Title: Law Enforcement Resources and Community Safety Act of 2018
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Law Enforcement Resources and Community Safety Act of 2018
This bill establishes a new obstruction of justice criminal offense for conduct related to tampering with or retaliating against a witness in state or local proceedings.
Additionally, it does the following:

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3490 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3490

To protect State and local witnesses from tampering and retaliation, to 
 empower law enforcement agencies to keep America safe from organized 
 crime and gang-related violence, to authorize grants for the purchase 
   of personal protective equipment and detection devices for first 
      responders assisting at the scene of an opioid overdose or 
    investigating opioid trafficking or distribution, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 25, 2018

   Mr. Casey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To protect State and local witnesses from tampering and retaliation, to 
 empower law enforcement agencies to keep America safe from organized 
 crime and gang-related violence, to authorize grants for the purchase 
   of personal protective equipment and detection devices for first 
      responders assisting at the scene of an opioid overdose or 
    investigating opioid trafficking or distribution, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Law Enforcement 
Resources and Community Safety Act of 2018''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
                   TITLE I--STATE WITNESS PROTECTION

Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Protection of State and local witnesses.
Sec. 103. Sentencing guidelines enhancement.
Sec. 104. Witness protection grant program.
                      TITLE II--COPS SAFE STREETS

Sec. 201. Short title.
Sec. 202. Funding for law enforcement to combat organized crime and 
                            gang-related violence.
               TITLE III--FIRST RESPONDER FENTANYL SAFETY

Sec. 301. Short title.
Sec. 302. Grants authorized.

                   TITLE I--STATE WITNESS PROTECTION

SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``State Witness Protection Act of 
2018''.

