Title: Attacks on Free Press Transparency Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Attacks on Free Press Transparency Act
This bill establishes an electronic system within the Department of Justice for members of the press to file complaints alleging misconduct by law enforcement agencies and officers.
Law enforcement agencies must respond to complaints within 60 days as a condition of receiving certain funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program and participating in the Department of Defense program related to surplus military equipment (known as the 1033 program).

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8500 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8500

  To establish an electronic system by which members of the press may 
file a complaint with the Department of Justice alleging misconduct by 
   Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 1, 2020

  Mr. Takano introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish an electronic system by which members of the press may 
file a complaint with the Department of Justice alleging misconduct by 
   Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, 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 ``Attacks on Free Press Transparency 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PRESS COMPLAINTS.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a 
        electronic system by which members of the press may file a 
        complaint with the Department of Justice alleging misconduct by 
        Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and law 
        enforcement officers of such agencies.
            (2) Attachments.--The electronic system shall allow 
        relevant media to be attached, including photos, videos, and 
        audio recordings.
            (3) Anonymous submission.--A complaint may be filed 
        anonymously under this section.
    (b) Procedure.--
            (1) Complaint.--A complaint may be filed under this section 
        not later than 180 days after an incident has occurred, Such 
        complaint shall include the following:
                    (A) The date of this incident.
                    (B) The name of each law enforcement officer 
                involved.
                    (C) A detailed description of the incident.
                    (D) Any legal justification or motivation that was 
                provided to the individual by a law enforcement officer 
                to justify the law enforcement action taken.
                    (E) If applicable, any property searched, damaged, 
                or seized during the incident.
                    (F) If applicable, any audio or visual recordings 
                of the incident between the law enforcement officer and 
                press materials or miscellaneous documentation with 
                respect to the incident.
            (2) Notification.--Not later than 30 days after a complaint 
        has been filed with the Department of Justice, the Attorney 
        General shall notify the law enforcement agency that is the 
        subject of the complaint that the complaint has been filed and 
        provide the details of the complaint.
            (3) Response.--
                    (A) In general.--Any Federal, State, or local law 
                enforcement agency that is the subject of a complaint 
                shall respond not later than 60 days after receipt of 
                the notice of the complaint under paragraph (2).
                    (B) Contents of response.--A response to the 
                complaint shall include the following:
                            (i) The date of the incident.
                            (ii) The name of each law enforcement 
                        officer involved.
                            (iii) A detailed description of the 
                        incident.
                            (iv) Any legal justification or motivation 
                        that was provided to the individual by the law 
                        enforcement officer to justify the law 
                        enforcement action taken.
                            (v) If applicable, any property searched, 
                        damaged, or seized during the incident.
                            (vi) If applicable, any audio or visual 
                        recordings of the incident between the law 
                        enforcement officer and press materials or 
                        miscellaneous documentation that supports the 
                        justification for the law enforcement action 
                        taken.
                    (C) Byrne enforcement.--
                            (i) In general.--If a State or unit of 
                        local government fails to comply with this 
                        paragraph for a fiscal year, the State or unit 
                        of local government shall be subject to a 50 
                        percent reduction of the amount that would 
                        otherwise by awarded in the following fiscal 
                        year to that State or unit of local government 
                        under 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.).
                            (ii) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated 
                        to a State or unit of local government for 
                        failure to comply with paragraph (3) shall be 
                        reallocated to States and units of local 
                        government that have complied with such 
                        paragraph in accordance with 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.).
                    (D) 1033 program enforcement.--If the Secretary of 
                Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General, 
                determines that a State has failed to respond to 3 or 
                more complaints during a fiscal year, the State may not 
                receive a transfer under section 2576a of title 10, 
                United States Code, until such time as the Secretary of 
                Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General, 
                determines that the State is in compliance with the 
                requirements of this Act.
    (c) Member of the Press Defined.--In this section, the term member 
of the press means any individual who works in the gathering, 
processing, disseminating, and delivery of news and information that 
serves the public interest to the public through mass media, including 
television, radio, and newspapers.

SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT.

    Not later than 30 days after the end of each calendar year, the 
Attorney General shall make available to the public on the Department 
of Justice website a report that includes a compilation of the 
complaints received under section 2 with personally identifiable 
information of involved parties redacted.
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