zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2013 - Prohibits employment practices that discriminate based on an individual's military service and amends the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination against members of the uniformed services.

Declares that it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to hire, to discharge, or to otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their military service. Prohibits employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and job training programs from engaging in specified practices that adversely affect an applicant or employee because of such service.

 Exempts certain hiring and employment practices from being considered unlawful if the occupancy of the position is subject to national security requirements that an individual does not fulfill.

Permits an employer to apply different standards of compensation or terms of employement pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, or a professionally developed ability test.

Declares that an unlawful employment practice based on disparate impact is established only if: (1) the complaining party demonstrates that a respondent uses a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on the basis of military service and the respondent fails to demonstrate that the challenged practice is job-related and consistent with business necessity, or (2) the complaining party makes a demonstration with respect to an alternative employment practice and the respondent refuses to adopt such practice.

Prohibits business necessity from being used as a defense against a claim of intentional discrimination.

Declares that an unlawful employment practice is established when the complaining party demonstrates that military service was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also motivated such practice.

Grants enforcement powers, remedies, and procedures under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Attorney General (DOJ), and persons alleging such discrimination. Amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination against a member of the uniformed services with respect to: (1) the sale or rental of housing, (2) residential real estate-related transactions, and (3) the provision of brokerage services.

Prohibits religious organizations engaging in housing transactions from giving preferences to persons of the same religion in cases where membership in such religion is restricted to persons who are not members of the uniformed services.

Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to impose a fine, imprisonment, or both on persons who violate prohibitions on housing discrimination under such Act against members of the uniformed services.

Date: 2013-07-11
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Fair Employment Protection Act of 2014 - Sets forth employer liability standards to be applied in employee harassment claims under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Revised Statutes, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, employment discrimination laws relating to certain executive branch employees, and the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995.

Declares employers under such Acts liable for the acts of any individual whose harassment of an employee has created or continued an unlawful hostile work environment if, at the time of the harassment: (1) such individual was authorized by that employer to undertake or recommend tangible employment actions affecting the employee or to direct the employee's daily work activities, or (2) the negligence of the employer led to the creation or continuation of that hostile work environment (thus modifies the liability standards provided by the Supreme Court in Vance v. Ball State University, which limited the category of supervisors for whom an employer may be held vicariously liable to those individuals who have authority to take tangible employment actions).

Date: 2014-03-13
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
EEOC Transparency and Accountability Act - Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to provide information on its public website regarding each case brought in court by the EEOC after a judgment is made with respect to any cause of action.

Requires such information to include: (1) instances in which the EEOC was ordered to pay fees and costs; (2) cases in which a sanction was imposed on the EEOC; (3) the total number of charges of an alleged unlawful employment practice filed under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; and (4) cases of systemic discrimination, including pattern or practice discrimination.

Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit the EEOC from bringing a suit unless it exhausts its obligation to engage in an informal conciliation and certifies that conciliation is at impasse.

Makes the determination as to whether the EEOC has engaged in a bona fide conciliation subject to judicial review.

Directs the EEOC Inspector General to notify Congress of any sanctions, fees, or costs imposed on the EEOC by a court. Requires the Inspector General to investigate such cases and the EEOC to report to Congress regarding the steps being taken to reduce such instances.

Date: 2014-06-25
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
National Hate Crimes Hotline Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to: (1) private, nonprofit entities to establish and operate a national, toll-free telephone hotline and an Internet website to assist victims of hate crimes; and (2) state and local law enforcement entities for educational and training programs on solving hate crimes and establishing dialogues with members of communities who are at-risk of being victims of hate crimes.

Directs the Attorney General to establish a program for awarding grants to local organizations to establish or expand programs that provide services to victims of hate crimes.

Date: 2014-07-08
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Litigation Oversight Act of 2014 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to approve or disapprove by majority vote whether the EEOC shall commence or intervene in litigation involving: (1) multiple plaintiffs, or (2) an allegation of systemic discrimination or a pattern or practice of discrimination. Provides EEOC members with the power to require the EEOC to approve or disapprove by majority vote whether the EEOC commences or intervenes in any litigation.

Requires the EEOC, within 30 days after commencing or intervening in litigation pursuant to such an approval, to post on its public website: (1) information regarding the case, including the allegations and causes of action; and (2) each Commissioner's vote on commencing or intervening in the litigation.

Date: 2014-09-09
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Certainty in Enforcement Act of 2014 - Amends equal employment opportunity requirements under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide that it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, or employment agency (or a joint labor management committee controlling apprenticeships or other training or retraining opportunities) to engage in an employment practice that is required by federal, state, or local law in areas such as health care, childcare, in-home services, policing, security, education, finance, employee benefits, and fiduciary duties.

Date: 2014-09-09
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
James Boulet National Language Act of 2014 - Amends federal law to: (1) make English the official language of the United States, (2) require that official U.S. government functions be conducted in English, and (3) require the U.S. government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the official language of the United States.

Declares that, unless specifically stated in applicable law, no person has a right, entitlement, or claim to have the U.S. government or any of its officials or representatives act, communicate, perform or provide services, or materials in any language other than English.

Makes exceptions to these requirements the use of a language other than English for: (1) religious purposes, (2) language training for international communication, or (3) school programs designed to encourage students to learn foreign languages.

Amends the the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to repeal bilingual voting and related voting qualification requirements.

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require that all public naturalization ceremonies in which the oath of allegiance is administered be conducted solely in the English language.

Date: 2014-09-15
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
English Language Unity Act of 2013- Makes English the official language of the United States.

Requires, subject to exceptions and rules of construction, that: (1) official functions of the U.S. government be conducted in English, and (2) all naturalization ceremonies be conducted in English.

Establishes a uniform English language rule for naturalization.

Makes English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, presumptively consistent with the laws of the United States. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing of English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.

Date: 2013-03-05
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Civil Justice Tax Fairness Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an exclusion from gross income for amounts received (whether by judgment or settlement, as lump sums or periodic payments) on account of a claim of unlawful discrimination; (2) income averaging for backpay and frontpay amounts received from such claims; and (3) an exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for any tax benefit resulting from the income averaging of amounts received from an unlawful discrimination claim.

Date: 2013-06-26
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Taxation
Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal HIV Discrimination Act of 2013 or the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that federal and state laws, policies, and regulations regarding people living with HIV/AIDS should: (1) not place unique or additional burdens on such individuals solely as a result of their HIV status; and (2) demonstrate a public health-oriented, evidence-based, medically accurate, and contemporary understanding of HIV transmission, health implications, treatment, and the impact of punitive HIV-specific laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions on public health and on affected people, families, and communities.

Directs: (1) the Attorney General (AG), Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Secretary of Defense (DOD) to initiate a national review of federal (including military) and state laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions regarding criminal and related civil commitment cases involving people living with HIV/AIDS; and (2) the AG to transmit to Congress and make publicly available the results of such review with related recommendations.

Requires the AG and HHS Secretary to: (1) develop and publicly release guidance and best practice recommendations for states, and (2) establish an integrated monitoring and evaluation system to measure state progress.

Directs the AG and HHS and DOD Secretaries to transmit to the President and Congress any proposals necessary to implement adjustments to federal laws, policies, or regulations.

Prohibits this Act from being construed to discourage the prosecution of individuals who intentionally transmit or attempt to transmit HIV to another individual.

Date: 2013-12-10
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2014 - Declares it an unlawful practice for certain employers with at least 15 employees for each working day in each of at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year to: (1) fail or refuse to consider for employment or to hire an individual as an employee based on present or past unemployment regardless of the length of time such individual was unemployed; (2) publish an advertisement or announcement for any job with provisions indicating that such an unemployed status disqualifies an individual and that an employer will not consider or hire an individual based on such status; and (3) direct or request that an employment agency account for such status when considering, screening, or referring applicants.

Prohibits an employment agency (including agents and persons maintaining a website publishing job advertisements or announcements), based on such an individual's status as unemployed, from: (1) failing or refusing to consider, screen, or refer an individual for employment; (2) limiting, segregating, or classifying individuals in any manner limiting access to job information; or (3) publishing an advertisement or announcement for any job vacancy that includes provisions indicating that such an individual is disqualified and that an employer will not consider or hire such individuals.

