Justice for Victims of Lawless Cities Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7506 To provide a civil remedy for individuals harmed in lawless jurisdictions, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 9, 2020 Mr. BUDD (for himself and Mr. ROY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Com- mittees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To provide a civil remedy for individuals harmed in 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 ‘‘Justice for Victims 4 of Lawless Cities Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 6 In this Act, the term ‘‘lawless jurisdiction’’ means a 7 designated area in a State or political subdivision of a 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7506.IH H7506 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7506 IH State, which State or political subdivision has a statute, 1 ordinance, policy, or practice in effect that, despite ongo- 2 ing danger to individuals or property, allows any entity 3 or official of the State or political subdivision of the State 4 to, in such designated area, purposefully— 5 (1) refuse to provide police, fire, or emergency 6 medical services to 1 or more individuals in the 7 State or political subdivision of the State; or 8 (2) abdicate the reserved powers of the State or 9 political subdivision of the State, to be performed by 10 non-governmental actors in a manner that is detri- 11 mental to the health, safety, and welfare of the citi- 12 zens of the State or political subdivision of the 13 State. 14 SEC. 3. CIVIL ACTION FOR HARM IN A LAWLESS JURISDIC- 15 TION. 16 (a) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 17 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Any individual, or a 18 spouse, parent, or child of such individual (if the in- 19 dividual is deceased or permanently incapacitated), 20 who is the victim of a murder, rape, or any felony 21 (as defined by the State) which occurred in a lawless 22 jurisdiction may bring an action for compensatory 23 damages against a State or a political subdivision of 24 a State in the appropriate Federal or State court. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7506.IH H7506 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7506 IH (2) BURDEN OF PROOF.—In an action under 1 paragraph (1), the court shall find in favor of the 2 plaintiff if the plaintiff shows by a preponderance of 3 the evidence that the harm described in paragraph 4 (1) occurred in a lawless jurisdiction located in the 5 State or political subdivision of a State. 6 (3) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action 7 brought under this subsection may not be brought 8 later than 10 years after the occurrence of the 9 crime, or death of a person as a result of such 10 crime, whichever occurs later. 11 (4) ATTORNEY’S FEE AND OTHER COSTS.—In 12 any action or proceeding under this subsection the 13 court shall allow a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable 14 attorney’s fee as part of the costs, and include ex- 15 pert fees as part of the attorney’s fee. 16 (5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—In the case of 17 an entity that is harmed as a result of a felony (as 18 defined by the State) which occurred in a lawless ju- 19 risdiction, the owner of the entity may bring an ac- 20 tion under paragraph (1). 21 (b) WAIVER OF IMMUNITY.— 22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any State or political sub- 23 division of a State that accepts a grant described in 24 paragraph (2) from the Federal Government shall 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7506.IH H7506 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7506 IH agree, as a condition of receiving such grant, to 1 waive any immunity of such State or political sub- 2 division relating to a civil action described in sub- 3 section (a). 4 (2) GRANTS DESCRIBED.—The grants described 5 in this paragraph are— 6 (A) a grant for public works and economic 7 development under section 201(a) of the Public 8 Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 9 (42 U.S.C. 3141(a)); 10 (B) a grant for planning and administra- 11 tive expenses under section 203(a) of such Act 12 (42 U.S.C. 3143(a)); 13 (C) a supplemental grant under section 14 205(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3145(b)); 15 (D) a grant for training, research, and 16 technical assistance under section 207(a) of 17 such Act (42 U.S.C. 3147(a)); and 18 (E) except as provided in paragraph (3), a 19 community development block grant made pur- 20 suant to title I of the Housing and Community 21 Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et 22 seq.). 23 (3) EXCEPTION.—Grants described in para- 24 graph (2)(E) shall not include any disaster relief 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7506.IH H7506 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7506 IH grants to address the damage in an area for which 1 the President has declared a disaster under title IV 2 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 3 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 et seq.). 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:12 Jul 27, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7506.IH H7506 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS