Federal

Civil Rights Legacy Protection Act

Source: Congress.gov · 1,282 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill makes it a federal crime to intentionally damage, deface or destroy civil rights memorials. The law sets different penalties depending on whether the damage costs $5,000 or less, or more than $5,000. The bill requires the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to create a list of civil rights events and figures that receive protection under this law.

Who It Affects

People who damage protected civil rights memorials. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (the agency that enforces civil rights laws). The Attorney General (the head of the Department of Justice). Property owners and managers of protected memorials.

Key Provisions

• People who intentionally damage, deface or destroy protected memorials can face up to one year in prison, community service of up to 300 hours, or a fine if the damage equals $5,000 or less (Sec. 2) • People who intentionally damage, deface or destroy protected memorials can face up to three years in prison or a fine if the damage exceeds $5,000 (Sec. 2) • The law applies when someone travels across state lines or international borders to commit the crime, or uses mail or interstate commerce in committing the crime, or when the memorial is on federal property (Sec. 2) • The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights must create and submit a list of protected civil rights events and figures within one year of the law taking effect (Sec. 3) • Anyone convicted of breaking this law must pay restitution (money to repair or replace what was damaged) (Sec. 2) • The Attorney General must publish the list of protected civil rights events and figures on the Department of Justice website (Sec. 3)

What Changes

A new federal crime is created for destroying or damaging specific civil rights memorials listed in the bill. The bill names 19 protected memorials, including the Emmett Till Memorial in Mississippi, the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, and the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington, DC. Federal courts gain the power to prosecute and punish people who damage these memorials. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights gains new responsibility to identify additional protected civil rights events and figures annually.

Important Definitions

"Covered civil rights figure" means any person on a list submitted by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights who dedicated themselves to expanding personal freedoms and ending discrimination based on race, religion, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation during civil rights movements, and who left a positive impact on a local government, state or the United States. "Covered civil rights event" means any event on a list submitted by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that memorializes the struggle to secure equal rights for groups facing discrimination based on race, religion, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation during civil rights movements, and that left a positive impression on a local government, state or the United States.