Prohibits similar employment practices by defined federal employing agencies covered under specified family and medical leave provisions for certain government employees.

Allows consideration of an individual's status as unemployed if an individual's employment in a similar or related job for a period of time reasonably proximate to the hiring of such individual is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to successful performance of the job being filled.

Authorizes, subject to possible termination upon the filing of certain complaints by the Secretary of Labor, one or more persons for and on behalf of the affected individual, or the affected individual and other individuals similarly situated, to bring actions in federal or state court for specified actual damages, punitive damages, and equitable relief, including employment.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve complaints according to specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; and (2) pay directly to each affected individual applicable sums recovered in any civil actions brought by the Secretary under this Act.

Requires, with respect to the Government Printing Office (GPO) and the Library of Congress (LOC), that the Secretary's authority be exercised respectively by the Public Printer and Librarian of Congress.

Sets forth a two-year statute of limitations period (three years for willful violations) for specified civil actions to be filed under this Act, except that the limitation period for filing an action by an individual is tolled during the period when the Secretary is considering a complaint against the defendant involved.

Date: 2014-01-29
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Hate Crime Reporting Act of 2014 - Directs the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to update a report for Congress concerning the role of telecommunications in the commission of hate crimes.

Requires such report to include: (1) an analysis of the use of telecommunications (including the Internet, broadcast television and radio, cable television, public access television, commercial mobile services, and other electronic media) to advocate and encourage violent acts and the commission of hate crimes as specified in the Hate Crime Statistics Act; (2) NTIA recommendations; and (3) updates concerning the role of telecommunications in crimes of hate and violent acts against ethnic, religious, and racial minorities.

Date: 2014-04-08
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Preserving Religious Freedom and a Woman's Access to Contraception Act - Prohibits employers from restricting employees from purchasing any drug or medical device regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Repeals sections of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 to: (1) allow health savings accounts, medical savings accounts, and health flexible spending accounts to be used to pay for non-prescription drugs; and (2) remove the annual limit for salary reduction contributions to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan.

Date: 2014-07-15
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Health
David Ray Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2015 or David's Law

 Amends the federal criminal code to impose penalties for willfully causing bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, or an explosive device, attempting to cause such injury, whether or not acting under color of law, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability of any person, where the offense is in or affects interstate or foreign commerce.

Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to study the issue of adult recruitment of juveniles to commit hate crimes and, if appropriate, to amend the federal sentencing guidelines to provide sentencing enhancements for such an offense.

Requires the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to make grants to state and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles.

Authorizes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury and DOJ for FY2015-FY2017 to increase the number of personnel to protect against criminal interference with federally-protected activities.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Veterans, Women, Families with Children, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 2015 or the Housing Fairness Act of 2015

Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets.

 Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to require that only qualified private nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations receive funds under the fair housing initiatives program for investigations of violations of the rights granted under the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Requires the design of the national education and outreach program to provide for the development and dissemination of websites and other media outlets among its fair housing media products.

Requires private entities that formulate or carry out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices to be nonprofit in order to be eligible for contracts to establish or support education and outreach programs and to support community-based education and outreach activities.

Requires the Secretary to establish minimum standards for the training of testers of organizations funded with any amounts made available under this Act.

Directs the Secretary to implement a competitive matching grant program to assist public and private nonprofit organizations in: (1) conducting comprehensive studies of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation on education, poverty, and economic development or on veterans and military personnel; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.

Date: 2015-01-14
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Housing and community development
Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2015

Prohibits employment practices that discriminate based on an individual's military service and amends the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination against members of the uniformed services.

Declares that it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to hire, to discharge, or to otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their military service. Prohibits employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and job training programs from engaging in specified practices that adversely affect an applicant or employee because of such service.

Exempts certain hiring and employment practices from being considered unlawful if the occupancy of the position is subject to national security requirements that an individual does not fulfill.

