectively, and 
        to safeguard taxpayer dollars entrusted to the Federal 
        Government for the benefit of the American people.

SEC. 3. NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR LAWLESS JURISDICTIONS.

    (a) In General.--No Federal funds may be made available to a 
jurisdiction that the Attorney General determines is a lawless 
jurisdiction.
    (b) Attorney General Determinations.--Not later than 30 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, and not less than quarterly 
thereafter, the Attorney General shall make determinations on which 
jurisdictions are lawless jurisdictions, and shall make such 
determinations, and an explanation of each determination, publicly 
available.
    (c) Reinstatement of Federal Funds.--A jurisdiction that the 
Attorney General determines is a lawless jurisdiction may begin 
receiving Federal funds on the later of--
            (1) 180 days after the date on which the Attorney General 
        first determines that the jurisdiction is lawless; or
            (2) the date on which the Attorney General determines that 
        the jurisdiction is no longer a lawless jurisdiction.

SEC. 4. DEFINITION.

    In this Act, the term ``lawless jurisdiction'' means a State or 
political subdivision of a State that--
            (1) forbids a law enforcement agency from intervening to 
        restore order amid widespread or sustained violence or 
        destruction;
            (2) has withdrawn law enforcement protection from a 
        geographical area or structure that law enforcement officers 
        are lawfully entitled to access, but have been officially 
        prevented from accessing or permitted to access only in 
        exceptional circumstances, except when law enforcement officers 
        are briefly withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve 
        safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing unlawful 
        incident posing an imminent threat to the safety of individuals 
        or law enforcement officers;
            (3) disempowers or defunds law enforcement agencies; or
            (4) refuses to accept an offer of law enforcement 
        assistance from the Federal Government amid widespread or 
        sustained violence or destruction in the jurisdiction, during 
        which the jurisdiction has been unable to restore order.
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