Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016
PL 114-325 (S.2854), enacted 12/16/2016

130 STAT. 1965 
PUBLIC LAW 114–325—DEC. 16, 2016 
Public Law 114–325 
114th Congress 
An Act 
To reauthorize the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007. 
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 ‘‘Emmett Till Unsolved Civil 
Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016’’. 
SEC. 2. INVESTIGATION OF UNSOLVED CIVIL RIGHTS CRIMES. 
The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 
(28 U.S.C. 509 note) is amended— 
(1) in section 2— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting a semicolon; and 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: 
‘‘(3) meet regularly with eligible entities to coordinate the 
sharing of information and to discuss the status of the Depart-
ment’s work under this Act; 
‘‘(4) support the full accounting of all victims whose deaths 
or disappearances were the result of racially motivated crimes; 
‘‘(5) hold accountable under Federal and State law all 
individuals who were perpetrators of, or accomplices in, 
unsolved civil rights murders and such disappearances; 
‘‘(6) express the condolences of the authority to the commu-
nities affected by unsolved civil rights murders, and to the 
families of the victims of such murders and such disappear-
ances; 
‘‘(7) keep families regularly informed about the status of 
the investigations of such murders and such disappearances 
of their loved ones; and 
‘‘(8) expeditiously comply with requests for information 
received pursuant to section 552 of title 5, United States Code, 
(commonly known as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’) and 
develop a singular, publicly accessible repository of these dis-
closed documents.’’; 
(2) in section 3— 
(A) in subsection (b)— 
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘1969’’ and 
inserting ‘‘1979’’; 
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the period 
at the end the following: ‘‘, and eligible entities’’; and 
(iii) by adding after paragraph (2) the following: 
Compliance. 
Records. 
Public 
information. 
Coordination. 
28 USC 509 note. 
Emmett Till 
Unsolved Civil 
Rights Crimes 
Reauthorization 
Act of 2016. 
Dec. 16, 2016 
[S. 2854] 
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130 STAT. 1966 
PUBLIC LAW 114–325—DEC. 16, 2016 
‘‘(3) REVIEW OF CLOSED CASES.—The Deputy Chief may, 
to the extent practicable, reopen and review any case involving 
a violation described in paragraph (1) that was closed prior 
to the date of the enactment of the Emmett Till Unsolved 
Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016 without an 
in-person investigation or review conducted by an officer or 
employee of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division 
of the Department of Justice or by an agent of the Federal 
Bureau of Investigation. 
‘‘(4) PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Department shall hold meetings 
with representatives of the Civil Rights Division, Federal 
Bureau of Investigation, the Community Relations Service, 
eligible entities, and where appropriate, state and local 
law enforcement to discuss the status of the Department’s 
work under this Act. 
‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addition 
to amounts made available to carry out this Act under 
section 6, there is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Attorney General $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2017 and each 
of the next 10 subsequent fiscal years to carry out this 
paragraph.’’; and 
(B) in subsection (c)— 
(i) in paragraph (1)— 
(I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘1969’’ 
and inserting ‘‘1979’’; 
(II) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(III) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(IV) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the 
following: 
‘‘(H) the number of cases referred by an eligible entity 
or a State or local law enforcement agency or prosecutor 
to the Department within the study period, the number 
of such cases that resulted in Federal charges being filed, 
the date the charges were filed, and if the Department 
declines to prosecute or participate in an investigation of 
a case so referred, the fact that it did so, and the outreach, 
collaboration, and support for investigations and prosecu-
tions of violations of criminal civil rights statutes described 
in section 2(3), including murders and including disappear-
ances described in section 2(4), within Federal, State, and 
local jurisdictions.’’; and 
(ii) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the period 
at the end the following: ‘‘and a description of the 
activities conducted under subsection (b)(3)’’; 
(3) in section 4(b)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘1969’’ and inserting 
‘‘1979’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the period 
at the end the following: ‘‘, and eligible entities’’; 
(4) in section 5— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘1969’’ and inserting 
‘‘1979’’; and 
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130 STAT. 1967 
PUBLIC LAW 114–325—DEC. 16, 2016 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2854: 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 162 (2016): 
July 14, considered and passed Senate. 
Dec. 7, considered and passed House, amended. 
Dec. 9, Senate concurred in House amendment. 
(B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘each of the fiscal 
years 2008 through 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2017 
and each of the 10 subsequent fiscal years’’; and 
(5) in section 6— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘each of the fiscal years 2008 
through 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2017 and each 
of the 10 subsequent fiscal years’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘1969’’ and inserting ‘‘1979’’; and 
(B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows: 
‘‘(b) COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 
JUSTICE.—Using funds appropriated under section 3(b)(4)(B), the 
Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice shall 
provide technical assistance by bringing together law enforcement 
agencies and communities to address tensions raised by Civil Rights 
era crimes.’’; 
(6) in section 7— 
(A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘DEFINITION
OF 
‘CRIMINAL CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES’’’ and inserting ‘‘DEFINI-
TIONS’’; 
(B) in paragraph (6), by redesignating subparagraphs 
(A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and 
indenting the clauses accordingly; 
(C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (6) as 
subparagraphs (A) through (F), respectively, and indenting 
the subparagraphs accordingly; 
(D) by striking ‘‘In this Act, the term’’ and inserting: 
‘‘In this Act: 
‘‘(1) CRIMINAL CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTES.—The term’’; and 
(E) by inserting at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible entity’ means an 
organization whose primary purpose is to promote civil rights, 
an institution of higher education, or another entity, determined 
by the Attorney General to be appropriate.’’; and 
(7) by striking section 8. 
Approved December 16, 2016. 
Definition. 
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