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 999 To prohibit the destruction of civil rights memorials, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2023 Mr. COHEN (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, and Ms. TLAIB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary A BILL To prohibit the destruction of civil rights memorials, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Civil Rights Legacy 4 Protection Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON DESTRUCTION OF CERTAIN PROP- 6 ERTY. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 65 of title 18, United 8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H999.IH H999 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 999 IH ‘‘§ 1370. Prohibiting destruction of civil rights memo- 1 rials 2 ‘‘(a) DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY.—Whoever, in a 3 circumstance described in subsection (b), intentionally de- 4 faces, damages, or destroys a protected memorial under 5 subsection (c) or any structure, plaque, statue, or monu- 6 ment on public property that commemorates a covered 7 civil rights event or a covered civil rights figure shall— 8 ‘‘(1) in the case that such defacement, damage, 9 or destruction is in an amount that is equal to or 10 less than $5,000, be required to complete up to 300 11 hours of community service, fined under this title, or 12 imprisoned not more than a year; or 13 ‘‘(2) in the case that such defacement, damage, 14 or destruction is in an amount that is more than 15 $5,000, be fined under this title or imprisoned not 16 more than 3 years. 17 ‘‘(b) CIRCUMSTANCES.—A circumstance described in 18 this subsection is that— 19 ‘‘(1) in committing the offense described in sub- 20 section (a), the defendant travels or causes another 21 to travel in interstate or foreign commerce, or uses 22 the mail or an instrumentality of interstate or for- 23 eign commerce; or 24 ‘‘(2) the structure, plaque, statue, or monument 25 described in subsection (a) is located on property 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H999.IH H999 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 999 IH owned by, or under the jurisdiction of, the Federal 1 Government. 2 ‘‘(c) PROTECTED MEMORIALS.—The following are 3 protected memorials: 4 ‘‘(1) Emmett Till Memorial, Mississippi. 5 ‘‘(2) Mississippi Freedom Trail Markers, Mis- 6 sissippi. 7 ‘‘(3) Edmund Pettus Bridge, Alabama. 8 ‘‘(4) Birmingham Civil Rights National Monu- 9 ment, Alabama. 10 ‘‘(5) Civil Rights Memorial Center, Memorial to 11 Peace & Justice, Alabama. 12 ‘‘(6) Virginia Civil Rights Memorial, Virginia. 13 ‘‘(7) Landmark for Peace Memorial in Dr. Mar- 14 tin Luther King Jr. Park, Indiana. 15 ‘‘(8) Harriet Ross Tubman Memorial, Massa- 16 chusetts. 17 ‘‘(9) National Civil Rights Museum at the Lor- 18 raine Motel, Tennessee. 19 ‘‘(10) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monument, 20 Colorado. 21 ‘‘(11) Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad 22 National Monument, Maryland. 23 ‘‘(12) African American Civil War Memorial, 24 Washington, DC. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H999.IH H999 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 999 IH ‘‘(13) Freedom Riders National Monument, 1 Alabama. 2 ‘‘(14) African Burial Ground National Monu- 3 ment, New York. 4 ‘‘(15) Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National 5 Monument, Ohio. 6 ‘‘(16) Reconstruction Era National Park, South 7 Carolina. 8 ‘‘(17) George Washington Carver National 9 Monument, Missouri. 10 ‘‘(18) Medgar and Myrlie Evers National 11 Monument, Mississippi. 12 ‘‘(19) Markers on the Civil Rights Trail. 13 ‘‘(d) RESTITUTION.—Whoever is convicted of an of- 14 fense under this section shall be ordered to pay restitution. 15 ‘‘(e) COVERED EVENTS AND FIGURES.—In this sec- 16 tion— 17 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered civil rights figure’ means 18 any figure on the list submitted by the United 19 States Commission on Civil Rights pursuant to sec- 20 tion 3(a) of the Civil Rights Legacy Protection Act; 21 and 22 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered civil rights event’ means 23 any event on the list submitted by the United States 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H999.IH H999 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 999 IH Commission on Civil Rights pursuant to section 3(a) 1 of the Civil Rights Legacy Protection Act.’’. 2 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections for 3 chapter 65 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 4 by adding at the end the following item: 5 ‘‘1370. Prohibiting destruction of civil rights memorials.’’. SEC. 3. UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 7 date of enactment of this Act, the United States Commis- 8 sion on Civil Rights shall develop and submit to the Attor- 9 ney General a list of covered civil rights events and covered 10 civil rights figures as follows: 11 (1) COVERED CIVIL RIGHTS EVENT.—For pur- 12 poses of developing a list of covered civil rights 13 events, the United States Commission on Civil 14 Rights shall include on the list any event that— 15 (A) memorializes the struggle to secure 16 equal rights for groups suffering from discrimi- 17 nation on the basis of race, religion, disability, 18 gender identity, or sexual orientation during the 19 Civil Rights Movement and other social move- 20 ments; and 21 (B) left a positive impression on a unit of 22 local government, a State, or the United States. 23 (2) COVERED CIVIL RIGHTS FIGURE.—For pur- 24 poses of developing a list of covered civil rights fig- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H999.IH H999 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 999 IH ures, the United States Commission on Civil Rights 1 shall include on the list any person who— 2 (A) is known for dedication and advocacy 3 toward expanding personal civil liberties and 4 ending racial and other forms of discrimination, 5 disenfranchisement, and segregation; or 6 (B)(i) worked to secure equal rights for 7 groups suffering from discrimination on the 8 basis of race, religion, disability, gender iden- 9 tity, or sexual orientation during the Civil 10 Rights Movement and other social movements; 11 and 12 (ii) has left a positive impression and leg- 13 acy on a unit of local government, a State, or 14 the United States. 15 (b) MODIFICATIONS TO LIST.—The United States 16 Commission on Civil Rights shall review annually and 17 modify as necessary the list submitted by the Commission 18 pursuant to (a). 19 (c) PUBLISHING LIST.—The Attorney General shall 20 ensure that the list submitted by the United States Com- 21 mission on Civil Rights pursuant to subsection (a), and 22 any modifications made by the Commission pursuant to 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H999.IH H999 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 999 IH subsection (b), shall be made available to the public on 1 the Department of Justice website. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:56 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H999.IH H999 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.