George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (H.R. 7120; 116th Congress)/Title I/Subtitle A

by Karen Bass

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Sec. 101. DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTS UNDER COLOR OF LAW.

Section 242 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by striking “willfully” and inserting “knowingly or recklessly”;

(2) by striking “, or may be sentenced to death”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following: “For purposes of this section, an act shall be considered to have resulted in death if the act was a substantial factor contributing to the death of the person.”.

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Sec. 102. QUALIFIED IMMUNITY REFORM.

Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended by adding at the end the following:

““It shall not be a defense or immunity in any action brought under this section against a local law enforcement officer (as such term is defined in section 2 of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020), or in any action under any source of law against a Federal investigative or law enforcement officer (as such term is defined in section 2680(h) of title 28, United States Code), that—

“(1) the defendant was acting in good faith, or that the defendant believed, reasonably or otherwise, that his or her conduct was lawful at the time when the conduct was committed; or

“(2) the rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws were not clearly established at the time of their deprivation by the defendant, or that at such time, the state of the law was otherwise such that the defendant could not reasonably have been expected to know whether his or her conduct was lawful.”.

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Sec. 103. PATTERN AND PRACTICE INVESTIGATIONS.

(a) Subpoena Authority.—Section 210401 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a), by inserting “, by prosecutors,” after “conduct by law enforcement officers”;

(2) in subsection (b), by striking “paragraph (1)” and inserting “subsection (a)”; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

“(c) Subpoena Authority.—In carrying out the authority in subsection (b), the Attorney General may require by subpoena the production of all information, documents, reports, answers, records, accounts, papers, and other data in any medium (including electronically stored information), as well as any tangible thing and documentary evidence, and the attendance and testimony of witnesses necessary in the performance of the Attorney General under subsection (b). Such a subpoena, in the case of contumacy or refusal to obey, shall be enforceable by order of any appropriate district court of the United States.

“(d) Civil Action By State Attorneys General.—Whenever it shall appear to the attorney general of any State, or such other official as a State may designate, that a violation of subsection (a) has occurred within their State, the State attorney general or official, in the name of the State, may bring a civil action in the appropriate district court of the United States to obtain appropriate equitable and declaratory relief to eliminate the pattern or practice. In carrying out the authority in this subsection, the State attorney general or official shall have the same subpoena authority as is available to the Attorney General under subsection (c).

“(e) Rule Of Construction.—Nothing in this section may be construed to limit the authority of the Attorney General under subsection (b) in any case in which a State attorney general has brought a civil action under subsection (d).

“(f) Reporting Requirements.—On the date that is one year after the enactment of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, and annually thereafter, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice shall make publicly available on an internet website a report on, during the previous year—

“(1) the number of preliminary investigations of violations of subsection (a) that were commenced;

“(2) the number of preliminary investigations of violations of subsection (a) that were resolved; and

“(3) the status of any pending investigations of violations of subsection (a).”.

(b) Grant Program.—

(1) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General may award a grant to a State to assist the State in conducting pattern and practice investigations under section 210401(d) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601).

(2) APPLICATION.—A State seeking a grant under paragraph (1) shall submit an application in such form, at such time, and containing such information as the Attorney General may require.

(3) FUNDING.—There are authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 to the Attorney General for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to carry out this subsection.

(c) Data On Excessive Use Of Force.—Section 210402 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12602) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a)—

(A) by striking “The Attorney General” and inserting the following:

“(1) FEDERAL COLLECTION OF DATA.—The Attorney General”; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

“(2) STATE COLLECTION OF DATA.—The attorney general of a State may, through appropriate means, acquire data about the use of excessive force by law enforcement officers and such data may be used by the attorney general in conducting investigations under section 210401. This data may not contain any information that may reveal the identity of the victim or any law enforcement officer.”; and

(2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

“(b) Limitation On Use Of Data Acquired By The Attorney General.—Data acquired under subsection (a)(1) shall be used only for research or statistical purposes and may not contain any information that may reveal the identity of the victim or any law enforcement officer.”.

