zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Preserving America's Downtowns and Heritage Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the rate of the rehabilitation tax credit for commercial buildings and for certified historic structures, and (2) allow a new 20% rehabilitation tax credit for certified historic buildings used by a taxpayer as a principal residence.

Date: 2013-05-17
Topic: Housing (Community Development)
Subject: Taxation
Shuttle Workforce Revitalization Act of 2013 - Requires, during the period beginning upon enactment of this Act and ending January 1, 2020, that any portion of Brevard County, Florida, not otherwise a HUBZone (heavily underutilized business zone), as such term is defined under the Small Business Act, be treated as a HUBZone for purposes of that Act.

Date: 2013-05-17
Topic: Housing (Community Development)
Subject: Commerce
Renovate and Enhance Veterans' Meeting Halls and Posts Act of 2013 or REVAMP Act of 2013 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible veterans service organizations for repairs and rehabilitation of their existing facilities.

Defines "eligible veterans service organization" as: (1) a tax-exempt entity organized on a local or area basis; and (2) a local or area chapter, post, or other unit of a national, regional, statewide, or other larger entity of which local or area chapters, posts, or units are members (but not any such national, regional, statewide, or other larger entity itself).

 Prohibits an eligible veterans service organization from receiving such grant amounts, for any single fiscal year, in an amount exceeding the lesser of the cost of the proposed repair or rehabilitation or $200,000.

Makes a grant recipient ineligible to receive another such grant until after five succeeding fiscal years.

Prohibits the use of such grants for construction or acquisition of a new facility.

Date: 2013-05-23
Topic: Housing (Community Development)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act of 2013 or HOME Act of 2013 - Amends the Fair Housing Act, with respect to prohibited discrimination in housing sales and rentals, residential real estate-related transactions, and brokerage services, to specify that the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin basis of discrimination may be actual or perceived. Adds to the list of prohibited actual or perceived bases sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and source of income.

Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968, with respect to prohibited intimidation, interference, or injury of individuals, to specify that the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin basis of discrimination may be actual or perceived. Adds also to the list of prohibited actual or perceived bases sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or source of income.

Redefines "discriminatory housing practice" to specify that the definition: (1) applies regardless of whether the discriminatory practices occur pre- or post-acquisition; and (2) includes a failure to comply with administrative requirements of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including related regulations, in a manner affirmatively to further nondiscrimination policies.

Redefines "familial status" to include individuals (under age 18) residing with: (1) a foster parent or another person having lawful physical custody of such individuals; or (2) anyone standing in loco parentis of such individuals (currently, the designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the parent's or other person's written permission).

Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act to grant the Attorney General pre-litigation subpoena power if there is reason to believe that any person may be in possession, custody, or control of any documentary material or information relevant to an investigation under the respective Act.

Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination against credit applicants on the basis of actual or perceived race or color, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

States that discrimination against a person because of a handicap includes the failure, in connection with a real estate-related transaction, to make reasonable accommodations for such persons.

Revises the limitations on filing complaints and commencing civil actions by certain individuals alleging discriminatory housing practices to deem that the failure to design and construct a dwelling that meets requirements for reasonable modifications for handicapped persons shall continue (and with it the alleged discriminatory housing practice) until such time as the dwelling conforms to them.

Date: 2013-06-25
Topic: Housing (Community Development)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Housing Opportunities Made Equal Act of 2013 or HOME Act of 2013 - Amends the Fair Housing Act, with respect to prohibited discrimination in housing sales and rentals, residential real estate-related transactions, and brokerage services, to specify that the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin basis of discrimination may be actual or perceived. Adds to the list of prohibited actual or perceived bases sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and source of income.

Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968, with respect to prohibited intimidation, interference, or injury of individuals, to specify that the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin basis of discrimination may be actual or perceived. Adds also to the list of prohibited actual or perceived bases sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or source of income.

Redefines "discriminatory housing practice" to specify that the definition: (1) applies regardless of whether the discriminatory practices occur pre- or post-acquisition; and (2) includes a failure to comply with administrative requirements of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including related regulations, in a manner affirmatively to further nondiscrimination policies.

Redefines "familial status" to include individuals (under age 18) residing with: (1) a foster parent or another person having lawful physical custody of such individuals; or (2) anyone standing in loco parentis of such individuals (currently, the designee of such parent or other person having such custody, with the parent's or other person's written permission).

Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act to grant the Attorney General pre-litigation subpoena power if there is reason to believe that any person may be in possession, custody, or control of any documentary material or information relevant to an investigation under the respective Act.

Amends the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to prohibit discrimination against credit applicants on the basis of actual or perceived race or color, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

States that discrimination against a person because of a handicap includes the failure, in connection with a real estate-related transaction, to make reasonable accommodations for such persons.

Revises the limitations on filing complaints and commencing civil actions by certain individuals alleging discriminatory housing practices to deem that the failure to design and construct a dwelling that meets requirements for reasonable modifications for handicapped persons shall continue (and with it the alleged discriminatory housing practice) until such time as the dwelling conforms to them.

Date: 2013-06-27
Topic: Housing (Community Development)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Promise Zone Job Creation Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Departments of Housing and Urban Development and Agriculture, acting jointly, to designate, before January 1, 2017, not more than 20 areas as Promise Zones for purposes of priority consideration in federal grant programs and initiatives. Six of such areas shall be outside of a metropolitan statistical area or shall be determined to be rural areas.

A "Promise Zone" is any area with a continuous boundary and a population of not more than 200,000 that is nominated by one or more local governments or Indian tribes and designated on the basis of unemployment rates, poverty rates, household income, home ownership, labor force participation, and educational attainment. An application for designation as a Promise Zone shall include a competitiveness plan that addresses the need of the area to attract investment and jobs and improve educational opportunities.

The bill allows: (1) a Promise Zone employment tax credit for wages paid to a qualified zone or resident employee, and (2) expensing of Promise Zone property.

A "Promise Zone property" is a property that is: (1) tangible property with a recovery period of 20 years or less for depreciation purposes, water utility property, computer software, or qualified leasehold improvement property; (2) acquired by purchase for use in the active conduct of a trade or business; and (3) originally placed in service in a Promise Zone.

Date: 2016-03-23
Topic: Housing (Community Development)
Subject: Taxation
Investing in Opportunity Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the designation of opportunity zones in low-income communities and to provide tax incentives for investments in the zones, including deferring the recognition of capital gains that are reinvested in the zones.

Governors may submit nominations for a limited number of opportunity zones to the Department of the Treasury for certification and designation. Governors must give particular consideration to areas that:

 are currently the focus of mutually reinforcing state, local, or private economic development initiatives to attract investment and foster startup activity; have demonstrated success in geographically targeted development programs such as promise zones, the new markets tax credit, empowerment zones, and renewal communities; and have recently experienced significant layoffs due to business closures or relocations. Treasury must designate zones if a governor fails to submit nominations within a specified period of time.

The bill defines opportunity funds as any investment vehicle organized as a corporation or a partnership to invest in opportunity zones that holds at least 90% of its assets in opportunity zone assets.

Taxpayers may temporarily defer the recognition of capital gains that are invested in opportunity zones or opportunity funds. Investments that are held for at least five years are eligible for capital gains tax reductions or exemptions, depending on how long the investment is held.

Treasury must report to Congress on the opportunity zone incentives enacted in this bill, including an assessment of opportunity fund investments at the national and state levels.

Date: 2016-04-27
Topic: Housing (Community Development)
Subject: Taxation
Choice Neighborhoods Initiative Act of 2016

 This bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make competitive grants to local governments, public housing agencies (PHAs), community development corporations, assisted housing owners, and other for-profit and nonprofit entities to implement transformational programs in eligible neighborhoods with a concentration of extreme poverty, severely distressed housing, and a potential for long-term viability, once certain key problems are addressed.

The programs shall include neighborhoods with proximity to educational institutions, medical centers, central business districts, major employers, effective transportation alternatives (including public transit, walking, and bicycling), and low poverty neighborhoods.

The bill requires grant applications to include a transformation plan that will demonstrate how a distressed neighborhood can be transformed into a mixed-income neighborhood with high-quality, safe, affordable housing, economic opportunities, access to jobs and public transportation, and effective education programs.

Such grants: (1) may not be used for construction or rehabilitation of a K-12 school building or an institution of higher education, and (2) are limited for certain non-housing activities and supportive services. HUD may waive these limitations.

The bill exempts from specified requirements of the United States Housing Act of 1937 the demolition and disposition of severely distressed public and assisted housing pursuant to a transformation plan.

Date: 2016-12-09
Topic: Housing (Community Development)
Subject: Housing and community development
Right to Life Act - Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being. Defines "human being" to encompass all stages of life, including but not limited to the moment of fertilization or cloning.

