[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8500 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8500
To establish an electronic system by which members of the press may
file a complaint with the Department of Justice alleging misconduct by
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2020
Mr. Takano introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an electronic system by which members of the press may
file a complaint with the Department of Justice alleging misconduct by
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Attacks on Free Press Transparency
Act''.
SEC. 2. PRESS COMPLAINTS.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a
electronic system by which members of the press may file a
complaint with the Department of Justice alleging misconduct by
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and law
enforcement officers of such agencies.
(2) Attachments.--The electronic system shall allow
relevant media to be attached, including photos, videos, and
audio recordings.
(3) Anonymous submission.--A complaint may be filed
anonymously under this section.
(b) Procedure.--
(1) Complaint.--A complaint may be filed under this section
not later than 180 days after an incident has occurred, Such
complaint shall include the following:
(A) The date of this incident.
(B) The name of each law enforcement officer
involved.
(C) A detailed description of the incident.
(D) Any legal justification or motivation that was
provided to the individual by a law enforcement officer
to justify the law enforcement action taken.
(E) If applicable, any property searched, damaged,
or seized during the incident.
(F) If applicable, any audio or visual recordings
of the incident between the law enforcement officer and
press materials or miscellaneous documentation with
respect to the incident.
(2) Notification.--Not later than 30 days after a complaint
has been filed with the Department of Justice, the Attorney
General shall notify the law enforcement agency that is the
subject of the complaint that the complaint has been filed and
provide the details of the complaint.
(3) Response.--
(A) In general.--Any Federal, State, or local law
enforcement agency that is the subject of a complaint
shall respond not later than 60 days after receipt of
the notice of the complaint under paragraph (2).
(B) Contents of response.--A response to the
complaint shall include the following:
(i) The date of the incident.
(ii) The name of each law enforcement
officer involved.
(iii) A detailed description of the
incident.
(iv) Any legal justification or motivation
that was provided to the individual by the law
enforcement officer to justify the law
enforcement action taken.
(v) If applicable, any property searched,
damaged, or seized during the incident.
(vi) If applicable, any audio or visual
recordings of the incident between the law
enforcement officer and press materials or
miscellaneous documentation that supports the
justification for the law enforcement action
taken.
(C) Byrne enforcement.--
(i) In general.--If a State or unit of
local government fails to comply with this
paragraph for a fiscal year, the State or unit
of local government shall be subject to a 50
percent reduction of the amount that would
otherwise by awarded in the following fiscal
year to that State or unit of local government
under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.).
(ii) Reallocation.--Amounts not allocated
to a State or unit of local government for
failure to comply with paragraph (3) shall be
reallocated to States and units of local
government that have complied with such
paragraph in accordance with subpart 1 of part
E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et
seq.).
(D) 1033 program enforcement.--If the Secretary of
Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General,
determines that a State has failed to respond to 3 or
more complaints during a fiscal year, the State may not
receive a transfer under section 2576a of title 10,
United States Code, until such time as the Secretary of
Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General,
determines that the State is in compliance with the
requirements of this Act.
(c) Member of the Press Defined.--In this section, the term member
of the press means any individual who works in the gathering,
processing, disseminating, and delivery of news and information that
serves the public interest to the public through mass media, including
television, radio, and newspapers.
SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT.
Not later than 30 days after the end of each calendar year, the
Attorney General shall make available to the public on the Department
of Justice website a report that includes a compilation of the
complaints received under section 2 with personally identifiable
information of involved parties redacted.
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