Permits an employer to apply different standards of compensation or terms of employement pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, or a professionally developed ability test.

Declares that an unlawful employment practice based on disparate impact is established only if: (1) the complaining party demonstrates that a respondent uses a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on the basis of military service and the respondent fails to demonstrate that the challenged practice is job-related and consistent with business necessity, or (2) the complaining party makes a demonstration with respect to an alternative employment practice and the respondent refuses to adopt such practice.

Prohibits business necessity from being used as a defense against a claim of intentional discrimination.

Declares that an unlawful employment practice is established when the complaining party demonstrates that military service was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also motivated such practice.

Grants enforcement powers, remedies, and procedures under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Attorney General, and persons alleging such discrimination.

Amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination against a member of the uniformed services with respect to: (1) the sale or rental of housing, (2) residential real estate-related transactions, and (3) the provision of brokerage services.

Prohibits religious organizations engaging in housing transactions from giving preferences to persons of the same religion in cases where membership in such religion is restricted to persons who are not members of the uniformed services.

Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to impose a fine, imprisonment, or both on persons who violate prohibitions on housing discrimination under such Act against members of the uniformed services.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Defense of Property Rights Act 

Prohibits federal or state agencies from taking private property in whole or in part (including by physical invasion, regulation, exaction, or condition) except for public purpose and with just compensation to the property owner.

Requires a property owner to receive just compensation if, as a consequence of an agency's decision, the property has been physically invaded or taken without the owner's consent in an action that:

 does not substantially advance the stated governmental interest; exacts the owner's lawful right to use the property, or a portion of the property, as a condition for an agency's action (including the granting of a permit, license, or variance) without a rough proportionality between the stated need for the property and the impact of the proposed use; deprives the owner, either temporarily or permanently, of substantially all economically beneficial or productive use of the property, or of a part of the property, without a showing that the deprivation of value inheres in the title; diminishes the property's fair market value by at least 20% or $20,000; or constitutes any other taking within the meaning of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Includes an agency's decision that interferes with an owner's investment-backed expectations to water rights or to rents, issues, or profits of land (including minerals, timber, fodder, crops, oil and gas, coal, or geothermal energy) among the categories of actions that may require payment of just compensation.

Defines "just compensation" to include the property's fair market value, business losses, and compounded interest from the date of the taking until the agency's payment.

Allows adversely affected property owners to challenge agency actions in either a U.S. district court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (USCFC). Provides persons adversely affected by an agency action with standing to challenge or seek judicial review.

Amends the federal judicial code to allow the USCFC to: (1) render judgment upon a claim against an agency for monetary relief, (2) invalidate federal laws or regulations that violate Fifth Amendment property rights, (3) grant injunctive and declaratory relief, and (4) have concurrent jurisdiction with other courts.

Establishes a six-year statute of limitations for actions to be brought after a taking.

Requires courts to award litigation costs, attorney's fees, and expert witness fees to prevailing plaintiffs.

Allows takings disputes to be resolved through settlement or arbitration.

Date: 2015-01-22
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Law
Certainty in Enforcement Act of 2015

Amends equal employment opportunity requirements under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to deem an employer's, labor organization's, employment agency's, or joint labor management committee's consideration or use of credit or criminal records or information, as mandated by federal, state, or local law, to be job related and consistent with business necessity.

Declares that such use of credit or criminal records shall not be the basis of liability under any theory of disparate impact. (Currently, an unlawful employment practice based on disparate impact is established if a complaining party demonstrates that a respondent uses a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and the respondent fails to demonstrate that the challenged practice is job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity.)

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Litigation Oversight Act of 2015

Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to approve or disapprove by majority vote whether the EEOC shall commence or intervene in litigation involving: (1) multiple plaintiffs, or (2) an allegation of systemic discrimination or a pattern or practice of discrimination. Provides EEOC members with the power to require the EEOC to approve or disapprove by majority vote whether the EEOC commences or intervenes in any litigation.