SEC. 102. PROTECTION OF STATE AND LOCAL WITNESSES.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 73 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 1522. State and local witness tampering and retaliation
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `judicial officer' means a justice, judge, 
        or other officer of the judicial branch of government;
            ``(2) the term `physical force' has the meaning given the 
        term in section 1515; and
            ``(3) the term `State official proceeding' means a 
        proceeding before a judicial officer or grand jury of a State 
        or political subdivision thereof.
    ``(b) Tampering and Retaliation.--It shall be unlawful, in a 
circumstance described in subsection (c), for a person to kill, attempt 
to kill, use physical force or the threat of physical force against, 
harass, intimidate or attempt to intimidate, or offer anything of value 
to, another individual, with the intent to--
            ``(1) influence, delay, or prevent the testimony or 
        attendance of any person in a State official proceeding;
            ``(2) prevent the production of a record, document, or 
        other object, in a State official proceeding;
            ``(3) cause or induce any person to--
                    ``(A) withhold testimony, or withhold a record, 
                document, or other object from a State official 
                proceeding;
                    ``(B) alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an 
                object with intent to impair the integrity or 
                availability of the object for use in a State official 
                proceeding;
                    ``(C) evade legal process summoning that person to 
                appear as a witness, or to produce a record, document 
                or other object in a State official proceeding; or
                    ``(D) be absent from a State official proceeding to 
                which that person has been summoned by legal process;
            ``(4) hinder, delay, or prevent the communication by any 
        person to a law enforcement officer, judicial officer, or grand 
        jury of a State, or political subdivision thereof, of 
        information relating to the violation or possible violation of 
        a law of a State or political subdivision thereof, or a 
        violation of conditions of probation, parole, or release 
        pending judicial proceedings; or
            ``(5) retaliate against any person for--
                    ``(A) the attendance of a witness or party at a 
                State official proceeding, or any testimony given or 
                any record, document, or other object produced by a 
                witness in a State official proceeding; or
                    ``(B) providing to a law enforcement officer any 
                information relating to the violation or possible 
                violation of a law of a State or political subdivision 
                thereof, or a violation of conditions of probation, 
                supervised release, parole, or release pending judicial 
                proceedings.
    ``(c) Circumstances.--A circumstance described in this subsection 
is a circumstance in which--
            ``(1)(A) any communication involved in or made in 
        furtherance of the offense is communicated or transported by 
        the mail, or in interstate or foreign commerce by any means, 
        including by computer; or
            ``(B) any means or instrumentality of interstate or foreign 
        commerce is otherwise used in committing or in furtherance of 
        the commission of the offense;
            ``(2) any person travels or is transported in interstate or 
        foreign commerce in the course of the commission of or in 
        furtherance of the commission of the offense; or
            ``(3) any weapon, including a firearm, shipped or 
        transported across State lines or in interstate or foreign 
        commerce is used in committing or in furtherance of the 
        commission of the offense.
    ``(d) Penalties.--
            ``(1) In general.--Any person that violates this section--
                    ``(A) in the case of a killing, shall be punished 
                as provided under sections 1111 and 1112;
                    ``(B) in the case of an attempt to murder, or the 
                use or attempted use of physical force against any 
                person, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for 
                not more than 30 years, or both; and
                    ``(C) in the case of any other violation of this 
                section, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned 
                for not more than 20 years, or both.
            ``(2) Exception.--If the offense under this section occurs 
        in connection with a trial of a criminal case, the maximum term 
        of imprisonment that may be imposed for the offense shall be 
        the higher of--
                    ``(A) the penalty described in paragraph (1); or
                    ``(B) the maximum term that could have been imposed 
                for any offense charged in the criminal case.
            ``(3) Attempt and conspiracy.--Any person who attempts or 
        conspires to commit any offense under this section shall be 
        subject to the same penalties as those prescribed for the 
        offense, the commission of which was the object of the attempt 
        or conspiracy.
    ``(e) Affirmative Defense.--It is an affirmative defense to a 
prosecution under this section, which the defendant shall prove by a 
preponderance of the evidence, that--
            ``(1) the conduct committed by the defendant consisted 
        solely of lawful conduct; and
            ``(2) the sole intention of the defendant in committing the 
        conduct was to encourage, induce, or cause the other person to 
        testify truthfully.
    ``(f) Pending Proceeding; Evidentiary Value.--For the purposes of 
this section--
            ``(1) a State official proceeding need not be pending or 
        about to be instituted at the time of the offense; and
            ``(2) the testimony, or the record, document, or other 
        object, obstructed, tampered, or retaliated against by the 
        defendant need not be admissible in evidence or free of a claim 
        of privilege.
    ``(g) Intent.--In a prosecution for an offense under this section, 
the state of mind need not be proved with respect to--
            ``(1) a State official proceeding before a judicial officer 
        or grand jury being before a judicial officer or grand jury of 
        a State or political subdivision thereof;
            ``(2) a judicial officer or grand jury being a judicial 
        officer or grand jury of a State or political subdivision 
        thereof; or
            ``(3) a law enforcement officer being an officer or 
        employee of a State or political subdivision thereof.
    ``(h) Venue.--A prosecution brought under this section may be 
brought--
            ``(1) in the district in which the State official 
        proceeding (whether or not pending or about to be instituted) 
        was intended to be affected; or
            ``(2) in the district which the conduct constituting the 
        alleged offense occurred.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents for 
chapter 73 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

``1522. State and local witness tampering and retaliation.''.

SEC. 103. SENTENCING GUIDELINES ENHANCEMENT.

    Pursuant to its authority under section 994 of title 28, United 
States Code, and in accordance with this section, the United States 
Sentencing Commission shall amend the Federal Sentencing Guidelines to 
increase the guideline range for obstruction of justice under section 
2J1.2 of the Guidelines--
            (1) by 2 levels if the defendant threatened or harmed 1 or 
        more individuals on more than 1 occasion;
            (2) by 2 levels if the defendant accepted or paid a bribe 
        or payoff as part of a scheme to obstruct justice;
            (3) by 2 levels if the defendant destroyed or caused the 
        destruction of documents on a computer; and
            (4) by 6 levels if the offense resulted in substantial 
        interference with the administration of justice.

