Title: Banning Rubber Bullets Act of 2020
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Banning Rubber Bullets Act of 2020
This bill prohibits the use of nonlethal rounds (e.g., rubber or plastic bullets) by federal law enforcement officers for crowd control or in response to passive resistance and provides that an individual injured by the use of these rounds may bring a civil action. It also discourages the use of nonlethal rounds by state and local law enforcement officers by requiring similar prohibitions as a condition of receiving certain federal funding for crime prevention.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8823 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8823

  To prohibit the use of nonlethal rounds by Federal law enforcement 
    officers in certain contexts, and to discourage the use of such 
 munitions by State and local law enforcement officers, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 27, 2020

  Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Raskin, Mrs. 
  Hayes, Ms. Velazquez, and Ms. Omar) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the use of nonlethal rounds by Federal law enforcement 
    officers in certain contexts, and to discourage the use of such 
 munitions by State and local law enforcement officers, 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 ``Banning Rubber Bullets Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. IN GENERAL.

    (a) Prohibition on Use by Federal Officers.--A Federal law 
enforcement officer may not use a nonlethal round in any crowd control 
situation, or in response to passive resistance by a person to any 
order given by that officer. On each occasion that a Federal law 
enforcement officer uses a nonlethal round, the agency employing such 
officer shall submit notice to the Attorney General and to the 
Congressional committee with jurisdiction over that agency. In any case 
where a law enforcement officer uses a nonlethal round in violation of 
this subsection, any person injured by such use may bring a civil 
action for appropriate relief.
    (b) Discouraging Use by State and Local Officers.--
            (1) Limiting use of nonlethal rounds requirement.--For each 
        fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in 
        paragraph (2) in which a State or unit of local government 
        receives a grant under part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
        Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) 
        or part Q of such title, the State or unit of local government 
        shall conform its laws with the following:
                    (A) A law enforcement officer of that State or unit 
                of local government may not use a nonlethal round in a 
                crowd control situation, or in response to passive 
                resistance by a person to any order given by that 
                officer.
                    (B) On any occasion a law enforcement officer of 
                that State or unit of local government uses a nonlethal 
                round, that State or unit of local government shall 
                submit a report to the Attorney General.
                    (C) In any case where a law enforcement officer 
                uses a nonlethal round in violation of subparagraph 
                (A), any person injured by such use may bring a civil 
                action for appropriate relief against the agency 
                employing the law enforcement officer.
            (2) Compliance and ineligibility.--
                    (A) Compliance date.--Beginning on the first full 
                fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
                each State or unit of local government referred to in 
                paragraph (1) receiving a grant shall comply with 
                paragraph (1), except that the Attorney General may 
                grant an additional 180 days to a State or unit of 
                local government that is making good faith efforts to 
                comply with such paragraph.
                    (B) Ineligibility for funds.--For any fiscal year 
                after the expiration of the period specified in 
                subparagraph (A), a State or unit of local government 
                that fails to comply with paragraph (1), shall, at the 
                discretion of the Attorney General, be subject to a 
                reduction of not more than 15 percent of the funds that 
                would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to 
                the State or unit of local government under--
                            (i) subpart 1 of part E of title I of the 
                        Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
                        1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.), whether 
                        characterized as the Edward Byrne Memorial 
                        State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance 
                        Programs, the Local Government Law Enforcement 
                        Block Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial 
                        Justice Assistance Grant Program, or otherwise; 
                        and
                            (ii) part Q of such title (34 U.S.C. 10381 
                        et seq.).
            (3) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated under a program 
        referred to in paragraph (2)(B)(i) to a State for failure to 
        fully comply with paragraph (1) shall be reallocated under that 
        program to States that have not failed to comply with such 
        paragraph.
    (c) Investigation.--The Attorney General shall investigate and 
publish a report on the results of such investigation in the case of 
any use of nonlethal rounds by a Federal, State, or local law 
enforcement officer.
    (d) Definitions.--
            (1) In general.--Terms used in this Act have the meanings 
        given such terms in section 901 of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
        Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
            (2) Federal law enforcement officer.--The term ``Federal 
        law enforcement officer'' means--
                    (A) an employee or officer in a position in the 
                executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the 
                Federal Government who is authorized by law to engage 
                in or supervise a law enforcement function; or
                    (B) an employee or officer of a contractor or 
                subcontractor (at any tier) of an agency in the 
                executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the 
                Federal Government who is authorized by law or under 
                the contract with the agency to engage in or supervise 
                a law enforcement function.
            (3) Nonlethal round.--The term ``nonlethal round'' means a 
        projectile fired from a gun, gun-like, or other apparatus used 
        with the intension to apply nonlethal force, or for an 
        intension other than killing the intended or unintended target, 
        and includes--
                    (A) rubber bullets;
                    (B) plastic bullets;
                    (C) bullets with metal core or metal external 
                shell;
                    (D) bullets made with hardened foam;
                    (E) beanbag bullets; and
                    (F) sponge bullets.
    (e) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
as permitting or encouraging law enforcement to use any other type of 
bullet in crowd control situations.
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