Requires the EEOC, within 30 days after commencing or intervening in litigation pursuant to such an approval, to post on its public website: (1) information regarding the case, including the allegations and causes of action; and (2) each Commissioner's vote on commencing or intervening in the litigation.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
EEOC Transparency and Accountability Act

Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to provide information on its public website regarding each case brought in court by the EEOC after a judgment is made with respect to any cause of action.

Requires such information to include: (1) instances in which the EEOC was ordered to pay fees and costs; (2) cases in which a sanction was imposed on the EEOC; (3) the total number of charges of an alleged unlawful employment practice filed under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; and (4) cases of systemic discrimination, including pattern or practice discrimination.

Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit the EEOC from bringing a suit unless it exhausts its obligation to engage in an informal conciliation and certifies that conciliation is at impasse.

Makes the determination as to whether the EEOC has engaged in a bona fide conciliation subject to judicial review.

Directs the EEOC Inspector General to notify Congress of any sanctions, fees, or costs imposed on the EEOC by a court. Requires the Inspector General to investigate such cases and the EEOC to report to Congress regarding the steps being taken to reduce such instances.

Date: 2015-01-27
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
English Language Unity Act of 2015

Establishes English as the official language of the United States.

Requires naturalization ceremonies and official functions of the U.S. government, subject to exceptions, to be conducted in English.

Declares that all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of U.S. laws.

Allows a person injured by a violation of this Act to obtain relief, including a declaratory judgment, in a civil action.

Declares that English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, shall be presumptively consistent with U.S. laws. Requires any ambiguity in U.S. laws to be resolved in accordance with the rights retained by the people and the powers reserved to states under the Bill of Rights.

Directs the Department of Homeland Security to issue a proposed rule for uniform testing of the English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.

Date: 2015-02-13
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
American Civil Rights Cities Act

Requires the National Park Service to designate at least one city in the United States each year as an "American Civil Rights City" based on the city's: (1) contributions to protect civil rights by preventing discrimination; and (2) efforts to highlight the struggle of the United States to secure civil rights and liberties through preservation and celebration, including the establishment of historical organizations or museums and recognition of civil rights leaders.

Designates Greensboro, North Carolina, and Selma, Alabama, as the first cities to have that designation.

Date: 2015-02-27
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal HIV Discrimination Act of 2015 or the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act of 2015

Expresses the sense of Congress that federal and state laws, policies, and regulations regarding people living with HIV/AIDS should: (1) not place unique or additional burdens on such individuals solely as a result of their HIV status; and (2) demonstrate a public health-oriented, evidence-based, medically accurate, and contemporary understanding of HIV transmission, health implications, treatment, and the impact of punitive HIV-specific laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions on public health and on affected people, families, and communities.

Directs: (1) the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Defense (DOD) to initiate a national review of federal (including military) and state laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions regarding criminal and related civil commitment cases involving people living with HIV/AIDS; and (2) DOJ to transmit to Congress and make publicly available the results of such review with related recommendations.

Requires DOJ and HHS to: (1) develop and publicly release guidance and best practice recommendations for states, and (2) establish an integrated monitoring and evaluation system to measure state progress.

Directs DOJ, HHS, and DOD to transmit to the President and Congress any proposals necessary to implement adjustments to federal laws, policies, or regulations.

Prohibits this Act from being construed to discourage the prosecution of individuals who intentionally transmit or attempt to transmit HIV to another individual.

Date: 2015-03-24
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Fair Pay Act of 2015 

 Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. (Allows payment of different wages under seniority systems, merit systems, systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production, or differentials based on bona fide factors that the employer demonstrates are job-related or further legitimate business interests.)

Prohibits the discharge of, or any other discrimination against, an individual for opposing any act or practice made unlawful by this Act, or for assisting in an investigation or proceeding under it. Directs courts, in any action brought under this Act for violation of such prohibition, to allow expert fees as part of the costs awarded to prevailing plaintiffs. Allows any such action to be maintained as a class action. Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to: (1) undertake studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning effective means available to implement this Act; and (2) carry on a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance with specified components related to the purposes of this Act. Makes conforming amendments relating to congressional and executive branch employees to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Presidential and Executive Office Accountability Act.