SEC. 104. WITNESS PROTECTION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), the Attorney General 
shall make competitive grants to eligible State, tribal, and local 
governments to establish or maintain programs that provide--
            (1) protection or assistance to witnesses in--
                    (A) court proceedings involving homicide, or 
                involving a serious violent felony or serious drug 
                offense as those terms are defined in section 
                3559(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code; and
                    (B) court proceedings involving gangs or organized 
                crime; and
            (2) information and outreach to the public about witness 
        intimidation.
    (b) Criteria.--In making grants under subsection (a), the Attorney 
General shall evaluate applicants based upon--
            (1) the extent to which the applicant has a lack of 
        infrastructure to support a witness assistance program;
            (2) the extent to which witness intimidation is present in 
        the jurisdiction of the applicant;
            (3) the level of cases not prosecuted by the applicant due 
        to witness intimidation;
            (4) the number of homicides per capita committed in the 
        jurisdiction of the applicant;
            (5) the number of serious violent felonies or serious drug 
        offenses, as those terms are defined in section 3559(c)(2) of 
        title 18, United States Code, per capita committed in the 
        jurisdiction of the applicant;
            (6) the extent to which organized crime is present in the 
        jurisdiction of the applicant; and
            (7) any other appropriate criteria as determined by the 
        Attorney General.
    (c) Federal Share.--
            (1) In general.--The Federal share of the cost of a project 
        carried out using a grant made under this section shall be not 
        more than 75 percent.
            (2) In-kind contributions.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the 
                non-Federal share for a project carried out using a 
                grant made under this section may be made in the form 
                of in-kind contributions that are directly related to 
                the purpose for which the grant was made.
                    (B) Maximum percentage.--Not more than 50 percent 
                of the non-Federal share for a project carried out 
                using a grant made under this section may be in the 
                form of in-kind contributions.
    (d) Administrative Expenses.--The Attorney General may use not more 
than 5 percent of the funds appropriated under subsection (e) for a 
fiscal year for the Federal administrative costs of carrying out this 
section for that fiscal year.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.

                      TITLE II--COPS SAFE STREETS

SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``COPS Safe Streets Act of 2018''.

SEC. 202. FUNDING FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT TO COMBAT ORGANIZED CRIME AND 
              GANG-RELATED VIOLENCE.

    (a) COPS Hiring Program Grants.--
            (1) Authorization of appropriations.--Notwithstanding 
        subsection (i) of section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
        Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381), there 
        are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General 
        $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 for 
        grants under that section for the hiring and rehiring of 
        additional career law enforcement officers under part Q of that 
        title, to be awarded to applicants who select transnational 
        organized crime or transnational criminal gangs as a problem 
        area.
            (2) Maximum hiring costs.--Notwithstanding section 1704(c) 
        of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
        1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(c)), the cost of hiring or rehiring a 
        career law enforcement officer using amounts made available 
        under paragraph (1) of this subsection may not exceed $125,000 
        unless the Attorney General grants a waiver of that limitation.
    (b) COPS Anti-Gang Initiative Grants.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        the Attorney General $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 
        through 2023 for grants under section 1701 of title I of the 
        Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
        10381) to support regional anti-gang task forces.
            (2) Priority consideration.--In awarding grants using 
        amounts made available under paragraph (1), the Attorney 
        General shall give additional consideration in the application 
        process to projects targeting transnational criminal gangs.
    (c) Collaboration With FBI Transnational Anti-Gang Taskforce and 
Organized Crime Units.--In carrying out activities using amounts made 
available under subsection (a)(1) or (b)(1), a grant recipient shall 
collaborate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, including the 
Transnational Anti-Gang Taskforce and operations investigating 
transnational organized crime groups.

               TITLE III--FIRST RESPONDER FENTANYL SAFETY

SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE.

    This title may be cited as the ``First Responder Fentanyl Safety 
Act of 2018''.

SEC. 302. GRANTS AUTHORIZED.

    Section 3021(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10701(a)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through (10) as 
        paragraphs (6) through (11), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following:
            ``(5) Purchasing personal protective equipment and 
        detection devices for first responders assisting at the scene 
        of an opioid overdose or engaging in the activities described 
        in paragraph (4), and providing training and resources for 
        first responders on the use of the personal protective 
        equipment and detection devices.''.
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