(d) Enforcement Of Pattern Or Practice Relief.—Beginning in the first fiscal year that begins after the date that is one year after the date of enactment of this Act, a State or unit of local government that receives funds under the Byrne grant program or the COPS grant program during a fiscal year may not make available any amount of such funds to a local law enforcement agency if that local law enforcement agency enters into or renews any contractual arrangement, including a collective bargaining agreement with a labor organization, that—

(1) would prevent the Attorney General from seeking or enforcing equitable or declaratory relief against a law enforcement agency engaging in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional misconduct; or

(2) conflicts with any terms or conditions contained in a consent decree.

SEC. 104. INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATIONS.

(a) In General.—

(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:

(A) INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION.—The term “independent investigation” means a criminal investigation or prosecution of a law enforcement officer’s use of deadly force, including one or more of the following:

(i) Using an agency or civilian review board that investigates and independently reviews all allegations of use of deadly force made against law enforcement officers in the jurisdiction.

(ii) Assigning of the attorney general of the State in which the alleged use of deadly force was committed to conduct the criminal investigation and prosecution.

(iii) Adopting a procedure under which an independent prosecutor is assigned to investigate and prosecute the case, including a procedure under which an automatic referral is made to an independent prosecutor appointed and overseen by the attorney general of the State in which the alleged use of deadly force was committed.

(iv) Adopting a procedure under which an independent prosecutor is assigned to investigate and prosecute the case.

(v) Having law enforcement agencies agree to and implement memoranda of understanding with other law enforcement agencies under which the other law enforcement agencies—

(I) shall conduct the criminal investigation into the alleged use of deadly force; and

(II) upon conclusion of the criminal investigation, shall file a report with the attorney general of the State containing a determination regarding whether—

(aa) the use of deadly force was appropriate; and

(bb) any action should be taken by the attorney general of the State.

(vi) Any substantially similar procedure to ensure impartiality in the investigation or prosecution.

(B) INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT STATUTE.—The term “independent investigation of law enforcement statute” means a statute requiring an independent investigation in a criminal matter in which—

(i) one or more of the possible defendants is a law enforcement officer;

(ii) one or more of the alleged offenses involves the law enforcement officer’s use of deadly force in the course of carrying out that officer’s duty; and

(iii) the non-Federal law enforcement officer’s use of deadly force resulted in a death or injury.

(C) INDEPENDENT PROSECUTOR.—The term “independent prosecutor” means, with respect to a criminal investigation or prosecution of a law enforcement officer’s use of deadly force, a prosecutor who—

(i) does not oversee or regularly rely on the law enforcement agency by which the law enforcement officer under investigation is employed; and

(ii) would not be involved in the prosecution in the ordinary course of that prosecutor’s duties.

(2) GRANT PROGRAM.—The Attorney General may award grants to eligible States and Indian Tribes to assist in implementing an independent investigation of law enforcement statute.

(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant under this subsection, a State or Indian Tribe shall have in effect an independent investigation of law enforcement statute.

(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated to the Attorney General $750,000,000 for fiscal years 2021 through 2023 to carry out this subsection.

(b) COPS Grant Program Used For Civilian Review Boards.—Part Q of title I of the of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381 et seq.) is amended—

(1) in section 1701(b) (34 U.S.C. 10381(b))—

(A) by redesignating paragraphs (22) and (23) as paragraphs (23) and (24), respectively;

(B) in paragraph (23), as so redesignated, by striking “(21)” and inserting “(22)”; and

(C) by inserting after paragraph (21) the following:

“(22) to develop best practices for and to create civilian review boards;”; and

(2) in section 1709 (34 U.S.C. 10389), by adding at the end the following:

“(8) ‘civilian review board’ means an administrative entity that investigates civilian complaints against law enforcement officers and—

“(A) is independent and adequately funded;

“(B) has investigatory authority and subpoena power;

“(C) has representative community diversity;

“(D) has policy making authority;

“(E) provides advocates for civilian complainants;

“(F) may conduct hearings; and

“(G) conducts statistical studies on prevailing complaint trends.”.