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