Date: 2007-01-22
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Pledge Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the federal judicial code to deny jurisdiction to any federal court, and appellate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of the Pledge of Allegiance or its validity under the Constitution. Makes this limitation inapplicable to: (1) any court established by Congress under its power to make needful rules and regulations respecting the territory of the United States; or (2) the Superior Court of the District of Columbia or the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Date: 2007-01-29
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Law
Parental Notification and Intervention Act of 2007 - Prohibits any person or organization from performing, permitting facilities to be used to perform, or assisting in the performance of an abortion on an unemancipated minor unless: (1) written notification is provided to the parents of the minor informing the parents that an abortion has been requested, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of physical abuse of the minor by the parent; (2) there is compliance with a 96-hour waiting period after notice has been received by the parents; and (3) there is compliance with the judicial intervention process. Prescribes penalties of not more than a $1 million fine and/or imprisonment for not more than 10 years for violating such prohibition. Provides for an exception where a physician without principal responsibility for making the decision to perform the abortion determines that: (1) a medical emergency exists due to a grave, physical disorder or disease that would cause the minor's death if an abortion is not performed; (2) parental notification is not possible as a result of the emergency; and (3) certifications regarding compliance with such rules and the reasons upon which such determinations are based have been entered in the minor's medical records. Requires parental notification through certified mail or personal delivery. Authorizes a notified parent to bring an action in federal court which shall enjoin the abortion: (1) until the court's judgment is final; or (2) permanently unless the court determines that granting such relief would be unlawful.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2007 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify the definition of "religion" for purposes of coverage under that Act by requiring employers to make an affirmative and bona fide effort to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees. Defines the term "perform the essential functions" to exclude practices having a temporary or tangential impact on an employee's ability to perform job functions, such as practices relating to clothing or taking time off work. Sets forth factors to consider in determining whether an accommodation causes undue hardship. Defines "employee" to require an ability to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. Requires removal of the conflict between employment requirements and the employee's religious practices in order for an accommodation to be considered reasonable. Considers an employer's refusal to permit an employee's use of general leave to remove a religious conflict solely because the leave will be used to accommodate religious practices to be an unlawful employment practice. Prohibits the amendments made by this Act from applying to conduct occurring prior to enactment.

Date: 2007-03-09
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish in the Treasury the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund for the deposit of income, gift, and estate taxes paid by or on behalf of taxpayers: (1) who are designated conscientious objectors opposed to participation in war in any form based upon their deeply held moral, ethical, or religious beliefs or training (within the meaning of the Military Selective Service Act); and (2) who have certified their beliefs in writing to the Secretary.Requires that: (1) amounts deposited in the Fund be allocated annually to any appropriation not for a military purpose; (2) the Secretary report to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on the total amount transferred into the Fund during the preceding fiscal year and the purposes for which such amount was allocated; and (3) the privacy of individuals using the Fund be protected. Expresses the sense of Congress that any revenue increase resulting from the creation of the Fund be allocated in a manner consistent with its purposes.

Date: 2007-04-18
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Taxation
Freedom of Choice Act - Declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to: (1) bear a child; (2) terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or (3) terminate a pregnancy after fetal viability when necessary to protect her life or her health. Prohibits a federal, state, or local governmental entity from: (1) denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices; or (2) discriminating against the exercise of those rights in the regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. Provides that such prohibition shall apply retroactively. Authorizes an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act to obtain appropriate relief, including relief against a governmental entity, in a civil action.

Date: 2007-04-19
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Public Prayer Protection Act of 2007 - Denies the Supreme Court and district courts jurisdiction to review any matter related to the alleged establishment of religion involving the expression of public prayer by any federal, state, or local government entity or a government officer or agent acting in an official capacity.

Date: 2007-05-02
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Law
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the prohibition against churches and other tax-exempt organizations participating in political campaigns or supporting or opposing candidates for public office. Provides that this repeal shall not invalidate or limit any provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971.

Date: 2007-05-10
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Taxation
Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any U.S. agent or attorney, in any federal investigation or criminal or civil enforcement matter, from demanding, requesting, or conditioning treatment ("giving cooperation credit") on the disclosure by an organization (or affiliated person) of any communication protected by the attorney-client privilege or any attorney work product. Prohibits a U.S. agent or attorney from conditioning a civil or criminal charging decision relating to an organization (or affiliated person) on one or more specified actions, or from using one or more such actions as a factor in determining whether an organization or affiliated person is cooperating with the government. Numbers among the actions a U.S. agent or attorney may not use as a charging decision condition or a cooperation-determining factor: (1) any valid assertion of the attorney-client privilege or privilege for attorney work product; (2) the provision of counsel to, or contribution to the legal defense fees or expenses of, an employee of the organization; (3) entry into a joint-defense, information-sharing, or common-interest agreement with an employee of the organization if the organization determines it has a common interest in defending against the investigation or enforcement matter; (4) the sharing of relevant information with an employee; or (5) a failure to terminate an employee's employment, or otherwise sanction an employee, because of the employee's decision to exercise his or her constitutional rights or other legal protections in response to a government request. Prohibits a U.S. agent or attorney from demanding or requesting that an organization or an affiliated person not take any such action. Declares that this Act does not affect any other federal statute that may authorize, in the course of an examination or inspection, a U.S. agent or attorney to require or compel the production of attorney-client privileged material or attorney work product. Declares that the prohibition against conditioning a charging decision does not apply to charging an organization (or affiliated person) for certain conduct under a federal law which makes that conduct in itself an offense. Specifies as conduct which may under federal law constitute an offense, and so be exempted from this prohibition: (1) the provision of counsel to, or contribution to the legal defense fees or expenses of, an employee of the organization; (2) entry into a joint defense, information sharing, or common interest agreement with an employee of that organization if the organization determines it has a common interest in defending against the investigation or enforcement matter; and (3) the sharing of information relevant to the investigation or enforcement matter with an employee of the organization.

Date: 2007-07-12
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Freedom of Religious Expression in the Home Act of 2008 - Amends the Fair Housing Act with respect to discrimination in the sale or rental of housing and other prohibited practices. Makes it unlawful to establish a rule or policy that prevents a person from displaying, on the basis of that person's religious belief, a religious symbol, object, or sign on the door, doorpost, entrance, or otherwise on the exterior of that person's dwelling, or that is visible from the exterior of that dwelling, unless the rule or policy is reasonable and is necessary to prevent significant damage to property, physical harm to persons, a public nuisance, or similar undue hardship.

Date: 2008-09-17
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Religious Freedom Act of 2007 - Prohibits denial of: (1) a federal tax exemption under the Internal Revenue Code to any church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other house of worship or meditation (including any affiliated organization) because it engages in activity protected by the U.S. Constitution, including comment on public issues, election contests, and pending legislation made in a theological or philosophical context; or (2) the tax deductibility of donor contributions to such organizations.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Taxation
Abortion Non-Discrimination Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include a health care entity's refusal to provide coverage of, or pay for, induced abortions among the bases for which the federal government or any state or local government that receives federal financial assistance may not discriminate against such an entity. Expands the definition of "health care entity" to include a hospital, a provider sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan, and any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan.

Date: 2007-01-22
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Health
Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act - Amends the Public Telecommunications Act of 1992 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in applying regulations prohibiting the broadcasting of indecent programming, to maintain a policy that a single word or image may constitute indecent programming.

Date: 2007-07-12
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Andrew Larochelle God, Family, and Country Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Architect of the Capitol to permit the acknowledgment of God on flag certificates issued at the request of a Member of the United States House of Representatives or of the United States Senate.

Date: 2007-10-18
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Congress
Life at Conception Act - Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being beginning at the moment of fertilization, cloning, and other moment at which an individual comes into being.

Date: 2008-06-11
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2008 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide that the practice of wearing religious clothing or a religious hairstyle, or of taking time off for a religious reason, imposes an undue hardship on the conduct of an employer's business in accommodating such practice only if the accommodation imposes a significant difficulty or expense on the conduct of the employer's business when considered in light of specified factors set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, including: (1) the nature and cost of the accommodation needed; (2) the financial resources and size of the business; and (3) the type of operation of the business.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Ultrasound Informed Consent Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require abortion providers, before a woman gives informed consent to any part of an abortion, to perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman, explain the results, display the ultrasound images so the woman may view them, and provide a medical description of the ultrasound images, including the dimensions of the embryo or fetus and the presence of external members and internal organs, if present and viewable. Provides for: (1) civil penalties for willful failure to comply; and (2) a medical emergency exception. Prohibits construing this Act to require a woman to view the images or penalizing the physician or the woman if she refuses to look at the images.

Date: 2009-01-22
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Health
Right to Life Act - Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being beginning at the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. Prohibits construing this Act to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.

Date: 2009-02-04
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
State Video Tax Fairness Act of 2009 - Prohibits any state from imposing a discriminatory tax on any means of providing multichannel video programming distribution services, including Internet protocol technology (or any successor protocol), direct broadcast satellite delivery, and cable television services. Defines a tax as discriminatory if the net tax imposed on one means of providing multichannel video service is higher than the net tax rate imposed on another. Applies this prohibition only to any tax imposed on or after January 1, 2008.

Date: 2009-02-12
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Overseas Voting Practical Amendments Act of 2009 - Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to rename the official post card form containing both an absentee voter registration application and an absentee ballot application the Federal Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Application. Prohibits states from refusing to accept balloting materials on any of specified grounds, including that the materials are not printed on a post card, do not include certain information, are not notarized or witnessed by an authorized official, are not delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, or do not meet certain other nonessential requirements. Prohibits a state from requiring an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter who submits a voter registration application or absentee ballot application to include any form of documentation which may be issued only to an individual who physically resides in the state (such as a current state motor vehicle operator's license or a current utility bill). Prescribes requirements for postage markings on pre-printed return envelopes prepared by a state for the submission of materials by an absent uniformed services voter or overseas voter. Amends UOCAVA to: (1) permit voters to request absentee ballots in all subsequent elections; (2) repeal the requirement to provide absentee ballots in subsequent elections to individuals with unknown addresses; (3) sets forth special rules for use of federal absentee ballots in certain states; (4) apply it to individuals who have never resided in the United States (whose parents are overseas voters); (5) require prompt notification of rejection of a voter registration or absentee ballot request; and (6) provide for use of a U.S. state Department diplomatic pouch for returning completed absentee ballots. Directs the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to establish a grant program for outreach to absentee uniformed services voters and overseas voters. Requires the head of each office of the federal government that has employees whose designated post of duty is outside the United states to notify such employees of their UOCAVA rights to submit voter registration and absentee ballot requests as well as absentee ballots (including the federal write-in absentee ballot). Requires the Secretary of State to ensure that each passport issued on or after the enactment of this Act includes a page: (1) describing such rights; and (2) listing resources through which individuals may obtain additional information regarding them.

Date: 2009-03-26
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Congressional Hope for Uniform Recognition of Christian Heritage (CHURCH) Act of 2009 - Requires the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) to enter into an agreement with a private entity for the design and fabrication of a historical plaque to be permanently displayed in National Statuary Hall recognizing the seven decades of Christian church services being held in the Capitol from 1800 to 1868. Authorizes the AOC to use National Statuary Hall for a presentation ceremony for the plaque. Requires the AOC upon receiving such plaque to display it permanently in a place of prominence in National Statuary Hall.

Date: 2009-07-31
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Congress
Citizen Participation Act of 2009 - Declares that Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), filed against thousands of individuals, organizations, and businesses based upon their valid exercise of the rights to petition or free speech, are an abuse of the judicial process that waste judicial resources and clog the already over-burdened court dockets. Declares immune from civil liability any act of petitioning the government made without knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard of falsity. Requires a plaintiff (especially in a SLAPP) to prove knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard of falsity by clear and convincing evidence. Provides that any act in futherance of the constitutional right of petition or free speech shall be entitled to the procedural protections provided in this Act. Allows a party to file a special motion to dismiss any claim arising from an act or alleged act in furtherance of the constitutional right of petition or free speech within 45 days after service of the claim if the claim was filed in federal court or, if the claim was removed to federal court pursuant to this Act, within 15 days after removal. Exempts from this Act: (1) certain procedural protections in any action brought solely on behalf of the public or solely to enforce an important right affecting the public interest; and (2) certain claims for relief involving commercial speech.

Date: 2009-12-16
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Law
Prevent Deceptive Census Look Alike Mailings Act - Declares matter that bears the term "census" on its envelope, outside cover, or wrapper, but that constitutes a solicitation by a nongovernmental entity, to be nonmailable by the United States Postal Service, unless: (1) it satisfies one of the exceptions specified for otherwise nonmailable matter under existing law (such as displaying an appropriate disclaimer); and (2) its envelope, outside cover, or wrapper bears on its face an accurate return address including the name of the entity that sent it.

Date: 2010-02-09
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to exempt a tax return preparer who is opposed to using magnetic media on religious grounds from the requirement to file tax returns on magnetic media.

Date: 2010-03-25
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Taxation
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require an abortion provider who knowingly performs an abortion of a pain-capable unborn child (defined as an unborn child who has reached a probable stage of development of 20 weeks or more after fertilization), to first: (1) inform the woman of the probable age of the child; (2) provide to the woman an Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure (unless she waives receipt); (3) provide information that pain medicine administered to the mother may not prevent pain in the child, but in some cases anesthesia or pain-reducing drugs can be administered directly to the child; (4) give the woman the provider's best medical judgment of the risks and costs of such anesthesia or analgesic; and (5) obtain the woman's signature on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Decision Form and her explicit request for or refusal of the administration of drugs to the child. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure that includes a statement that there is substantial evidence that the process of being killed in an abortion will cause the unborn child pain and that the mother has the option of having pain-reducing drugs administered directly to the child. Creates an exception to save the life of the mother. Establishes civil penalties for willfully failing to comply with this Act. Authorizes: (1) the U.S. Attorney General to bring a civil action under this Act; and (2) private rights of action for violations of this Act.

Date: 2010-05-11
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Health
Sons and Daughters of America Act - Limits the remedies of an injured party in a civil action for deprivation of rights to injunctive and declaratory relief where the deprivation is a deprivation of the right to freedom of speech secured by the Constitution and is under the authority of a statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage which prohibits or restricts picketing, protesting, or demonstrating at, or in proximity to, a funeral or any other ceremony, procession, or memorial service held in connection with the burial or cremation of the dead. Prohibits the award of attorney's fees to a prevailing party in any action that is brought against the United States or any federal agency or official acting in his or her official capacity and that alleges such an injury.

Date: 2010-05-20
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Law
Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit any person, on the ground of religion, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subjected to discrimination under an educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. States rules of construction concerning religious affiliation of educational institutions, accommodation of students' religious obligations, and the exercise of freedom of expressive association by expressive organizations.

Date: 2010-09-23
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Amends the Fair Housing Act to exempt any person who prints or publishes a notice seeking to enter into a shared living arrangement with a person sharing similar religious opinions or beliefs from the prohibition against notices, statements, or advertisements, with respect to the sale or rental of a dwelling, that indicate a preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin. Defines "shared living arrangement" as an agreement in which occupants of a dwelling share living space within the dwelling.

Date: 2010-11-18
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require an abortion provider who knowingly performs an abortion of a pain-capable unborn child (defined as an unborn child who has reached a probable stage of development of 20 weeks or more after fertilization), to first: (1) inform the woman of the probable age of the child; (2) provide to the woman an Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure (unless she waives receipt); (3) provide information that pain medicine administered to the mother may not prevent pain in the child, but in some cases anesthesia or pain-reducing drugs can be administered directly to the child; (4) give the woman the provider's best medical judgment of the risks and costs of such anesthesia or analgesic; and (5) obtain the woman's signature on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Decision Form and her explicit request for or refusal of the administration of drugs to the child. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure that includes a statement that there is substantial evidence that the process of being killed in an abortion will cause the unborn child pain and that the mother has the option of having pain-reducing drugs administered directly to the child. Creates an exception to save the life of the mother. Establishes civil penalties for willfully failing to comply with this Act. Authorizes: (1) the U.S. Attorney General to bring a civil action under this Act; and (2) private rights of action for violations of this Act.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Health
Life at Conception Act - Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being beginning at the moment of fertilization, cloning, and other moment at which an individual comes into being.

Date: 2009-01-29
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Free Speech Protection Act of 2009 - Allows any U.S. person against whom a lawsuit for defamation is brought in a foreign country for defamation on the basis of the content of any speech by that person that has been published, uttered, or otherwise disseminated in the United States to bring an action in a U.S. district court against any person who, or entity which, brought the suit, if: (1) the speech at issue in the foreign lawsuit does not constitute defamation under U.S. law; and (2) the person or entity which brought the foreign lawsuit serves or causes to be served any documents in connection with such foreign lawsuit on a U.S. person. Allows the award of treble damages if it is determined by a preponderance of the evidence that the person or entity bringing the foreign lawsuit intentionally engaged in a scheme to suppress rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution by discouraging publishers or other media from publishing, or by discouraging financial supporters from employing, retaining, or supporting the research, writing, or other speech of an individual.

