What This Bill Does
This bill says the federal government cannot give money to cities or states that the Attorney General decides are "lawless jurisdictions." The bill aims to withhold federal funding from places where the government fails to enforce law and order or refuses help from federal law enforcement during widespread violence or destruction.
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Who It Affects
- State and local governments that receive federal funds
- The Attorney General (the chief law officer of the United States)
- Residents living in jurisdictions that lose federal funding
- Law enforcement agencies in those jurisdictions
- Businesses and property owners in affected areas
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Key Provisions
- The Attorney General must decide within 30 days of the bill becoming law which jurisdictions are "lawless," and must make these decisions at least every three months afterward, explaining each decision publicly (Sec. 3(b))
- No federal funds can go to any jurisdiction the Attorney General determines is lawless (Sec. 3(a))
- A jurisdiction can start receiving federal funds again either 180 days after being labeled lawless or when the Attorney General says it is no longer lawless, whichever comes later (Sec. 3(c))
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, jurisdictions labeled as lawless by the Attorney General will lose access to federal funding. This affects all types of federal money going to states and local governments, including funds for housing, public transportation, job training, and social services.
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Important Definitions
The bill defines a "lawless jurisdiction" as a state or city that does one or more of the following:
- Forbids law enforcement from stopping widespread or ongoing violence or destruction
- Withdraws police protection from areas where officers are allowed to go, except in brief emergency situations to stop immediate threats
- Reduces funding or power of law enforcement agencies
- Refuses federal law enforcement help during widespread or ongoing violence or destruction that local police cannot control
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1365
To provide that Federal funds may not be made available to lawless
jurisdictions, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 2023
Mr. ROSENDALE (for himself, Mr. BISHOP of North Carolina, and Mr. ROY)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Account-
ability, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide that Federal funds may not be made available
to lawless jurisdictions, 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 ‘‘Lawless Cities Ac-
4
countability Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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Congress finds the following:
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•HR 1365 IH
(1) It is the policy and purpose of the United
1
States Government to protect the lives and property
2
of all people in the United States from unlawful acts
3
of violence and destruction. Without law and order,
4
democracy cannot function, Americans cannot exer-
5
cise their rights to peaceful expression, assembly,
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and protest, property is destroyed, and innocent citi-
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zens are injured or killed.
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(2) Unfortunately, lawlessness has beset some
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of our States and cities. Over the past few years,
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several State and local governments have contributed
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to the violence and destruction in their jurisdictions
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by failing to enforce the law, disempowering and sig-
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nificantly defunding their police departments, and
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refusing to accept offers of Federal law enforcement
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assistance amidst widespread, sustained violence. As
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a result of these State and local government policies,
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acts of violence and destruction have skyrocketed
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and continue unabated in many of America’s cities.
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(3) By shirking their responsibility to carry out
20
law and order, lawless jurisdictions enabled violent
21
protestors and rioters to inflict well over $1 billion
22
in property damage across the United States. Fed-
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eral and State buildings, businesses, and infrastruc-
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ture were indiscriminately destroyed by arsonists,
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•HR 1365 IH
vandals, and looters—harming their owners and tax-
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payers—who ultimately bear the costs of unchecked
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anarchy in American cities.
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(4) The failure of cities to enforce the rule of
4
law has severe consequences and costs lives. In
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2020, homicides in major American cities sky-
6
rocketed by 33 percent, a trend that continued into
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the first quarter of 2021. In certain cities such as
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Portland and Minneapolis, the surge in death and
9
destruction is even starker, with homicides increas-
10
ing by 733 percent in Portland and 82 percent in
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Minneapolis. The Federal Government cannot sit
12
idly by as property is damaged and citizens are mur-
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dered in lawless jurisdictions.
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(5) After being continually demeaned by radical
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activists and politicians, having police funding
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slashed, being disempowered from enforcing the rule
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of law, and witnessing their cities deteriorate into
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lawless zones, our dedicated law enforcement per-
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sonnel are demoralized and leaving the force in
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record numbers. In 2020, the New York Police De-
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partment saw 5,300 personnel leave the department,
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a 75 percent increase from the previous year. The
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Minneapolis Police Department saw 105 officers
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leave the department in 2020, more than double
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•HR 1365 IH
their average yearly attrition rate. Compounding the
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challenge of mass retirements and an inordinate
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number of law enforcement personnel on leaves of
3
absence, police departments are facing unprece-
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dented recruitment challenges, leaving departments
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ill-equipped to handle the dramatic rise in violent
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crime.
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(6) The Federal Government provides States
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and localities with hundreds of billions of dollars
9
every year, which fund a wide array of programs,
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such as housing, public transportation, job training,
11
and social services. These funds have been collected
12
from American taxpayers who entrusted their money
13
to the Federal Government to serve our communities
14
and our citizens.
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(7) The Federal Government should not allow
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taxpayer dollars to fund jurisdictions that fail to en-
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force the rule of law and protect their residents. To
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ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted
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nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Gov-
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ernment’s promise to protect life, liberty, and prop-
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erty, it is imperative that the Federal Government
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ensure Federal funds and grants do not go to juris-
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dictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruc-
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tion in America’s cities. This is critical to ensure
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•HR 1365 IH
that Federal funds are used effectively, and to safe-
1
guard taxpayer dollars entrusted to the Federal Gov-
2
ernment for the benefit of the American people.
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SEC. 3. NO FEDERAL FUNDS FOR LAWLESS JURISDICTIONS.
4
(a) IN GENERAL.—No Federal funds may be made
5
available to a jurisdiction that the Attorney General deter-
6
mines is a lawless jurisdiction.
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(b) ATTORNEY GENERAL DETERMINATIONS.—Not
8
later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
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and not less than quarterly thereafter, the Attorney Gen-
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eral shall make determinations on which jurisdictions are
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lawless jurisdictions, and shall make such determinations,
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and an explanation of each determination, publicly avail-
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able.
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(c) REINSTATEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—A juris-
15
diction that the Attorney General determines is a lawless
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jurisdiction may begin receiving Federal funds on the later
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of—
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(1) 180 days after the date on which the Attor-
19
ney General first determines that the jurisdiction is
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lawless; or
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(2) the date on which the Attorney General de-
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termines that the jurisdiction is no longer a lawless
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jurisdiction.
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•HR 1365 IH
SEC. 4. DEFINITION.
1
In this Act, the term ‘‘lawless jurisdiction’’ means a
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State or political subdivision of a State that—
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(1) forbids a law enforcement agency from in-
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tervening to restore order amid widespread or sus-
5
tained violence or destruction;
6
(2) has withdrawn law enforcement protection
7
from a geographical area or structure that law en-
8
forcement officers are lawfully entitled to access, but
9
have been officially prevented from accessing or per-
10
mitted to access only in exceptional circumstances,
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except when law enforcement officers are briefly
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withheld as a tactical decision intended to resolve
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safely and expeditiously a specific and ongoing un-
14
lawful incident posing an imminent threat to the
15
safety of individuals or law enforcement officers;
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(3) disempowers or defunds law enforcement
17
agencies; or
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(4) refuses to accept an offer of law enforce-
19
ment assistance from the Federal Government amid
20
widespread or sustained violence or destruction in
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the jurisdiction, during which the jurisdiction has
22
been unable to restore order.
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Æ
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