Title: Nicole's Law Act of 2018
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Nicole's Law Act of 2018
This bill directs the Department of Justice to increase a state's allocation of funds under the STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program and the Sexual Assault Services Program if the state has in effect laws and policies to extend protections similar to those afforded to a victim of domestic violence to a victim of a sex offense who is not in a familial or dating relationship with the perpetrator of such offense.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5650 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5650

 To direct the Attorney General to make grants to States that have in 
   place laws that expand the protections offered to victims of sex 
  offenses who are not in a familiar or dating relationship with the 
                     perpetrators of such offenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 27, 2018

Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Ms. Velazquez) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Attorney General to make grants to States that have in 
   place laws that expand the protections offered to victims of sex 
  offenses who are not in a familiar or dating relationship with the 
                     perpetrators of such offenses.

    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 ``Nicole's Law Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION.

    The term ``covered formula grant'' means a grant under--
            (1) part T of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
        Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10441 et seq.) (commonly 
        referred to as the ``STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant 
        Program''); or
            (2) section 41601 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 
        (34 U.S.C. 12511) (commonly referred to as ``Sexual Assault 
        Services Program'').

SEC. 3. INCREASED FUNDING FOR FORMULA GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    The Attorney General shall increase the amount provided to a State 
under the covered formula grants in accordance with this Act if the 
State has in place laws and policies that ensure that, with respect to 
criminal cases involving sex offenses (as defined by the State), 
protections similar to those offered to a victim of domestic violence 
are extended to a victim of a sex offense who is not in a familial or 
dating relationship with the perpetrator of such offense, including 
laws and policies that--
            (1) expressly authorize judges and courts to issue, as a 
        condition of bail, parole, probation, or other supervised 
        release, protection orders that prohibit a defendant charged 
        with a sex offense from having any contact with the victim or 
        with the victim's friends, co-workers, or relatives;
            (2) permit judges and courts, after finding a defendant 
        guilty of a sex offense, to order a continuation of a 
        protection order described in paragraph (1), or to otherwise 
        restrict a defendant's contact with the victim, as a condition 
        of bail, parole, probation, or other supervised release; and
            (3) provide judges and courts with the authority to grant 
        or extend a protection order until further order of a judge or 
        court, as an alternative to issuing protection orders that 
        expire on a specific date or upon termination of a sentence or 
        period of bail, parole, probation, or other supervised release.

SEC. 4. APPLICATION.

     A State seeking an increase under this Act in the amount provided 
to the State under the covered formula grants shall include in the 
application of the State for each covered formula grant such 
information as the Attorney General may reasonably require, including 
information about a law or policy described in section 2.

SEC. 5. GRANT INCREASE.

    The amount of the increase provided under this Act to a State under 
the covered formula grants shall be equal to not more than 10 percent 
of the average of the total amount of funding provided to the State 
under the covered formula grants under the 3 most recent awards to the 
State.

SEC. 6. PERIOD OF INCREASE.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall provide an increase 
under this Act in the amount provided to a State under the covered 
formula grants for a 2-year period.
    (b) Limit.--The Attorney General may not provide an increase under 
this Act in the amount provided to a State under the covered formula 
grants more than 4 times.

SEC. 7. ALLOCATION OF INCREASED FORMULA GRANT FUNDS.

    The Attorney General shall allocate an increase under this Act in 
the amount provided to a State under the covered formula grants such 
that--
            (1) 25 percent the amount of the increase is provided for 
        the program described in section 2(1); and
            (2) 75 percent the amount of the increase is provided for 
        the program described in section 2(2).

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
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