Date: 2009-02-13
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Law
Promoting Mortgage Responsibility Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit prepayment fees or penalties under any consumer credit transaction secured by the consumer's owner-occupied principal dwelling. Makes any prepayment penalty in violation of this prohibition unenforceable.

Date: 2009-04-28
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit any person, on the ground of religion, from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subjected to discrimination under an educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. States rules of construction concerning religious affiliation of educational institutions, accommodation of students' religious obligations, and the exercise of freedom of expressive association by expressive organizations.

Date: 2010-09-22
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2010 - Amends provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 related to equal employment opportunities to include in the term "religion" all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that the employer is unable, after initiating and engaging in an affirmative and bona fide effort to reasonably accommodate to an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business. (Current law makes no reference to an employer's affirmative and bona fide effort.) Provides that an employer's accommodation of an employee's practice of wearing religious clothing or a religious hairstyle, or of taking time off for a religious reason, imposes an undue hardship on the conduct of an employer's business in accommodating such practice only if the accommodation imposes a significant difficulty or expense on the conduct of the employer's business when considered in light of specified factors set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, including: (1) the nature and cost of the accommodation needed; (2) the financial resources and size of the business; and (3) the type of operation of the business. Requires an employer's accomodation, before it may be considered a reasonable accomodation, to remove the conflict between employment requirements and the employee's religious practice. Prohibits an accomodation from being a reasonable accomodation if it requires an employee to be segregated from customers or the general public.

Date: 2010-12-17
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Civil rights and liberties, minority issues
(Sec. 2) Directs the President to appoint a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia within the Department of State. (Sec. 3) Requires the Special Envoy to: (1) promote the right of religious freedom of religious minorities in the countries of the Near East and South Central Asia, denounce the violation of such right, and recommend appropriate U.S government responses to such violations; (2) monitor and combat acts of religious intolerance and incitement targeted against such religious minorities; (3) ensure that the needs of such religious minority communities are addressed, including economic and security needs directly tied to religious-based discrimination and persecution; (4) work with foreign governments of such countries to address inherently discriminatory laws; and (5) coordinate and assist in the preparation of specified reports required by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. (Sec. 4) Authorizes the Special Envoy, subject to direction by the President and the Secretary of State, to represent the United States in matters and cases relevant to religious freedom in: (1) contacts with foreign governments, intergovernmental organizations, and specialized agencies of the United Nations (U.N.), the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, and other international organizations; and (2) multilateral conferences and meetings relevant to religious freedom. (Sec. 5) Requires the Special Envoy to give priority to programs, projects, and activities for Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. (Sec. 6) Authorizes, from amounts available for Diplomatic and Consular Programs, $1 million to be appropriated each fiscal year from FY2011-FY2015. Provides that no additional funds are authorized to be appropriated for such Programs to carry out this Act. Directs the Secretary, unless otherwise authorized or required by law, to eliminate positions within the Department as necessary to offset the costs to be incurred for hiring staff, conducting investigations, and for the necessary travel to carry out this Act. (Sec. 7) Declares that this Act shall cease to be effective on October 1, 2015.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: International affairs
Respect for Rights of Conscience Act of 2011 - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to permit a health plan to decline coverage of specific items and services that are contrary to the religious beliefs of the sponsor, issuer, or other entity offering the plan or the purchaser or beneficiary (in the case of individual coverage) without penalty.  Declares that such plans are still considered to: (1) be providing the essential health benefits package or preventive health services, (2) be a qualified health plan, and (3) have fulfilled other requirements under PPACA. Declares that nothing in PPACA shall be construed to authorize a health plan to require a provider to provide, participate in, or refer for a specific item or service contrary to the provider's religious beliefs or moral convictions. Prohibits a health plan from being considered to have failed to provide timely or other access to items or services or to fulfill any other requirement under PPACA because it has respected the rights of conscience of such a provider. Prohibits an American Health Benefit Exchange (a state health insurance exchange) or other official or entity acting in a governmental capacity in the course of implementing PPACA from discriminating against a health plan, plan sponsor, health care provider, or other person because of an unwillingness to provide coverage of, participate in, or refer for, specific items or services. Creates a private cause of action for the protection of individual rights created under this Act. Authorizes any person or entity to assert a violation of this Act as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding. Designates the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive and investigate complaints of discrimination based on this Act. Makes this Act effective as if it were included in PPACA.

Date: 2011-03-17
Topic: Civil Rights (Freedom of Speech)
Subject: Health