Date: 2015-04-14
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Strengthening Privacy, Oversight, and Transparency Act or the SPOT Act

Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to expand the functions of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) to include reviews of legislation, regulations, policies, and executive branch actions relating to foreign intelligence.

Allows intelligence community employees, contractors, or detailees to submit to the PCLOB a whistleblower complaint or information believed to be related to a privacy or civil liberties concern. Permits the PCLOB to: (1) investigate such complaints, or (2) transmit such complaints to any other executive agency or the congressional intelligence committees.

Authorizes the PCLOB to subpoena persons (other than agencies and elements of the executive branch) to produce documentary or testimonial evidence. (Currently, the PCLOB submits a request for the Attorney General to issue a subpoena.)

Permits the PCLOB, at the direction of the majority of its members, to exercise the authority of the PCLOB chairman to appoint and fix compensation of Board staff when the position of chairman is vacant.

Provides for members of the PCLOB to serve in a full-time capacity. Removes exceptions to the requirement that members continue to serve after the expiration of their term of office until a successor has been appointed and qualified. Revises the compensation of the PCLOB chairman, members, and staff.

Directs the Attorney General to fully inform the PCLOB about government activities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), including by providing to the PCLOB copies of: (1) FISA reports submitted to Congress; and (2) FISA court decisions, orders, and opinions that include significant construction or interpretation of FISA.

Date: 2015-05-13
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2015

Prohibits a state or political subdivision from exercising its power of eminent domain, or allowing the exercise of such power by delegation, over property to be used for economic development or over property that is used for economic development within seven years after that exercise, if the state or political subdivision receives federal economic development funds during any fiscal year in which the property is so used or intended to be used.

Prohibits the federal government from exercising its power of eminent domain for economic development.

Establishes a private cause of action for any private property owner or tenant who suffers injury as a result of a violation of this Act. Prohibits state immunity in federal or state court. Sets the statute of limitations at seven years.

Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to bring an action to enforce this Act in certain circumstances, but prohibits an action brought later than seven years following the conclusion of any condemnation proceedings.

Requires DOJ to disseminate to states and the public information on: (1) the rights of property owners and tenants under this Act, and (2) the federal laws under which federal economic development funds are distributed.

Prohibits the federal government, or a state or political subdivision receiving federal economic development funds during any fiscal year, from exercising the power of eminent domain over property of a religious or other nonprofit organization because of the organization's nonprofit or tax-exempt status or any related quality.

Directs DOJ, if a court determines that a violation of this Act has a disproportionately high impact on the poor or minorities, to make efforts to locate former owners and tenants to inform them of the violation and any possible remedies.

Date: 2015-07-09
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Grants Oversight and New Efficiency Act or the GONE Act

(Sec. 2) This bill directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to instruct the head of each federal agency (excluding Congress, U.S. courts, and the governments of U.S. territories or possessions and the District of Columbia), in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), to submit to Congress and HHS, not later than December 31 of the first calendar year beginning after enactment of this Act, a report that: (1) lists each covered grant held by such agency; (2) provides the total number of covered grants, including the number of grants by time period of expiration, with zero dollar balances, and with undisbursed balances; (3) describes the challenges leading to delays in grant closeout; and (4) for the 30 oldest covered grants, explains why each covered grant has not been closed out. Agencies may use existing multiagency data systems to prepare their reports. Agency heads who are unable to submit all required information must include an explanation in their reports of why the information was not available, including any shortcomings with and plans to improve existing grant systems, including data systems.

Agencies must provide notice to HHS within one year after the agency head submits the report required by this Act, specifying whether grant awards associated with all of the covered grants have been closed out. HHS must compile and report to Congress on such notices not later than 90 days after all of the required notices have been provided, or by March 31 of the calendar year following the first calendar year beginning after enactment of this Act, whichever is sooner. The Inspector General of each agency with more than $500 million in grant funding must conduct a risk assessment to determine if an audit or review of the agency's grant closeout process is warranted. The OMB must submit to Congress a report on recommendations for legislation to improve accountability and oversight in grants management, including the timely closeout of a covered grant.

The bill defines "covered grant" to mean a grant in a federal agency cash payment management system held by the U.S. government for which: (1) the grant award period of performance, including any extensions, has been expired for at least two years; and (2) the grant has not been closed out.

Date: 2015-07-16
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Rebuilding Urban Inner Cities Is Long Overdue Act of 2015 or the REBUILD Act 

Provides FY2015 supplemental appropriations for the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Designates each amount provided by this bill as an emergency requirement, pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Provides that the funds are only available if the President subsequently designates the amounts. (Emergency spending is exempt from discretionary spending limits and other budget enforcement rules.)

Provides appropriations to DOJ for: the Office of Justice Programs, including State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance and Juvenile Justice Programs; and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Provides appropriations to the SBA for Entrepreneurial Development Programs and the Business Loans Program Account.

Provides appropriations to Labor for the Employment and Training Administration.

Provides appropriations to HHS for the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Provides appropriations to HUD for Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and Development, and the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes.

Requires HUD to extend current Moving to Work agreements of previously designated participating agencies until the end of FY2028, subject to specified requirements and restrictions. (Moving to Work is a demonstration program that provides HUD and local Public Housing Authorities flexibility to test alternative policies for providing housing assistance through the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program and the public housing program.)

Date: 2015-07-29
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Civil Justice Tax Fairness Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an exclusion from gross income for amounts received on account of a judgment or settlement resulting from a claim of unlawful discrimination, (2) income averaging for backpay and frontpay amounts received from such claims, and (3) an exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for any tax benefit resulting from the income averaging of amounts received from an unlawful discrimination claim.

Date: 2015-09-17
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Taxation
Foreign Affairs Inclusion Reporting Act or the FAIR Act

This bill directs the Department of State to report to Congress within 180 days and quadrennially thereafter on State Department efforts to promote equal opportunity for all American employees in direct hire and personal service contractors status, particularly Foreign Service employees.

Beginning in FY2016, the State Department shall: (1) increase by 10 the number of fellows selected for the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program, and (2) increase by 10 the number of fellows selected for the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program.

 The State Department is urged to provide oversight to the employment, retention, and promotion of underrepresented groups to promote a diverse ethnic representation among mid- and senior-level career professionals through programs such as: (1) the International Career Advancement Program, (2) Seminar XXI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Center for International Studies, and (3) other international leadership programs.

The State Department is also urged to review past programs designed to increase minority representation in international affairs positions, including: (1) the Public Policy and International Affairs Fellowship Program, and (2) the Institute for International Public Policy Fellowship Program.

Date: 2015-10-27
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: International affairs
Compact Impact Relief Act of 2016

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to make quarterly increases in the federal medical assistance percentage, under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, to cover expenditures for medical assistance provided to qualified nonimmigrants under the Compact of Free Association by American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the State of Hawaii.

The bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to make local educational agencies eligible for impact aid (aid to jurisdictions that lose property tax revenue due to federal activities or location within tax-exempt federal areas) for educating alien children admitted to the United States as citizens of one of the Freely Associated States.

The bill amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 to grant a preference to citizens and nationals of the United States within Guam or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the receipt of housing assistance over any non-resident alien.

The bill directs the Department of State to contract with an eligible organization to conduct an independent assessment of the strategic importance of the relationship between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

Date: 2016-01-12
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Equity and Inclusion Enforcement Act

 This bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to allow private civil causes of action for disparate impact violations (to the same extent as intentional violations) of federal regulations of general applicability that prohibit discrimination on the ground of race, color, or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance.

Education programs that receive financial assistance authorized or extended by the Department of Education (ED) must designate at least one compliance coordinator to carry out these nondiscrimination responsibilities and to investigate complaints.

The Department of Education Organization Act is amended to establish an ED-appointed Special Assistant for Equity and Inclusion within ED to: (1) promote, coordinate, and evaluate equity and inclusion programs, including the dissemination of information, technical assistance, and coordination of research activities; and (2) advise ED on matters relating to equity and inclusion.

Date: 2016-05-17
Topic: Civil Rights (General)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues