The world's political record
Records whose title is actually about this topic. Use a country filter if the list is still too broad.
101 records in US in 1991
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Grants the President line item veto authority with respect to appropriations bills.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that nothing in the Constitution shall prohibit the inclusion of voluntary prayer in any public school program or activity. Provides that neither the United States nor any State shall prescribe the content of any such prayer.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits, except in time of war, Federal fiscal year expenditures from exceeding: (1) Federal revenues (except those derived from borrowing) for that fiscal year; and (2) 20 percent of the gross national product for the preceding calendar year. Authorizes the Congress to suspend these prohibitions by concurrent resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1991
Designates September 17, 1991, as Constitution Day.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the Congress shall have the power to set reasonable limits on campaign expenditures by, in support of, or in opposition to any candidate in any primary or other election for Federal office. Declares that the States shall have such power with respect to State or local elections.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Grants the President line item veto authority with respect to appropriations legislation, except for any item of appropriation for the legislative or judicial branches of the Government.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the removal from office of an Article III judge upon conviction of a criminal offense punishable by more than one year's imprisonment.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 1991
Violence Against Women Act of 1991 - Title I: Safe Streets for Women - Safe Streets for Women Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Mandatory Restitution, Treatment, and Rehabilitation for Sex Offenses - Requires that a court order restitution, treatment, and rehabilitation for violations of Federal sexual abuse laws, including participation in a psychotherapeutic treatment program by a licensed therapist for specified persons who committed sexual or sexual-related offenses. Specifies that: (1) the treatment program shall be designed to rehabilitate the affected person and to deter such person from committing a sexual offense after being released from the institution; and (2) treatment for a substance abuse-related condition shall be made available to such person in addition to, but not as a substitute for, counseling under such program. Sets forth provisions with respect to the period of treatment, the requirement of a complete forensic psychological assessment prior to the commencement of the treatment program, termination of treatment, supplemental chemical treatment (but the affected person may refuse to participate, or continue to participate, in supplementary chemical treatment), and the responsibilities of the Attorney General (such as contracting for treatment and documenting subsequent criminal sexual abuse). Directs the Attorney General to establish an advisory committee on therapeutic treatment for sex offenders. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Law Enforcement and Prosecution Grants to Reduce Violent Crime Against Women - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to areas of high intensity crime against women. Requires that the grants be used for personnel, training, technical assistance, data collection, and other equipment for the more widespread apprehension, prosecution, and adjudication of persons committing violent crimes against women. Authorizes the Director to make grants to States, for use by States and their subdivisions, to be used for the same purposes as the high intensity area grants and to reduce the rate of violent crimes against women. Authorizes the Director to make general grants to: (1) States to reduce violent crimes against women; and (2) Indian tribes to reduce violent crimes against women in Indian country. Authorizes the Director, in addition to the grants under this subtitle, to direct any Federal agency, with or without reimbursement, to use its authorities and resources in support of State and local assistance efforts. Authorizes appropriations. Bars any State or other grantee (recipient) from receiving funds under this title unless such recipient incurs the full cost of forensic medical exams for victims of sexual assault when such exams are required under this title. Specifies that a recipient does not incur the full medical cost of such exams if it chooses to reimburse the victim after the fact unless the reimbursement program waives any minimum loss or deductible requirement, provides victim reimbursement within a reasonable time (90 days), permits applications for reimbursement within one year from the date of the exam, and provides information to all subjects of such exams about how to obtain reimbursement. Subtitle C: Safety for Women in Public Transit and Public Parks - Directs the Secretary of Transportation, from funds authorized under existing provisions, to make capital grants for the prevention of crime and to increase security in existing and future public transportation systems. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants and loans to States and local public bodies to increase the safety of public transportation through lighting, camera surveillance, security phones, or other projects. Sets the Federal share of each project at 90 percent of the net cost. Directs the Secretary to provide grants and loans to study ways to reduce violent crimes against women in public transit through better design or operation of public transit systems. Amends the National Park System Improvements in Administration Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance to reduce violent crime in the National Park System (NPS). Provides for the compilation of a list of areas within the NPS with the highest rates of violent crime. Allows funds to be used, around public parks and recreation areas, for increasing lighting, providing emergency phone lines, increasing security or law enforcement personnel, and any other project to increase security and safety. Amends the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide grants for capital improvements and other measures to increase safety in public parks and recreation areas. Subtitle D: National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women - Establishes the National Commission on Violent Crime Against Women to promote a national policy on violent crime against women and to make recommendations on reducing such crime. Authorizes appropriations. Terminates the Commission after submission of its final report, subject to extension by the President for up to one more year. Subtitle E: New Evidentiary Rules - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to exclude, notwithstanding any other provision of law and in criminal cases other than a sex offense case, reputation or opinion evidence of the past sexual behavior of a victim from admission into evidence. Allows other types of evidence of a victim's past sexual behavior in accordance with specified procedures if its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice. Makes reputation or opinion evidence of the plaintiff's past sexual behavior, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, inadmissible in a civil action involving allegations of actionable sexual misconduct. Makes other types of evidence of a plaintiff's past sexual behavior admissible in accordance with specified procedures if its probative value outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice. Defines actionable sexual misconduct to include sex harassment or discrimination claims under title VII (Equal Employment Opportunity) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and gender bias claims under title III of this Act. Makes evidentiary rulings made under specified Federal Rules of Evidence relating to sex offense cases and the relevance of a victim's past behavior subject to interlocutory appeal by the Government or by the alleged victim. Allows the alleged victim to waive those rules if the prosecution seeks to offer evidence of prior sexual history. Makes evidence of an alleged victim's clothing, notwithstanding any other provision of law and in a criminal case under Federal laws relating to sexual abuse, inadmissible to show the victim incited or invited the offense. Subtitle F: Assistance to Victims of Sexual Assault - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to allow States to use amounts transferred by the State under block grant provisions for rape prevention and education programs conducted by rape crisis centers or similar nongovernmental nonprofit entities. Authorizes appropriations. Removes a requirement that a minimum amount from the block grants under the PHSA be allotted to States on the basis of population. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) to make grants for research and service demonstration projects to develop and evaluate techniques for lowering the overall incidence of rape by 20 percent by the year 2000 and for reducing the trauma and long-term impact of rape. Authorizes appropriations. Title II: Safe Homes for Women - Safe Homes for Women Act - Subtitle A: Interstate Enforcement - Provides for a Federal term of imprisonment or fine, in addition to any State penalties, for any person who travels or causes another (including the intended victim) to travel across State lines or in interstate commerce with intent to injure a spouse or intimate partner and who, during the travel or thereafter, injures his or her spouse or intimate partner in violation of a criminal law of the State where the injury occurs, or in violation of a State protection order. Provides for temporary protection orders while a case under these provisions is pending. Mandates that a court order restitution to the victim of an offense under this Act. Requires, provided certain conditions are met, that a protection order issued by the court of one State be accorded full faith and credit by the court of another State. Makes a protection order issued against a person who filed a written pleading for protection not entitled to full faith and credit if no cross or counter petition, complaint, or other written pleading was filed seeking such a protection order or, if a cross or counter petition was filed, the court did not specifically find each party entitled to such an order. Subtitle B: Arrest in Spousal Abuse Cases - Amends the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to authorize the Secretary to make grants, with regard to spousal abuse, to: (1) implement pro-arrest programs and policies in police departments and improve case tracking; (2) centralize and coordinate police enforcement, prosecution, or judicial responsibility for cases in one group of officers, prosecutors, or judges; and (3) educate judges to improve judicial handling of cases. Directs the Secretary to delegate to the Attorney General responsibility to carry out these provisions. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Funding for Shelters - Amends the FVPSA to authorize appropriations to carry out that Act, earmarking at least 85 percent of funds appropriated for States, and at least ten percent for Indian tribes and tribal organizations, for grants (under current law, demonstration grants) to prevent family violence and provide immediate shelter and related assistance. Limits the percentage which may be used to provide training and technical assistance to State, Indian tribal, and local domestic violence programs and to other professionals who provide services to victims of domestic violence. Subtitle D: Family Violence Prevention and Services Act Amendments - Amends the FVPSA to: (1) specify that the purpose of such Act is to increase public awareness of, as well as to prevent, family violence, and to provide for training to the courts, and legal, social service, and health professionals (current law specifies only local public agencies, nonprofit private organizations, and others seeking such assistance); and (2) grant preference in the distribution of funds to States that give special emphasis to projects including counseling and self-help services to victims and their children (current law covers counseling, alcohol and drug abuse treatment, and self-help services to abusers and victims.) Directs the Secretary to provide for the funding of domestic violence coalitions that shall further the purposes of domestic violence intervention and prevention through activities such as: (1) working with judicial and law enforcement agencies to encourage appropriate response to domestic violence cases and specified issues, such as the use of mandatory arrest of accused offenders and the use of interstate extradition in cases of domestic violence crimes; (2) working with family law judges, Child Protective Services agencies, and children's advocates to develop appropriate responses to child custody and visitation issues in domestic violence cases, and where domestic violence and child abuse are both present; and (3) conducting public education campaigns regarding domestic violence through the use of public service announcements and informative materials designed for print and electronic broadcast media, billboards, and public transit advertising. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth provisions with respect to the allotment of funds. Requires: (1) that any State domestic violence coalition have standing to challenge whether a grantee is in compliance with the eligibility requirements, or to seek enforcement, of provisions of the FVPSA; and (2) that each such coalition submit a report to the Secretary detailing the coordination, training, technical assistance, and public education services performed, and evaluating the effectiveness of such services. Raises the limit on funding of grants in any fiscal year to any single entity (other than to a State) to $75,000 (currently, $50,000, and a $150,000 limit on the total amount of such grants to any such single entity). Modifies provisions with respect to grants to entities other than States to require that the local share as a proportion of the total amount of funds provided under such Act to the project involved be 35 percent for new programs for the first year of the program and 20 percent for each year therafter for existing programs. (Current law specifies 35 percent in the first year such project receives a grant under such Act, 55 percent in the second such year, and 65 percent in the third such year.) Repeals a provision requiring that a specified portion of State demonstration grant funds for preventing, and assisting victims of, family violence be distributed to provide shelter for victims. Includes shelter as "related assistance" that may be funded under grants for such purposes, as well as medical services, legal assistance, technical assistance with respect to obtaining financial assistance under Federal and State programs, employment training, and educational and preventive health services. Increases the minimum allotment to States for grants under the FVPSA. Requires the General Accounting Office, within 120 days, to complete a study of, and submit to the Congress a report and recommendations on, problems of recordkeeping of criminal complaints involving domestic violence. Directs the Secretary to: (1) award to not less than ten States model State leadership grants for domestic violence intervention; and (2) provide grants or contracts with public or private nonprofit organizations for the establishment and maintenance of a national resource center and six specialty resource centers focusing on one or more specified issues of concern to domestic violence victims. Sets forth eligibility requirements, funding provisions, and, with respect to the latter, reporting requirements. Subtitle E: Confidentiality for Abused Persons - Requires the Postmaster General to promulgate regulations to secure the confidentiality of abused persons' addresses. Title III: Civil Rights - Declares that all persons within the United States shall have the same rights, privileges, and immunities in every State as are enjoyed by all other persons to be free from crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender (defined as any crime of violence, including rape, sexual assault, sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, or any other crime of violence committed because of or on the basis of gender). Makes any person, including a person who acts under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of any State, who deprives another of the rights, privileges, and immunities secured by the Constitution and laws as enumerated by this Act liable to the injured party in an action for compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, or other relief as the court deems appropriate. Amends the Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Awards Act of 1976 to allow the awarding of attorney's fees in actions to enforce this title. Title IV: Safe Campuses for Women - Safe Campuses for Women Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to make, on a competitive basis, grants to and contracts with institutions of higher education for rape education and prevention programs. Requires that the grants be used to educate and provide support services to student victims of rape or sexual assault, with 25 percent of the funds available for model demonstration programs for rape prevention and education curricula and for local programs to provide services to student rape victims. Authorizes appropriations to carry out title X (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) of the Act. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to add sexual assault to the list of criminal offenses about which statistics must be disclosed by institutions participating in certain programs. Title V: Equal Justice for Women in the Courts - Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Act - Subtitle A: Education and Training for Judges and Court Personnel in State Courts - Authorizes the State Justice Institute to make grants for model programs to be used by States in training judges and court personnel in State laws on rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the State Justice Institute to expend at least: (1) 40 percent of appropriated funds on programs regarding domestic violence; and (2) 40 percent on programs regarding rape and assault. Subtitle B: Education and Training for Judges and Court Personnel in Federal Courts - Directs the Federal Judicial Center to study and report on the nature and extent of gender bias in the Federal courts. Requires the Center to develop and disseminate model programs to be used in training Federal judges and court personnel in the laws on rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes of violence motivated by the victim's gender. Authorizes appropriations. Requires between 25 and 40 percent of such funds to be used for the study required by this subtitle.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1991
Guam Commonwealth Act - Title I: Political Relationship - Creates the Commonwealth of Guam. Grants the people of Guam the right of full self-government through adoption of a Constitution, consistent with U.S. sovereignty over Guam and the supremacy of U.S. law applicable to Guam, and within specified guidelines. Recognizes the right of self-determination of the people of Guam. Directs the U.S. Government, through additional federally-funded programs, to promote preservation of the Chamorro culture, enhanced economic, social, and educational opportunities for Chamorros, and training of Chamorros for employment. Provides that nothing in this Act or the Constitution of Guam shall impair the U.S. citizenship of the residents of Guam or their descendants or their rights and privileges as U.S. citizens under the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Directs Guam to establish a land trust for the benefit of the indigenous Chamorro people and to establish residency requirements under the Constitution of Guam for voting and holding elective office. Allows this Act to be modified only with the mutual consent of the Governments of the United States and Guam. Title II: Applicability of Federal Law - Makes specified provisions of, and amendments to, the U.S. Constitution applicable to Guam, in addition to those portions which currently apply. Makes Federal laws, rules, or regulations passed after the date of this Act inapplicable unless mutually consented to by the Governments of the United States and Guam. Creates the Joint Commission on the Applicability of Federal Law. Specifies its duties, including: (1) participating in consultations between the Governments of the United States and Guam; (2) studying existing statutes and regulations affecting the U.S.-Guam relationship; (3) reviewing policies and procedures of Federal agencies relating to such relationship; (4) compiling data; (5) drafting modifications in existing laws, regulations, policies, and procedures and obtaining such modifications by negotiation and mediation concerning issues such as land claims and war claims; and (6) seeking to obtain maximum economic development and political autonomy for Guam, consistent with U.S. security interests. Provides that the United States will bear the cost of the work of the Commission. Authorizes the President or his designee to delegate to the Governor of Guam total or partial performance of functions now vested in Federal administrative agencies. Title III: Foreign Affairs and Defense - Grants the United States responsibility for authority with respect to matters relating to foreign affairs and defense that affect Guam. Provides for U.S. consultation with Guam in advance of negotiations toward any treaties or international or executive agreements affecting Guam, and with respect to proposals to increase or decrease Department of Defense activities within Guam. Prohibits the establishment of military security zones or the stationing of foreign military personnel on the Island of Guam without the approval of the Government of Guam except in time of declared war, or the establishment of military bases without consultation with the Governor. Provides for U.S. assistance to Guam in the establishment of offices in the United States and abroad, in becoming a member or participant in appropriate regional and international organizations, and in obtaining from other countries favorable treatment for exports. Prohibits the United States from using the Island of Guam or the water surrounding it for the dumping or storage of nuclear waste or hazardous chemicals. Provides for the clean up by the United States of chemical dump sites used by the military in the past. Requires the United States to compensate any person injured as a result of hazardous materials stored, used, or disposed of by the U.S. Government in Guam or its waters. Title IV: Courts - Specifies provisions governing the relations between U.S. courts and the local courts of Guam, the jurisdiction of the District Court of Guam, and the applicable district court rules. Provides for the appointment of a judge for the District Court of Guam, a U.S. attorney, and a U.S. marshal for Guam. Title V: Trade - Establishes a Guam-United States free trade area, under which neither party may impose duties, quotas, or other restrictions on each other's products, nor shall the United States treat products of Guam as having originated in any other country. Defines "products of Guam" to mean articles that contain at least 30 percent value added in Guam, and specifies costs included in value added. Authorizes Guam to impose, increase, reduce, or eliminate duties and other restrictions on: (1) products that originate outside the customs territory of the United States and that are imported into Guam; and (2) exports from Guam, whether or not products of Guam. Requires the Governor of Guam to certify that the origin of "products of Guam" is, in fact, Guam, and provides for customs inspections of products brought into the United States. Title VI: Taxation - Makes U.S. income tax laws applicable to Guam. Deems such laws to impose a separate tax, payable to the Government of Guam, to be known as the Guam Commonwealth income tax. Grants the Governor the same administrative and enforcement powers and remedies with regard to such tax (pursuant to the laws of Guam) as the Secretary of the Treasury and other executive branch officials have with respect to U.S. income tax. Sets forth similar enforcement authority with respect to criminal violations, tax liens, and suits to recover erroneously or illegally assessed taxes. Grants the District Court of Guam exclusive jurisdiction over all judicial proceedings in Guam, both criminal and civil, with respect to such tax. Allows the Government of Guam to provide for the rebate or reduction of taxes in order to assist new industries or economic development. Grants Guam the power to determine the nature and amount of taxes imposed upon the income and property of persons within its jurisdiction. Repeals applicable U.S. tax laws one year after Guam has enacted a replacement comprehensive local income tax. Exempts all bonds or other obligations issued by Guam from taxation by Federal, State, or local governments of the United States. Title VII: Immigration - Applies the Immigration and Nationality Act and pertinent Federal regulations to Guam for two years from enactment of this Act. Directs Guam to enact a comprehensive law on immigration to become effective at the end of the two-year period. Provides that such law shall not impair the free movement of U.S. citizens to and from Guam, include the authority to naturalize aliens for U.S. citizenship, or alter the Governor's authority to issue U.S. passports. Authorizes U.S. consular officials to issue visas for travel only to Guam for any alien seeking to enter Guam as a non-immigrant in order to encourage investors and tourists to come to Guam. Title VIII: Labor - Grants preference to qualified residents of Guam in all Federal civil service vacancies occurring in Guam. Grants Guam the authority to enact and enforce all laws regulating or affecting employment in Guam. Provides that all pertinent U.S. laws regulating employment on Guam on the effective date of this Act shall remain applicable until replaced by duly enacted law of the Guam Legislature. Title IX: Transportation and Telecommunications - Precludes application of any U.S. law barring the U.S. registration and use of any foreign-built vessel within the waters around Guam for any purpose. Exempts from the coastwise laws of the United States any shipment of fish or fish products from Guam to any U.S. coastwise destination. Directs the Commission periodically to examine the applicability of such laws and to recommend termination of their applicability upon determining that such laws constrain Guam's economic development. Authorizes the Governor of Guam to sponsor any qualified air service carrier to come to Guam, subject to presidential consultation concerning U.S. foreign policy and security interests. Exempts Guam from all bilateral treaties between the United States and foreign states with respect to scheduling and technical specifications of aircraft, other than safety requirements. Provides that Guam shall remain an "eligible point" for purposes of being ensured essential air transportation to and from the United States. Defines Guam as "domestic" for Federal Communications Commission rate setting purposes. Title X: Land, Natural Resources and Utilities - Grants the Government of Guam the power of eminent domain. Grants Guam jurisdiction over all natural resources of the seabed, subsoil, tidelands, and adjacent territorial waters of the Island of Guam. Sets limits on U.S. acquisition of real property on Guam. Exempts Guam from Federal regulations governing the transfer or sale of excess Federal real property. Provides for the transfer of all excess Federal property to Guam, with specified exceptions. Provides for access and use by the residents of Guam of certain retained Federal property, subject to military security requirements. Authorizes the granting of easements on such property to the Government of Guam in specified circumstances. Directs the United States to transfer ownership of island utilities to Guam. Title XI: United States Financial Assistance - Provides for the return of U.S. revenues from taxes and fees collected in Guam or from its residents or products to the Government of Guam. Makes U.S. laws providing Federal benefits and financial assistance which are applicable to the States likewise applicable to Guam on an equal basis. Directs the Governor of Guam, in preparing an annual budget, to identify the costs and benefits to Guam brought about by its role as one of the principal U.S. military bases. Requires the Governor to submit such information to the Guam Legislature and the Office of Management and Budget for use in reviewing the Governor's request for appropriations for the annual Federal payment to Guam, which request the Governor shall submit to the President for transmission to the Congress each year. Provides for assistance to aid Guam's transition to a Commonwealth, including: (1) U.S. financing of the costs of institutional changes connected with the change in Guam's political relationship with the United States; (2) help in meeting the capital needs of Guam necessary for long-term, self-sustaining development; and (3) establishing an economic development fund to assist expansion of the private sector. Title XII: Technical Amendments and Interpretation - Makes technical and conforming amendments. Calls for this Act to be interpreted liberally to accomplish its purpose of providing for complete, internal self-government for Guam. Requires this Act to be submitted to the registered voters of Guam for ratification after being passed by the Congress. Repeals the Organic Act of Guam.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the Congress from making any appropriation that would result in total fiscal year appropriations in excess of estimated fiscal year revenues. Authorizes suspension of this prohibition in time of war or national emergency. Prohibits any increase in the national debt. Requires repayment of this debt during the 100-year period following ratification, at a rate of ten percent repayment per ten-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the Supreme Court or any inferior court of the United States from ordering a State or political subdivision, or an official of such State or subdivision, from laying or increasing taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1991
Comprehensive Violent Crime Control Act of 1991 - Title I: Death Penalty - Capital Punishment Procedures Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits evidence to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Sets forth special aggravating factors for: (1) espionage, treason, homicide, the attempted murder of the President; and (2) drug offenses punishable by the death penalty (such factors include previous serious drug felony convictions, use of a firearm in committing or furthering certain continuing criminal enterprises, use of minors in trafficking, and lethal adulteration of controlled substances). Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding of at least one aggravating and no mitigating factor, or one or more aggravating factors which outweigh any mitigating factors. States that no person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense may be sentenced to death. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of the defendant or victim in its consideration of the sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the court of appeals, upon consideration of the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor; (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors; and (3) the proceedings did not involve any other prejudicial error requiring reversal of the sentence that was properly preserved for and raised on appeal. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Sets forth procedures for the implementation of the sentence of death. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for: (1) murder committed by prisoners in Federal prisons; (2) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (3) hostage takings which result in the death of any person; (4) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (5) murder for hire; (6) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (7) international terrorism (where the killing is a first-degree murder); (8) engaging in a criminal enterprise activity which results in death; (9) specified violations of the Controlled Substances Act, the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, and the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act; and (10) genocide. Increases the minimum sentence to life imprisonment for the crime of bank robbery which results in death. Provides for appointment of counsel in Federal cases where a defendant is charged with a crime with respect to which a sentence of death is sought and is or becomes financially unable to obtain adequate representation. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to: (1) representation before and after review of judgement; (2) standards for competence of counsel; and (3) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) deadlines for collateral attacks on judgements imposing a sentence of death; and (2) stays of execution. Title II: Habeas Corpus Reform - Subtitle A: General Habeas Corpus Reform - Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to establish a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a habeas corpus with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings. Sets forth provisions with respect to the appointment of counsel. Subtitle B: Death Penalty Litigation Procedures - Death Penalty Litigation Procedures Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Applies such procedures to Federal habeas corpus cases brought by prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. Makes the applicability of such procedures contingent upon a State establishing a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in State post-conviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners whose capital convictions and sentences have been upheld on direct appeal to the court of last resort in the State or have otherwise become final for State law purposes. States that the rule of court on statutes establishing such mechanism must provide standards of competency for the appointment of such counsel. Directs that any such mechanism must offer counsel to all State prisoners under capital sentence and must provide for the entry of an order by a court of record: (1) appointing counsel to represent the prisoner upon a specified finding; (2) finding that the prisoner has rejected the offer of counsel and made the decision with an understanding of its legal consequences; or (3) denying the appointment of counsel upon a finding that the prisoner is not indigent. Provides for a mandatory stay of execution during the post-conviction review initiated pursuant to this Act. Details conditions which will cause such stay to expire. Prohibits a Federal court, if one of such conditions has occurred, from entering a stay of execution or granting relief in a capital case unless: (1) the basis for the stay and request for relief is a claim not previously presented in the State or Federal courts; (2) the failure to raise the claim was the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, was the result of a recognition by the Supreme Court of a new Federal right that is retroactively applicable, or is due to the fact that the claim is based on facts that could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence in time to present the claim for State or Federal post-conviction review; and (3) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the jury's determination of guilt on the offense for which the death penalty was imposed. Imposes time limits on filing for habeas corpus relief. Requires such time limits to be tolled under specified conditions. Requires the district court, upon the development of a complete evidentiary record, to rule on the merits of the claims properly before it. Makes the requirement for a certificate of probable cause inapplicable, with exceptions, where: (1) a second or successive petition is filed; and (2) certain requirements under a unitary review procedure (i.e., a State procedure that authorizes a person under sentence of death to raise, in the course of direct review of judgment, such claims as could be raised on collateral attack) are met. Sets forth time limits for determining petitions. Specifies that the adjudication of petitions or motions involving habeas corpus in capital cases shall be granted priority by the district court and court of appeals over all noncapital matters. Title III: Exclusionary Rule - Amends the Federal criminal code to bar the exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure carried out under circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment. Specifies that: (1) Federal law does not require the exclusion of evidence in a proceeding in any court under circumstances in which the evidence would be admissible in a proceeding in a Federal court pursuant to this title; and (2) firearms seized by Federal law enforcement officers for use as evidence against a defendant who is being prosecuted for a crime of violence or serious drug offense, or who is ineligible to possess such firearm under the Federal criminal code, shall not be excluded in U.S. court proceedings on the ground that the search or seizure was in violation of the fourth amendment. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate rules and regulations relating to compliance by law enforcement officers of the Department of Justice with the fourth amendment, including: (1) the training of such officers in the law of search and seizure; (2) procedures and standards of conduct to be observed in carrying out searches and seizures; (3) procedures for reporting and investigating incidents involving possible violations of legal or administrative requirements relating to searches and seizures; (4) sanctions to be imposed when such violations are determined to have occurred; and (5) standards and procedures for settling claims for damages by victims of unlawful searches and seizures. Authorizes the head of any other Federal department or agency to promulgate rules and regulations relating to compliance with the fourth amendment by law enforcement officers of such department or agency. Directs the Attorney General, and any other Federal department or agency head that promulgates such rules or regulations, to: (1) establish a review board to consider all allegations of fourth amendment violations by law enforcement officers of such department or agency and to recommend or impose appropriate sanctions in cases where violations are determined to have occurred; and (2) report annually to the Congress concerning allegations and claims relating to search and seizure violations by law enforcement officers of such department or agency, the actions taken on such allegations and claims, and the bases for such actions. Authorizes charging such a review board with recommending the settlement of claims for damages by victims of unlawful searches and seizures. Specifies that evidence shall not be excluded on the ground that it was obtained in violation of a statute, an administrative rule or regulation, or a rule of procedure unless exclusion is expressly authorized by statute or by a rule prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority. Title IV: Firearms - Subtitle A: Firearms and Related Amendments - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer of firearms to non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides. Specifies that if a conviction was for a violent felony involving the threatened or actual use of a firearm or explosives, or was for a serious drug offense, such person shall be considered convicted for purposes of this Act irrespective of any pardon, setting aside, expunction, or restoration of civil rights. Permits the judicial officer to consider pretrial detention with respect to certain firearms and explosives offenses. Provides for enhanced penalties for: (1) the use of a semiautomatic firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense, with exceptions; and (2) possession of a firearm or explosive during the commission of such offenses. Sets forth penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. Provides for the mandatory revocation of the supervised release of an individual for possession of a firearm. Increases penalties for: (1) making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer; and (2) a second offense of using an explosive to commit a Federal felony. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to: (1) change from six to five years the statute of limitations for certain firearms offenses; and (2) provide for the summary forfeiture of unregistered National Firearms Act weapons, with provision for reimbursement for innocent owners. Makes it unlawful for felons and others to possess explosives. Authorizes the summary destruction of explosives subject to forfeiture under specified circumstances. Sets forth requirements for reimbursement of the value of destroyed property. Makes it unlawful to knowingly possess stolen firearms, ammunition, or explosives. Adds using a firearm in the commission of counterfeiting or forgery (current law specifies only "whoever, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime") among offenses which, if the offender uses or carries a firearm, will subject such person to an enhanced sentence. Provides for a mandatory five year penalty for firearms possession by violent felons and serious drug offenders. Modifies provisions regarding the reporting of multiple firearms sales to: (1) cover sales during any 30 consecutive days (currently, during any five consecutive business days); and (2) require each licensee to forward a copy of the report to the chief law enforcement officer of the place of residence of the unlicensed person not later than the close of business on the date that the multiple sale or disposition occurs. Subjects individuals who conspire to commit a firearms or explosives offense to the same penalties as those prescribed for the underlying offense. Provides for a fine or up to ten years imprisonment, or both, for stealing a firearm or explosive from specified individuals, such as a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer. Makes it unlawful for any person (current law specifies licensee) to distribute explosive materials to specified classes of individuals. Subtitle B: Prohibited Gun Clips and Magazines - Includes ammunition feeding devices (AFDs) within the definition of firearms for purposes of Federal firearms laws. Defines an AFD to include any detachable magazine, feed strip, or similar device which has a capacity of, or which can be readily converted to accept, more than 15 rounds of ammunition, with exceptions. Prohibits the importation, manufacture, transfer, receipt, or possession of AFDs, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to maintain a central registry of all such devices transferred after the effective date of this Act which, after such transfer, are not under the control of the United States or any State or political subdivision. Specifies that such registry shall include: (1) identification of the device; (2) date of registration; (3) identification and address of the person entitled to possess the device; and (4) such other information as may be required by regulations promulgated by the Secretary. Establishes additional registration procedures. Requires all AFDs to be identified by a serial number and such other identification as the Secretary may prescribe. Provides for criminal penalties for violation of provisions of this Act relative to AFDs. Authorizes specified individuals engaged in the manufacture or importation of AFDs requiring a license to continue to engage in such business pending final action on the application. Title V: Obstruction of Justice - Increases penalties for obstruction of justice offenses against court officers and jurors and for retaliatory killings of witnesses, victims, and informants. Includes State and local law enforcement officers assisting Federal officers or employees in the performance of their official duties within the scope of provisions setting penalties for individuals who kill or attempt to kill any U.S. judge, U.S. Attorney, or specified other classes of individuals. Title VI: Gangs and Juvenile Offenders - Requires that juveniles found guilty of specified serious crimes be fingerprinted and photographed and that such information and records of the adjudication be sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Authorizes reporting, retention, disclosure, and availability of juvenile records permitted under the law of the State in which a Federal juvenile proceeding takes place. Repeals provisions that authorize prejudgement probation for certain drug offenders convicted of possession of a controlled substance and require expungement of records for such offenders under 21 years of age at the time of the offense. Adds certain cocaine and drug conspiracy and attempt offenses committed by juveniles to the list of crimes authorizing prosecution as an adult if the Attorney General certifies that there is a substantial Federal interest in the case that justifies adult prosecution. Sets forth criteria for determining whether a juvenile should be prosecuted as an adult. Defines "serious drug offense" under the Federal criminal code to include any act of juvenile delinquency that if committed by an adult would be a serious drug offense under such provisions. Increases the penalty for: (1) interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises; and (2) conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Title VII: Terrorism - Subtitle A: Aviation Terrorism - Amends the Federal criminal code to set forth penalties for performing or attempting an act of violence against a person at an airport serving international civil aviation which causes or is likely to cause serious injury or death; destroying or seriously damaging the facilities of, or a civil aircraft not in service at, such airport, or disrupting the services of such airport, if such an act endangers or is likely to endanger safety. Amends the Federal Aviation Act to delete a limitation on the applicability of aircraft piracy provisions to situations where the place of takeoff or of actual landing of the aircraft on board which the offense is committed is situated outside the territory of the State of registration of such aircraft. Subtitle B: Maritime Terrorism - Act for the Prevention and Punishment of Violence Against Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for acts of violence against maritime navigation, such as seizing control of a ship by force, threat, or intimidation, performing acts of violence against persons on board a ship that are likely to endanger safe navigation, and destroying or seriously damaging maritime navigational facilities that are likely to endanger safe navigation. Sets forth analogous provisions with respect to maritime fixed platforms. Declares that all the territorial sea of the United States, as defined by Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988: (1) is part of the United States, subject to its sovereignty; and (2) for purposes of Federal criminal jurisdiction, is within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to U.S. jurisdiction over the territorial sea and over crimes against U.S. nationals on foreign vessels. Subtitle C: Terrorist Alien Removal - Terrorist Alien Removal Act of 1991 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make terrorist activity (as defined by this Act) grounds for deportation. Establishes removal procedures for alien terrorists, including a special removal hearing which shall be open to the public. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the introduction of evidence, including a provision restricting the public from being fully informed of such evidence or its source unless the Department of Justice elects to introduce such evidence in open session; (2) the burden of proof; and (3) appeals. Specifies that an alien subject to removal under provisions of this title shall have no right of discovery of information derived from electronic surveillance authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or otherwise for national security purposes, nor shall such alien have the right to seek suppression of such evidence. Authorizes the Government to use, in the removal proceeding, the fruits of electronic surveillance authorized under such Act. Specifies that no order of removal shall be stayed pending disposition of a writ of certiorari except as provided by the Court of Appeals or a Justice of the Supreme Court. Directs the Chief Justice of the United States to: (1) designate five district court judges from five of the U.S. judicial circuits, to serve five-year terms, who shall constitute a court with jurisdiction to conduct all matters and proceedings authorized under this title; and (2) provide for the maintenance of appropriate security measures for applications for ex parte orders to conduct the special removal hearing, the orders themselves, evidence received in camera and ex parte, and other matters as necessary to protect information concerning matters before the court from harming the national security of the United States, adversely affecting foreign relations, revealing investigative techniques, or disclosing confidential sources of information. Sets forth provisions with respect to the retention of an alien in custody (including affording a reasonable opportunity for such alien to communicate with and receive visits from family members, to communicate with an attorney, and to contract an appropriate diplomatic or consular official of the alien's country), the deportation of such alien to the alien's or a third country, and the transfer of such alien to the custody of State authorities, as appropriate. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) grant exclusive jurisdiction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to review excludability orders; (2) provide for a ten year prison sentence, to run concurrently with any other sentence, and a fine, for entering (or attempting to enter) the United States subsequent to exclusion or removal; and (3) delete a provision authorizing an alien held in custody pursuant to a deportation order to obtain judicial review by habeas corpus proceedings. Subtitle D: Terrorism Offenses and Sanctions - Establishes criminal penalties for: (1) committing, or attempting to commit, torture outside the United States (with jurisdiction over the prohibited activity if the alleged offender is a U.S. national or is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or the alleged offender); (2) using weapons of mass destruction against a U.S. national outside of the United States, any person within the United States, or any property that is owned, leased, or used by the United States or any U.S. department or agency; (3) committing certain homicides and attempted homicides involving firearms in Federal facilities; and (4) providing material support to terrorists. Makes specified terrorist offenses predicates to a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization statute. Authorizes the civil and criminal forfeiture of property used to commit specified terrorist and violent acts. Provides for enhanced penalties for specified offenses, such as fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other entry documents. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend its sentencing guidelines to provide an increase of not less than three levels in the base offense level for any felony that involves or is intended to promote international terrorism, with exceptions. Subtitle E: Antiterrorism Enforcement Provisions - Authorizes the Attorney General to award permanent residence or other status to an alien and his immediate family who is already present in the United States under specified circumstances, such as where necessary to protect the life of an individual who has cooperated with Federal law enforcement authorities, subject to certain numerical limitations. Amends the Alien Enemies Act to authorize the President, whenever invoking the authority contained in such Act as to aliens of a hostile nation or government and upon further determining that the United States may also be subject to actual, attempted, or threatened predatory incursions by aliens of other nations, to include within the terms of such Act (which provides for the apprehension, restraint, and removal of alien enemies) any or all other aliens within the United States as the President may designate. Authorizes the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to obtain (after submitting a written request) from a wire or electronic communications service provider subscriber information regarding a person or entity which is relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation, where information available to the FBI indicates that there is reason to believe that communications facilities registered in the name of such person or entity have been used, through the services of such provider, in communication with a foreign agent or power. Establishes penalties for the disclosure by such a provider, or an officer, employee, or agent of such provider, that the FBI has sought or obtained access to such information. Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to require a consumer reporting agency to furnish a consumer report or other information requested in connection with an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation to the FBI under specified conditions. Makes it a misdemeanor for such agency, or an officer, employee, or agent of such institution, to disclose to any person that the FBI has sought or obtained a consumer report or identifying information respecting any consumer. Authorizes: (1) interceptions of communications (subject to approval by the appropriate Federal judge) under specified Federal provisions, such as where such interception may provide evidence related to terrorist acts abroad, use of weapons of mass destruction, and violence at airports; (2) participation of foreign and State government personnel in interceptions; and (3) disclosure of intercepted communications, under specified circumstances, to foreign law enforcement officials. Extends the statute of limitations for specified terrorism offenses. Title VIII: Sexual Violence and Child Abuse - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to allow evidence of similar offenses in criminal or civil sexual assault and child molestation cases. Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide for increased penalties for distribution of a controlled substance to a woman while she is pregnant. Amends Federal criminal code provisions relating to sexual abuse to double the maximum imprisonment for violation of such provisions after a prior conviction under Federal or State law for such an offense. Adds to such provisions a special definition of "sexual act" applicable to individuals under the age of 16. Authorizes the court to order the payment of restitution for victims of sex offenses. Amends the Federal criminal code to require that a person charged with an offense under provisions relating to sexual abuse be tested for the human immunodeficiency virus: (1) before release pending trial; and (2) six months and twelve months after the initial test. Requires results to be provided to the judicial officer or court and disclosed only to the victim, the attorney for the Government, and the person tested. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to enhance the sentence guidelines if the offender had reason to know that he was infected, except where the offender did not engage or attempt to engage in conduct creating a risk of transmission. Amends the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 to require a Governmental department or agency to pay for up to two tests for a sexual assault victim in the twelve months following the assault. Title IX: Drug Testing - Requires: (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a program of drug testing of criminal defendants on post-conviction release; and (2) the chief probation officer in each district to arrange for the drug testing of such defendants. Requires, as an explicit condition of probation, parole, or supervised release of a defendant involving a felony or a specified violent or drug offense, that the defendant refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and submit to periodic drug tests. Sets limitations on the authority to require such tests and to take action against a defendant based on test results. Requires the revocation of probation, supervised release, or parole if a prisoner unlawfully uses a controlled substance or refuses to cooperate in drug testing imposed as a condition of such probation, supervised release, or parole. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to condition State eligibility for justice system improvement grants on State implementation of a drug testing program for targeted classes of persons subject to charges, confinement, or supervision in the criminal justice systems of such State. Specifies that: (1) such program must meet criteria specified by the Attorney General; and (2) no State shall be required to expend an amount for drug testing in excess of ten percent of the minimum amount which such State is eligible to receive under such Act. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations to implement such requirements which: (1) incorporate scientific and technical standards determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure reliability and accuracy of drug test results; and (2) include such other guidelines for drug testing programs in State criminal justice systems as the Attorney General determines are appropriate, as well as provisions by which a State may apply for a waiver of such requirements on the grounds that compliance would impose excessive financial or other burdens on such State or would otherwise be impractical or contrary to State policy. Title X: Equal Justice Act - Equal Justice Act - Requires that: (1) the death penalty and all other penalties be administered by the United States and by every State without regard to the race or color of the defendant or victim; and (2) neither the United States nor any State prescribe any racial quota or statistical test for the imposition or execution of the death penalty or any other penalty. Directs that, in a criminal trial in any Federal or State court, on motion of the defense attorney or prosecutor: (1) the risk of racial prejudice or bias be examined on voir dire if there is a substantial likelihood in the circumstances of the case that such prejudice or bias will affect the jury either against or in favor of the defendant; and (2) a change of venue be granted if an impartial jury cannot be obtained in the original venue because of racial prejudice or bias. Bars the prosecutor or the defense attorney from making any appeal to racial prejudice or bias in statements before the jury. Requires: (1) the judge in a Federal capital case before a jury to instruct the jury not to be influenced by prejudice or bias relating to the race or color of the defendant or victim in considering whether a sentence of death is justified, and that the jury is not to recommend the imposition of such sentence unless it has concluded that it would recommend the same sentence for such crime regardless of the race or color of the defendant or victim; and (2) the jury, upon the return of a recommendation of a sentence of death, to also return a certificate, signed by each juror, that the juror's individual decision was not affected by prejudice or bias relating to the race or color of the defendant or victim and that the individual juror would have made the same recommendation regardless of the race or color of the defendant or victim. Makes the fact that the killing of a victim was motivated by racial prejudice or bias an aggravating factor whose existence permits consideration of the death penalty, in a prosecution for an offense against the United States for which a sentence of death is authorized. Authorizes imposition of the death penalty for violation of specified civil rights provisions, if death results. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize drug control and system improvement grants to States to provide in all appropriate cases, particularly in collateral and other post-conviction proceedings, adequate resources and expertise to ensure that the death penalty is expeditiously carried out. Amends specified civil rights provisions to cover conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law, of any person (currently, inhabitant of) a State, territory, or district. Title XI: Victims' Rights - Authorizes the court: (1) to require the defendant to reimburse the victim for necessary child care, transportation, and other expenses related to participation in the investigation or prosecution of, or attendance or proceedings related to, the offense; and (2) if the defendant is delinquent in making restitution pursuant to an established payment schedule, after a hearing, to suspend the defendant's eligibility for all Federal benefits until such time as the defendant demonstrates to the court good-faith efforts to return to such schedule. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to authorize the court: (1) before imposing sentence for a crime of violence or sexual abuse, to address the victim personally if the victim is present at the sentencing hearing and determine if the victim wishes to make a statement and present any information in relation to the sentence; and (2) upon a motion that is filed jointly by the defendant and the attorney for the Government, to hear in camera such a statement by the victim.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 1991
Lumbee Recognition Act - Extends Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina. Authorizes any group of Indians in Robeson or adjoining counties, North Carolina, whose members are not enrolled in the Tribe to petition under specified provisions of the Code of Federal Regulations for acknowledgment of tribal existence. Makes the Tribe and its members eligible for all services and benefits provided to Indians because of their status as federally recognized Indians, except that members of the Tribe shall not be entitled to such services until funds have been appropriated for such purposes. Deems members of the Tribe residing in Robeson and adjoining counties to be resident on or near an Indian reservation for purposes of the delivery of such services. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) and the Secretary of Health and Human Services: (1) upon verification of a tribal roll, to develop a determination of needs and a budget required to provide services to eligible members of the Tribe; and (2) to submit a written statement of such needs and budget with the first budget request submitted to the Congress after the fiscal year in which the tribal roll is verified. Authorizes the Tribe to plan and administer programs under Federal provisions pursuant to an annual written funding agreement between the Tribe and the Secretaries (in lieu of authority provided under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) specifying: (1) the services to be provided, and procedures for modifying budget allocations, within any fiscal year; and (2) the responsibility of the Secretary for, and procedure to be used in, auditing the expenditures of the Tribe. Directs the Lumbee Tribe to organize for its common welfare and to adopt a constitution and bylaws. Directs the Secretary to assist the Tribe in the drafting of a constitution and bylaws, the conduct of an election with respect to such constitution, and the reorganization of the Government of the Tribe under any such constitution and bylaws. Declares that, until the Tribe adopts a constitution, the membership of the Tribe shall consist (with certain exceptions and subject to review by the Secretary) of every individual who is named in the tribal membership roll that is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. Requires the State of North Carolina to exercise jurisdiction over all criminal offenses committed, and all civil actions that arise, on specified tribal lands in North Carolina. Makes such Tribe eligible for certain agricultural loans to acquire land within reservations with respect to lands within the exterior boundaries of Robeson and adjoining counties, North Carolina. Authorizes appropriations, but requires submission of proposals by the Tribe to specified congressional committees prior to any expenditure of such funds by the Tribe.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1991
Violent Crime Control Act of 1991 - Title I: Safer Streets and Neighborhoods Act - Safer Streets and Neighborhoods Act of 1991 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1991 (Omnibus Act) to: (1) authorize appropriations ($1,000,000,000 for FY 1992 and such sums as necessary in FY 1993 and 1994) for grants to State and local law enforcement agencies; and (2) continue the Federal-State funding formula for such agencies for FY 1992. Title II: Death Penalty - Federal Death Penalty Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, of its intention to seek the death penalty and of the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Includes as threshold aggravating factors for homicide that the defendant: (1) intentionally killed the victim; (2) intentionally inflicted serious bodily injury which resulted in the death of the victim; (3) intentionally participated in an act, contemplating that the life of a person would be taken, and the victim died as a direct result of the act; (4) attempted to kill the President of the United States; or (5) intentionally engaged in an act constituting reckless disregard for human life, knowing that the act created a grave risk of death to someone other than the participants, and the victim died as a direct result of the act. Sets forth special aggravating factors with respect to the crimes of treason, espionage, homicide, and attempted murder of the President. States that no person who was less than 18 years of age at the time of the offense may be sentenced to death. Prohibits the execution of mentally retarded persons or pregnant women. Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified based on consideration of both the aggravating and mitigating factors. Requires the court to instruct the jury: (1) not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant or any victim in its consideration of the sentence; and (2) that it is not required to return a death sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the Court of Appeals to review the record, address all substantive and procedural issues raised on appeal, and consider whether such sentence was imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor whether the evidence supports the special finding of the existence of the required aggravating factor. Specifies that whenever such court finds that the sentence was imposed under such influence, the admissible evidence adduced does not support such special finding, or other legal error requires reversal of the sentence, the court shall remand the case for reconsideration or impose a sentence other than death (and, in any other case, remand for reconsideration). Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Prohibits requiring any employee of any State department of corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or any provider of services under contract to participate in any execution if participation is contrary to his or her moral or religious convictions. Bars the imposition of a death sentence for a death-eligible offense committed in Indian country unless the Indian tribe having criminal jurisdiction over land and persons subject to such jurisdiction has elected to have this title apply in such cases. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for: (1) murders committed by prisoners in Federal correctional institutions; (2) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (3) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (4) murder for hire; (5) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (6) engaging in a criminal enterprise activity which results in death; and (7) other specified offenses, including civil rights murders and certain murders involving damage to religious property or obstruction of persons in the free exercise of religious beliefs. Racial Justice Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to prohibit the imposition or execution of sentences of death under color of State or Federal law in a racially discriminatory pattern. Specifies that to establish such a pattern: (1) ordinary methods of statistical proof shall suffice; and (2) it shall not be necessary to show discriminatory intent on the part of any individual or institution. Specifies that: (1) to establish a prima facie showing of a racially discriminatory pattern it shall suffice that death sentences are being imposed or executed upon persons of one race with a frequency disproportionate to their representation among the number of persons arrested for, charged with, or convicted of death-eligible crimes, or as punishment for crimes against persons of one race with a frequency that is disproportionate to their representation among persons against whom death-eligible crimes have been committed; and (2) to rebut such a showing, a State or Federal entity must establish by clear and convincing evidence that identifiable and pertinent nonracial factors persuasively explain the observable racial disparities comprising the pattern. Requires any State or Federal entity that provides for the death penalty to designate a central agency to collect and maintain pertinent data on the charging, disposition, and sentencing patterns for all cases of death-eligible crimes. Directs each such entity to: (1) monitor compliance by local officials and agencies; (2) devise and distribute to every local official or agency responsible for the investigation or prosecution of death-eligible crimes a standard form to collect pertinent data; (3) maintain, compile, and index such forms and data and make them available to the public; (4) maintain a centralized, alphabetically indexed file of all police and investigative reports transmitted to it by local officials or agencies in every case of death-eligible crime; and (5) allow access to its file of police and investigative reports to the counsel of record for persons charged with death-eligible crimes. Requires each local official responsible for the investigation or prosecution of death-eligible crimes to: (1) complete such form on every case of death-eligible crime; (2) transmit such form to the central agency within three months after disposition of each such case; and (3) transmit to such agency a copy of all police and investigative reports made in connection with each case of death-eligible crime. Requires such data to include, at a minimum: (1) pertinent demographic information on all persons charged with the crime and all victims (including race, sex, age, and national origin); (2) information on the principal features of the crime; (3) information on the aggravating and mitigating factors of the crime, including the background and character of every person charged with the crime; and (4) a narrative summary of the crime. Requires the court to appoint counsel for those financially unable to retain counsel and to furnish investigative, expert, or other services as necessary for the development of the claim of any such person, subject to certain limitations. Specifies that no determination on the merits of a factual issue made by a State court pertinent to any claim under this Act shall be presumed to be correct unless: (1) the State is in compliance with the provisions of this Act; (2) the determination was made in a proceeding in a State court in which the person asserting the claim was afforded rights to counsel and to the furnishing of investigative, expert, and other such services which were substantially equivalent to those provided in this Act; and (3) the determination is one which is otherwise entitled to be presumed correct under the criteria specified under Federal habeas corpus provisions. Title III: Death Penalty for Murder of Law Enforcement Officer Act - Authorizes the death penalty for the murder of: (1) Federal law enforcement officials; and (2) State law enforcement officers working with Federal agents. Title IV: Death Penalty for Drug Criminals Act - Death Penalty for Drug Criminals Act of 1991 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to authorize the death penalty for first degree murders committed in the course of: (1) drug distribution conspiracies; (2) drug import and export conspiracies; (3) drug distribution to minors, near schools, or while employing minors; and (4) the export, import, or distribution of major quantities of drugs. Title V: Prevention and Punishment of Terrorist Acts - Comprehensive Counter-Terrorism Act of 1991 - Subtitle A: Punishing Domestic and International Terrorist Acts - Part I: Terrorist Death Penalty Act of 1991 - Terrorist Death Penalty Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) make it a Federal offense, punishable by up to life imprisonment, to commit terrorist acts against U.S. nationals abroad; and (2) authorize the imposition of the death penalty where terrorist acts against U.S. nationals result in first degree murder. Part II: Terrorist Acts Committed in the United States - Authorizes the imposition of the death penalty for domestic terrorist acts that involve an individual acting as an agent of a foreign power and that result in first degree murder, and up to life imprisonment for acts that result in death that does not constitute first degree murder. Sets forth penalties for attempts or conspiracy to kill (up to life imprisonment) and for engaging in physical violence that results in serious bodily injury (up to ten years' imprisonment, a fine, or both). Specifies that, for purposes of this Act, a person possesses an intent to commit a terrorist act if such person intends to: (1) intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (2) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (3) affect the conduct of a government by assassination, kidnapping, or other violent act. Part III: Increasing Penalties for International Terrorist Acts - Increases the penalties for terrorist acts committed against U.S. nationals abroad. Subtitle B: Preventing Domestic and International Terrorist Acts - Part I: Attacking the Infrastructure of Terrorist Organizations - Makes it a Federal criminal offense for an individual, acting as an agent of a foreign power, to provide material support or resources (including currency, securities, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, personnel, and other physical assets), or to conceal or disguise the nature, location, source, or ownership of such support or resources, knowing that such resources or support are intended to be used to commit a terrorist act. Provides for the civil and criminal seizure and forfeiture of any real or personal property used to commit, or facilitate the commission of, terrorist acts. Part II: Electronic Communications - Expresses the sense of the Congress that providers of electronic communications services and manufacturers of electronic communications service equipment should ensure that communications systems permit the Government to obtain the plain text contents of voice, data, and other communications when appropriately authorized by law. Part III: Cooperation of Witnesses in Terrorist Investigations - Alien Witness Cooperation Act of 1991 - Authorizes the Attorney General to waive immigration admission, and other legal, requirements and grant permanent resident status for alien witnesses who cooperate with the Government in Federal or State prosecutions. Bars the granting of such status to an alien who would be excluded because of felony convictions unless the Attorney General determines that the granting of such status to such alien is necessary in the interests of justice and comports with the safety of the community. Limits the number of aliens and members of their immediate families entering the United States under such authority to 100 persons in any single fiscal year. Makes the decision to grant or deny permanent resident status under this Act at the discretion of the Attorney General and not subject to judicial review. Subtitle C: Preventing Aviation Terrorism - Makes the willful violation of certain Federal Aviation Administration regulations relating to airport and airline security punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. Subtitle D: Preventing Economic Terrorism - Makes it a Federal criminal offense to counterfeit, or to make, deal, or possess any plate or other item used in the counterfeiting of, U.S. securities abroad. Establishes an Economic Terrorism Task Force to: (1) assess the threat of terrorist actions directed against the U.S. economy and the adequacy of existing policies and procedures designed to prevent such actions; and (2) recommend administrative and legislative responses to prevent such actions. Sets forth provisions: (1) regarding the makeup of such Task Force; (2) making provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act inapplicable to such Task Force; and (3) establishing reporting requirements. Specifies that if the report of the Task Force is classified, an unclassified version shall be prepared for public distribution. Subtitle E: Authorizations to Expand Counter-Terrorist Operations by Federal Agencies - Authorizes appropriations for counter-terrorist operations and programs. Title VI: Drive-By-Shooting Act - Drive-By-Shooting Prevention Act of 1991 - Sets penalties for any individual who, in furtherance or to escape detection of a major drug offense, with intent to intimidate, harass, injure, or maim, fires a weapon into a group of two or more people causing: (1) grave risk to human life (subject to a fine, up to 25 years' imprisonment, or both); and (2) death of one of those persons (including a sentence of death or life imprisonment without release). Title VII: Assault Weapons - Antidrug, Assault Weapons Limitation Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer, importation, receipt, or possession of any assault weapon, except: (1) by the Federal, State, or local government; and (2) with respect to weapons lawfully possessed before enactment of this Act. Specifies firearms to be included as assault weapons. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to recommend to the Congress the addition or deletion of firearms to be designated as assault weapons. Increases the length of imprisonment for an individual who uses or carries an assault weapon during and in relation to the commission of a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime. Prohibits the sale, shipment, or delivery (or purchase, possession, or acceptance of delivery) of an assault weapon to (or by) any person who does not fill out a specified form. Establishes recordkeeping requirements. Directs the Secretary to prescribe regulations for the request and delivery of such form. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) investigate and study the effect of this title on violent and drug trafficking crime; and (2) submit to the Senate a report on its findings. Specifies the effective period of this title. Title VIII: Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act - Police Corps and Law Enforcement Training and Education Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) an Office of the Police Corps and Law Enforcement Education to be headed by a Director. Requires a State that desires to participate in the Police Corps program or the Law Enforcement Scholarship program to designate a lead agency and submit a State plan containing assurances with respect to: (1) lead agency cooperation with other State and local agencies; (2) the State advertising of the assistance available; (3) State screening and selection of law enforcement personnel for participation in the program; and (4) compliance with other specified requirements. Subtitle A: Police Corps Program - Authorizes the Director to award scholarships (including direct payments to institutions and reimbursement of educational costs) to participants who agree to work for four years in a State or local police force after completion of a baccalaureate program and police corps training, subject to specified conditions. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) scholarship assistance for dependent children of law enforcement officers; (2) the selection of participants; (3) minority recruitment; and (4) leaves of absence. Requires the Director to establish up to three training centers to provide basic law enforcement training to State Police Corps program participants. Requires participants to attend two eight-week training sessions at such training centers and to meet certain performance standards in order to remain in the Police Corps program. Requires the Director to pay participants a weekly stipend during training. Requires a State, in order to participate in the Police Corps program, to submit a plan for implementing such program to the Director for approval. Requires such plan to: (1) include assurances that participants will receive additional State or local training after completing Federal training which shall count toward the four-year service obligation; and (2) provide that program participants shall be assigned to community and preventive patrol in geographic areas with the greatest need for additional law enforcement personnel. Provides for the swearing in of participants as members of the police force to which they are assigned after completing Federal training and meeting the requirements of that police force. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Law Enforcement Scholarship Program - Directs each State to pay from funds under this Act the Federal share (not more than 60 percent) of the cost of awarding scholarships to in-service law enforcement personnel for further education. Sets forth State plan requirements, including identifying model curricula and existing programs and providing assurances that the State will promote cooperative agreements to enhance law enforcement personnel recruitment efforts in high schools and community colleges. Sets forth application requirements. Grants priority in awarding scholarships to members of underrepresented groups and to those pursuing an undergraduate degree. Requires each individual awarded a scholarship to work in a law enforcement position in the State which made the award for a period of one month for each credit hour of financial assistance (with a six-month minimum and two-year maximum). Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle C: Reports - Sets forth provisions requiring: (1) annual reports by the Director to the Attorney General, the President, and specified Members of Congress; and (2) a special report by the Attorney General to the Congress on a plan to expand scholarship assistance to eligible Federal law enforcement officers. Title IX: Federal Law Enforcement Agencies - Federal Law Enforcement Act of 1991 - Authorizes appropriations for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, U.S. courts, and defender services. Title X: Habeas Corpus Reform Act - Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Applies such procedures to Federal habeas corpus cases brought by prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. Makes the applicability to such procedures contingent upon a State establishing a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable fees and litigation expenses of competent counsel consistent with this Act. Sets forth procedures for the appointment of counsel or for allowing a prisoner to proceed pro se. Provides for a mandatory stay of execution during the post-conviction review initiated pursuant to this Act. Details conditions which will cause such stay to expire. Prohibits a Federal court, if one of such conditions has occurred, from entering a stay of execution or granting relief in a capital case unless: (1) the basis for the stay and request for relief is a claim not previously presented by the prisoner in the State or Federal courts, and the failure to raise the claim is the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of United States, is the result of Supreme Court recognition of a new Federal right that is retroactively applicable, or is based on a factual predicate that could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence; (2) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the jury's determination of guilt on the offense for which the death penalty was imposed; or (3) a stay and consideration of the requested relief are necessary to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Imposes time limits on filing for habeas corpus relief. Requires such time limits to be tolled under specified conditions. Requires the district court, upon the development of a complete evidentiary record, to rule on the merits of the claims properly before it. Authorizes a district court to refuse to consider a claim under this Act if: (1) the prisoner previously failed to raise the claim in State court at the time and in the manner prescribed by State law; (2) the State courts, for that reason, refused or would refuse to entertain the claim; and (3) such refusal would constitute an adequate and independent State law ground that would foreclose direct review of the State court judgment in the U.S. Supreme Court. Provides an exception to such authorization. Makes the requirement for a certificate of probable cause inapplicable, with an exception. States that a mechanism for the provision of counsel services to indigents sufficient to invoke the provisions of this Act shall provide for counsel to indigents: (1) charged with offenses for which capital punishment is sought; (2) who have been sentenced to death and who seek appellate or collateral review in State court; and (3) who have been sentenced to death and who seek certiorari review in the U.S. Supreme Court. Prescribes minimum qualifications for appointed counsel. Authorizes payment of fees and expenses for investigative, expert, or other services reasonably necessary for the representation of the defendant. Allows the court to fix the compensation to be paid to an attorney appointed under this Act. Specifies which law is applicable in Federal habeas corpus proceedings. Title XI: Punishment of Gun Criminals - Gun Criminals Punishment Act of 1991 - Requires that any individual who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime, discharges a firearm that kills another person, with intent to kill, be sentenced to death or life imprisonment without release. Increases penalties to be imposed in addition to penalties provided for a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime for carrying, possessing, or discharging a firearm during and in relation to such crime to up to ten years for any firearm and ten to 15 years for an assault weapon. Requires an individual to be sentenced to life imprisonment for a second conviction of such an offense if the firearm is an assault weapon. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to promulgate, or amend existing, guidelines to provide for a sentencing enhancement in accord with such provisions. Establishes penalties for possessing (current law covers only using and carrying) an explosive during the commission of a felony. Provides for 20 years imprisonment for using, carrying, or possessing an explosive, in the case of a second or subsequent conviction. Increases (from five to ten years) the term of imprisonment for knowingly making a false, material statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer. Sets penalties for: (1) knowingly failing to acquire the proper form or its equivalent with respect to the transfer, transport, receipt, or possession of an assault weapon; and (2) theft of explosive materials. Bars the sale of firearms and explosives to, or possession of firearms and explosives by, persons convicted of a violent or serious drug misdemeanor. Permits a judicial officer to consider pretrial detention of a defendant for certain firearms and explosives offenses. Amends provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to the disposal of forfeited firearms to authorize public sale to a licensed dealer, under specified conditions. Title XII: Prison for Violent Drug Offenders - Authorizes appropriations for the construction, and operation for one year, of ten regional prisons. Sets forth provisions with respect to the location and population of such prisons, prisoner eligibility (State and Federal prisoners with release dates of not more than two years from the date of assignment to the prison who have long-term drug abuse problems and serious criminal histories, and who agree to the assignment), State responsibilities, and the powers of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (e.g., to return any prisoner not complying with program requirements and conditions). Requires any State seeking to refer a State prisoner to a regional prison to submit to such Director an aftercare plan setting forth the provisions that the State will make for the continued treatment of the prisoner in a therapeutic community following release and providing for vocational job training where appropriate. Title XIII: Boot Camps - Directs the Attorney General, within one year, to establish within the Bureau of Prisons ten military-style boot camp prisons. Sets forth provisions with respect to prison capacity, proportion of State to Federal prisoners, and eligibility requirements. Authorizes appropriations. Title XIV: Youth Violence Act - Subtitle A: Increasing Penalties for Employing Children to Distribute Drugs Near Schools and Playgrounds - Amends the CSA to increase the penalty for employing, using, inducing, or coercing individuals under age 18 to violate provisions of such Act, or to assist in avoiding detection or apprehension for certain offenses under such Act by Federal, State, or local law enforcement officials. Subtitle B: Antigang Grants - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to authorize the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to make grants to States and units of general local government to assist them in planning, coordinating, and evaluating projects to reduce the formation or continuation of juvenile gangs and the use and sale of illegal drugs by juveniles. Specifies the allocation (50-50) of funds available to each State for juvenile drug supply and drug demand reduction programs. Directs the Administrator to give priority to programs aimed at juvenile involvement in organized gang- and drug-related activities. Authorizes appropriations. Sets forth provisions with respect to application, and review and approval, procedures. Subtitle C: Juvenile Penalties - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) add certain firearms offenses to the offenses over which the United States has juvenile delinquency jurisdiction; and (2) provide for the treatment of violent juveniles who commit firearms offenses as adults under certain circumstances. Specifies factors to be considered in transferring a juvenile to adult status. Classifies as serious drug offenses for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 serious drug offenses committed by juveniles. Title XV: Rural Crime and Drug Control Act - Subtitle A: Fighting Drug Trafficking in Rural Areas - Amends the Omnibus Act to authorize appropriations, and increase the base allocation, for rural drug enforcement assistance. Directs the Attorney General to establish a Rural Drug Enforcement Task Force in each of the Federal judicial districts which encompass significant rural lands. Specifies the membership of such task forces. Directs the Attorney General to cross-designate up to 100 Federal officers with jurisdiction to enforce CSA provisions on non-Federal lands to the extent necessary to effect the purposes of this title. Requires the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to develop a specialized course of instruction devoted to training law enforcement officers from rural agencies in the investigation of drug trafficking and related crimes. Authorizes appropriations. Subtitle B: Increasing Penalties for Certain Drug Trafficking Offenses - Ice Enforcement Act of 1991 - Amends the CSA to increase penalties for specified offenses involving crystalline methamphetamine. Subtitle C: Rural Drug Prevention and Treatment - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Office for Treatment Improvement to establish a program to provide grants to hospitals, community health centers, and other appropriate entities that serve nonmetropolitan areas to assist in developing and implementing projects that provide, or expand the availability of, substance abuse treatment services. Authorizes appropriations. Requires the alcohol and drug abuse information clearinghouse required to be established under the Public Health Service Act to: (1) gather information pertaining to the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Administration and other rural drug abuse treatment and education projects operating throughout the United States; and (2) disseminate information to rural hospitals, community health centers, community mental health centers, treatment facilities, community organizations, and other interested individuals. Subtitle D: Rural Land Recovery Act - Specifies that each of the Rural Drug Enforcement Task Forces shall include one Director of Rural Land Recovery. Requires that assets seized from rural clandestine methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs laboratory operations and their operators be used primarily to fund the decontamination of the property and immediate environment chemically fouled by such operations or operators (and any remaining assets used to decontaminate other such sites throughout the jurisdiction of the task force). Directs State and Federal prosecutors, when bringing charges against the operators of such laboratories, to include, in addition to drug-related charges, counts involving infringements of applicable environmental protection laws, including illegal disposal of hazardous waste and knowing endangerment of the environment. Authorizes such prosecutors and private citizens to bring suit against the operators of such laboratories for environmental and health-related damages caused by the operators in their manufacture of illicit substances. Title XVI: Drug Emergency Areas Act of 1991 - Drug Emergency Areas Act of 1991 - Amends the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 to replace language with respect to the designation of high intensity drug trafficking areas with provisions authorizing the President to declare a State or part of a State to be a drug emergency area. Requires requests for such a declaration to be made, in writing, by the Governor or chief executive officer of any affected State or local government and forwarded to the President through the Director of National Drug Control Policy. Allows cities, counties, or States to submit a joint request. Requires requests to be based on a written finding that the emergency is of such severity and magnitude that Federal assistance is necessary to ensure an effective response. Prohibits the President from limiting declarations made under this Act to highly-populated centers of drug trafficking, drug use, or drug-related violence. Requires the President to consider applications from governments of less populated areas where the magnitude and severity of such activities are beyond the capability of the State or local government to respond. Requires Governors or chief executive officers, as part of such requests and as a prerequisite to such assistance, to: (1) take appropriate action under State or local law to respond to the crisis and furnish information on the nature and amount of State and local resources which have been or will be committed to alleviating the emergency; (2) certify that State and local government obligations and expenditures will comply with all applicable cost-sharing requirements; and (3) submit a detailed plan outlining the State or local government's short- and long-term plans to respond to the emergency. Requires the Director to review requests submitted and forward the application to the President, along with a recommendation. Authorizes the President to make grants to State or local governments of up to $50,000,000 for any single emergency. Limits the Federal share to 75 percent of the costs necessary to implement the short- and long-term plan. Limits the duration of assistance to a drug disaster area to one year, after the Governors or chief executive officers may apply for an extension of up to 180 days. Requires any State or local government receiving Federal assistance to balance the allocation of such assistance evenly between drug supply and demand reduction efforts, unless State or local conditions dictate otherwise. Authorizes the President to: (1) direct any Federal agency to utilize its authorities and resources to support State and local efforts; and (2) provide technical and advisory assistance. Title XVII: Drunk Driving Child Protection Act - Drunk Driving Child Protection Act of 1991 - Amends the Assimilative Crimes Statute to require the imposition of a Federal penalty (if not already imposed by a State) of one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine in addition to any term of imprisonment under State law for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol if a non-driving minor was present in the vehicle at the time of the offense. Amends the common carrier provisions of the Federal criminal code to increase the penalty for operating a common carrier under the influence of drugs or alcohol if a non-driving minor is present in the vehicle by up to one year's imprisonment and an additional $1,000 fine. Title XVIII: Commission on Crime and Violence - Establishes the National Commission on Crime and Violence in America to: (1) develop a comprehensive crime control plan to serve as a blueprint for action in the 1990s; (2) bring attention to successful models and programs; (3) reach beyond the traditional criminal justice community for ideas; and (4) recommend improvements in local, State, and Federal coordination. Sets forth the composition of the Commission, its responsibilities, administrative provisions, reporting requirements, and its termination date. Title XIX: Protection of Crime Victims - Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1991 - Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984, as amended, to eliminate the cap on the crime victims fund. Requires all Federal law enforcement agencies to make their best efforts to accord victims of crime with the right to: (1) be treated with fairness and respect for the victim's dignity and privacy; (2) be protected against their accused offenders; (3) be notified of court proceedings; (4) attend public court proceedings related to the offense under certain conditions; (5) confer with the Government attorney assigned to the case; (6) receive restitution; and (7) receive information about the conviction, sentencing, imprisonment, and release of the offender. Directs Federal law enforcement agency heads to designate the persons required by this Act to identify and provide certain services to the victims of a crime such as informing victims about where to receive medical care, counseling, and police protection and about developments during the investigation and prosecution of the crime and after the trial (such as the arrest of a suspected offender or an escape of a convicted offender). Directs the Attorney General or the head of another department or agency that conducts an investigation of a sexual assault to pay, either directly or by reimbursement, the cost of a physical examination of the victim which an investigating officer determines was necessary or useful for evidentiary purposes. Directs that a responsible official provide the victim with general information regarding the corrections process, including information about work release, furlough, and probation. Requires (current law authorizes) the court to order restitution payments for specified violations of the Federal criminal code and the Federal Aviation Act of 1958. Authorizes the court, in addition to ordering restitution of the victim of the offense of which a defendant is convicted, to order restitution of persons harmed physically, emotionally, or pecuniarily by defendant's unlawful conduct during which the offense occurred or during the course of a scheme, conspiracy, or pattern of unlawful activity related to the offense. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to determination of amounts owed to the victim, set-offs, enforcement of restitution orders, and procedures for issuing such orders. Amends the Federal Bankruptcy code to make an exception to a discharge in bankruptcy to the extent that the debt arises from a proceeding brought by a governmental unit to recover a civil or criminal restitution, or to the extent that such debt arises from an agreed judgment or other agreement by the debtor to pay money or transfer property in settlement of such an action by a governmental unit. Title XX: Crack House Eviction Act - Amends the CSA to authorize: (1) the Attorney General to bring a civil action against violators of prohibitions against maintaining places for the manufacture, distribution, or use of controlled substances; and (2) the court to assess a civil penalty of up to $100,000 and grant such other relief, including injunctions and evictions, as appropriate. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) aggressively pursue the use of criminal penalties, civil injunctions, forfeiture sanctions, and other remedies against drug offenders; and (2) report annually to the Congress on the manner and extent to which such remedies are being used and their effect in curtailing drug trafficking. Title XXI: Organized Crime and Dangerous Drugs Division - Subtitle A: Establishment of an Organized Crime and Dangerous Drugs Division in the Department of Justice - Justice Department Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Enhancement Act of 1991 - Establishes within DOJ the Organized Crime and Dangerous Drugs Division, consisting initially of specified offices within the Criminal Division of DOJ and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program. Transfers to such Division all functions, personnel, and available funds of such offices and program. Requires such Division to be headed by an Assistant Attorney General for the Organized Crime and Dangerous Drug Division and a Deputy Assistant. Establishes within such Division such sections and offices as the Attorney General deems appropriate to maintain or increase the level of enforcement activities with respect to criminal racketeering, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, asset forfeiture, international crime, and civil enforcement. Directs the Attorney General to establish at least 20 field offices of the Division to be known as Organized Crime and Dangerous Drug Strike Forces. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to coordination of field activities and the transfer of staff assigned to the Task Forces to the Division (designated the Criminal Narcotics Section). Specifies that the agents assigned to the Strike Forces shall be dedicated exclusively to, and located with, the Strike Forces and shall be given credit for the work of the Strike Forces. Requires the Assistant Attorney General for Organized Crime and Dangerous Drugs to report to the Congress on the areas of the United States that may require increased assistance from DOJ through the establishment of additional strike forces. Authorizes appropriations for salaries and expenses of the Division for FY 1992, subject to certain limitations. Subtitle B: International Prosecution Teams - Requires the Division to include at least ten International Drug Enforcement Teams: (1) devoted exclusively to investigating, prosecuting, and supporting the investigation and prosecution of international drug cases; and (2) responsible for developing expertise in handling civil and criminal cases involving extradition, money laundering, drug-related corruption, and other complex cases relating to international drug trafficking. Specifies relationships of team members and goals, including improved coordination and cooperation between the United States and foreign countries in the suppression of international money laundering and narcotics trafficking. Title XXII: Exclusionary Rule - Amends the Federal criminal code to bar the exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure that was in violation of the fourth amendment to the Constitution if the search or seizure was carried out in reasonable reliance on a warrant that was issued by a detached and neutral magistrate and that was ultimately found to be invalid, unless: (1) the judicial officer in issuing the warrant was materially misled by information in an affidavit that the affiant knew was false or would have known was false except for this reckless disregard of the truth; (2) the judicial officer provided approval of the warrant without exercising a neutral and detached review of the application for the warrant; (3) the warrant was based on an affidavit so lacking in indicia of probable cause as to render official belief in its existence entirely unreasonable; or (4) the warrant is so facially deficient that the executing officers could not reasonably presume it to be valid. Title XXIII: Drug Testing - Federal Prisoner Drug Testing Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to require, as a condition of probation, supervised release, or parole, that the defendant pass a drug test prior to the imposition of sentence, refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance, and submit to at least two periodic drug tests (as determined by the court) for use of a controlled substance. Specifies that no action may be taken against a defendant pursuant to such a drug test unless the test confirmation is a urine drug test confirmed using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry techniques or one determined to be of equivalent accuracy.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1991
Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Applies such procedures to Federal habeas corpus cases brought by prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. Makes the applicability to such procedures contingent upon a State establishing a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable fees and litigation expenses of competent counsel consistent with this Act. Provides for a mandatory stay of execution during the post-conviction review initiated pursuant to this Act. Details conditions which will cause such stay to expire. Prohibits a Federal court, if one of such conditions has occurred, from entering a stay of execution or granting relief in a capital case unless: (1) the basis for the stay and request for relief is a claim not previously presented by the prisoner in State or Federal courts, and the failure to raise the claim is the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, is the result of Supreme Court recognition of a new Federal right that is retroactively applicable, or is based on a factual predicate that could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence in time to present the claim for State or Federal post-conviction review; and (2) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the jury's determination of guilt on the offense for which the death penalty was imposed, or in the validity of the sentence of death. Imposes time limits on filing for habeas corpus relief. Requires such time limits to be tolled under specified conditions. Makes the requirement for a certificate of probable cause inapplicable, with an exception. States that a mechanism for the provision of counsel services to indigents sufficient to invoke the provisions of this Act shall provide for: (1) counsel to indigents charged with offenses for which capital punishment is sought, who have been sentenced to death and who seek appellate or collateral review in State court, and who have been sentenced to death and who seek certiorari review in the U.S. Supreme Court; and (2) the entry and filing of an order in an appropriate State court of record appointing one or more counsel to represent the prisoner except upon a judicial determination that the prisoner is not indigent or the prisoner knowingly and intelligently waives the appointment of counsel. Prescribes minimum qualifications for appointed counsel. Authorizes payment of fees and expenses for investigative, expert, or other services reasonably necessary for the representation of the defendant. Requires the court to fix the compensation to be paid to an attorney appointed under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1991
Comprehensive Violent Crime Control Act of 1991 - Title I: Death Penalty - Capital Punishment Procedures Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits evidence to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of creating unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, or misleading the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Sets forth special aggravating factors for: (1) espionage, treason, homicide, the attempted murder of the President; and (2) drug offenses punishable by the death penalty (such factors include previous serious drug felony convictions, use of a firearm in committing or furthering certain continuing criminal enterprises, use of minors in trafficking, and lethal adulteration of controlled substances). Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding of at least one aggravating and no mitigating factor, or one or more aggravating factors which outweigh any mitigating factors. States that no person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense may be sentenced to death. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of the defendant or victim in its consideration of the sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the court of appeals, upon consideration of the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor; (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors; and (3) the proceedings did not involve any other prejudicial error requiring reversal of the sentence that was properly preserved for and raised on appeal. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Sets forth procedures for the implementation of the sentence of death. Limits the circumstances under which the offense of delivering defense information to aid foreign governments is punishable by death. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for: (1) murder committed by prisoners in Federal prisons; (2) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (3) hostage takings which result in the death of any person; (4) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (5) murder for hire; (6) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (7) international terrorism (where the killing is a first-degree murder); (8) engaging in a criminal enterprise activity which results in death; (9) specified violations of the Controlled Substances Act, the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, and the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act; and (10) genocide. Increases the minimum sentence to life imprisonment for the crime of bank robbery which results in death. Provides for appointment of counsel in Federal cases where a defendant is charged with a crime with respect to which a sentence of death is sought and is or becomes financially unable to obtain adequate representation. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to: (1) representation before and after review of judgement; (2) standards for competence of counsel; and (3) claims of ineffectiveness of counsel. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) deadlines for collateral attacks on judgements imposing a sentence of death; and (2) stays of execution. Title II: Habeas Corpus Reform - Subtitle A: General Habeas Corpus Reform - Habeas Corpus Reform Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to establish a one-year statute of limitations for habeas corpus actions brought by State prisoners. Vests authority to issue certificates for probable cause for appeal of habeas corpus orders exclusively in the courts of appeals. Permits denial on the merits of habeas corpus writs notwithstanding the failure to exhaust State remedies. Prohibits the granting of a petition for habeas corpus with respect to any claim which has been fully and fairly adjudicated in State proceedings. Sets forth provisions with respect to the appointment of counsel. Subtitle B: Death Penalty Litigation Procedures - Death Penalty Litigation Procedures Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal judicial code to set forth special habeas corpus procedures in capital cases. Applies such procedures to Federal habeas corpus cases brought by prisoners in State custody who are subject to a capital sentence. Makes the applicability of such procedures contingent upon a State establishing a mechanism for the appointment, compensation, and payment of reasonable litigation expenses of competent counsel in State post-conviction proceedings brought by indigent prisoners whose capital convictions and sentences have been upheld on direct appeal to the court of last resort in the State or have otherwise become final for State law purposes. States that the rule of court on statutes establishing such mechanism must provide standards of competency for the appointment of such counsel. Directs that any such mechanism must offer counsel to all State prisoners under capital sentence and must provide for the entry of an order by a court of record: (1) appointing counsel to represent the prisoner upon a specified finding; (2) finding that the prisoner has rejected the offer of counsel and made the decision with an understanding of its legal consequences; or (3) denying the appointment of counsel upon a finding that the prisoner is not indigent. Provides for a mandatory stay of execution during the post-conviction review initiated pursuant to this Act. Details conditions which will cause such stay to expire. Prohibits a Federal court, if one of such conditions has occurred, from entering a stay of execution or granting relief in a capital case unless: (1) the basis for the stay and request for relief is a claim not previously presented in the State or Federal courts; (2) the failure to raise the claim was the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, was the result of a recognition by the Supreme Court of a new Federal right that is retroactively applicable, or is due to the fact that the claim is based on facts that could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence in time to present the claim for State or Federal post-conviction review; and (3) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the jury's determination of guilt on the offense for which the death penalty was imposed. Imposes time limits on filing for habeas corpus relief. Requires such time limits to be tolled under specified conditions. Requires the district court, upon the development of a complete evidentiary record, to rule on the merits of the claims properly before it. Makes the requirement for a certificate of probable cause inapplicable, with exceptions, where: (1) a second or successive petition is filed; and (2) certain requirements under a unitary review procedure (i.e., a State procedure that authorizes a person under sentence of death to raise, in the course of direct review of judgment, such claims as could be raised on collateral attack) are met. Sets forth time limits for determining petitions. Specifies that the adjudication of petitions or motions involving habeas corpus in capital cases shall be granted priority by the district court and court of appeals over all noncapital matters. Title III: Exclusionary Rule - Amends the Federal criminal code to bar the exclusion of evidence obtained as a result of a search or seizure carried out under circumstances justifying an objectively reasonable belief that it was in conformity with the fourth amendment. Specifies that: (1) Federal law does not require the exclusion of evidence in a proceeding in any court under circumstances in which the evidence would be admissible in a proceeding in a Federal court pursuant to this title; and (2) firearms seized by Federal law enforcement officers for use as evidence against a defendant who is being prosecuted for a crime of violence or serious drug offense, or who is ineligible to possess such firearm under the Federal criminal code, shall not be excluded in U.S. court proceedings on the ground that the search or seizure was in violation of the fourth amendment. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate rules and regulations relating to compliance by law enforcement officers of the Department of Justice with the fourth amendment, including: (1) the training of such officers in the law of search and seizure; (2) procedures and standards of conduct to be observed in carrying out searches and seizures; (3) procedures for reporting and investigating incidents involving possible violations of legal or administrative requirements relating to searches and seizures; (4) sanctions to be imposed when such violations are determined to have occurred; and (5) standards and procedures for settling claims for damages by victims of unlawful searches and seizures. Authorizes the head of any other Federal department or agency to promulgate rules and regulations relating to compliance with the fourth amendment by law enforcement officers of such department or agency. Directs the Attorney General, and any other Federal department or agency head that promulgates such rules or regulations, to: (1) establish a review board to consider all allegations of fourth amendment violations by law enforcement officers of such department or agency and to recommend or impose appropriate sanctions in cases where violations are determined to have occurred; and (2) report annually to the Congress concerning allegations and claims relating to search and seizure violations by law enforcement officers of such department or agency, the actions taken on such allegations and claims, and the bases for such actions. Authorizes charging such a review board with recommending the settlement of claims for damages by victims of unlawful searches and seizures. Specifies that evidence shall not be excluded on the ground that it was obtained in violation of a statute, an administrative rule or regulation, or a rule of procedure unless exclusion is expressly authorized by statute or by a rule prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority. Title IV: Firearms - Subtitle A: Firearms and Related Amendments - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit the transfer of firearms to non-residents of the State in which the transferor resides. Specifies that if a conviction was for a violent felony involving the threatened or actual use of a firearm or explosives, or was for a serious drug offense, such person shall be considered convicted for purposes of this Act irrespective of any pardon, setting aside, expunction, or restoration of civil rights. Permits the judicial officer to consider pretrial detention with respect to certain firearms and explosives offenses. Provides for enhanced penalties for: (1) the use of a semiautomatic firearm during a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense, with exceptions; and (2) possession of a firearm or explosive during the commission of such offenses. Sets forth penalties for smuggling firearms in aid of drug trafficking and for theft of firearms and explosives. Provides for the mandatory revocation of the supervised release of an individual for possession of a firearm. Increases penalties for: (1) making knowingly false, material statements in connection with the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer; and (2) a second offense of using an explosive to commit a Federal felony. Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to: (1) change from six to five years the statute of limitations for certain firearms offenses; and (2) provide for the summary forfeiture of unregistered National Firearms Act weapons, with provision for reimbursement for innocent owners. Makes it unlawful for felons and others to possess explosives. Authorizes the summary destruction of explosives subject to forfeiture under specified circumstances. Sets forth requirements for reimbursement of the value of destroyed property. Makes it unlawful to knowingly possess stolen firearms, ammunition, or explosives. Adds using a firearm in the commission of counterfeiting or forgery (current law specifies only "whoever, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime") among offenses which, if the offender uses or carries a firearm, will subject such person to an enhanced sentence. Provides for a mandatory five year penalty for firearms possession by violent felons and serious drug offenders. Modifies provisions regarding the reporting of multiple firearms sales to: (1) cover sales during any 30 consecutive days (currently, during any five consecutive business days); and (2) require each licensee to forward a copy of the report to the chief law enforcement officer of the place of residence of the unlicensed person not later than the close of business on the date that the multiple sale or disposition occurs. Subjects individuals who conspire to commit a firearms or explosives offense to the same penalties as those prescribed for the underlying offense. Provides for a fine or up to ten years imprisonment, or both, for stealing a firearm or explosive from specified individuals, such as a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer. Makes it unlawful for any person (current law specifies licensee) to distribute explosive materials to specified classes of individuals. Subtitle B: Prohibited Gun Clips and Magazines - Includes ammunition feeding devices (AFDs) within the definition of firearms for purposes of Federal firearms laws. Defines an AFD to include any detachable magazine, feed strip, or similar device which has a capacity of, or which can be readily converted to accept, more than 15 rounds of ammunition, with exceptions. Prohibits the importation, manufacture, transfer, receipt, or possession of AFDs, with exceptions. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to maintain a central registry of all such devices transferred after the effective date of this Act which, after such transfer, are not under the control of the United States or any State or political subdivision. Specifies that such registry shall include: (1) identification of the device; (2) date of registration; (3) identification and address of the person entitled to possess the device; and (4) such other information as may be required by regulations promulgated by the Secretary. Establishes additional registration procedures. Requires all AFDs to be identified by a serial number and such other identification as the Secretary may prescribe. Provides for criminal penalties for violation of provisions of this Act relative to AFDs. Authorizes specified individuals engaged in the manufacture or importation of AFDs requiring a license to continue to engage in such business pending final action on the application. Title V: Obstruction of Justice - Increases penalties for obstruction of justice offenses against court officers and jurors and for retaliatory killings of witnesses, victims, and informants. Includes State and local law enforcement officers assisting Federal officers or employees in the performance of their official duties within the scope of provisions setting penalties for individuals who kill or attempt to kill any U.S. judge, U.S. Attorney, or specified other classes of individuals. Title VI: Gangs and Juvenile Offenders - Requires that juveniles found guilty of specified serious crimes be fingerprinted and photographed and that such information and records of the adjudication be sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Authorizes reporting, retention, disclosure, and availability of juvenile records permitted under the law of the State in which a Federal juvenile proceeding takes place. Repeals provisions that authorize prejudgment probation for certain drug offenders convicted of possession of a controlled substance and require expungement of records for such offenders under 21 years of age at the time of the offense. Adds certain cocaine and drug conspiracy and attempt offenses committed by juveniles to the list of crimes authorizing prosecution as an adult if the Attorney General certifies that there is a substantial Federal interest in the case that justifies adult prosecution. Sets forth criteria for determining whether a juvenile should be prosecuted as an adult. Defines "serious drug offense" under the Federal criminal code to include any act of juvenile delinquency that if committed by an adult would be a serious drug offense under such provisions. Increases the penalty for: (1) interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises; and (2) conspiracy to commit murder for hire. Title VII: Terrorism - Subtitle A: Aviation Terrorism - Amends the Federal criminal code to set forth penalties for: (1) performing or attempting an act of violence against a person at an airport serving international civil aviation which causes or is likely to cause serious injury or death; (2) destroying or seriously damaging the facilities of, or a civil aircraft not in service at, such airport; or (3) disrupting the services of such airport, if such an act endangers or is likely to endanger safety. Amends the Federal Aviation Act to delete a limitation on the applicability of aircraft piracy provisions to situations where the place of takeoff or of actual landing of the aircraft on board which the offense is committed is situated outside the territory of the State of registration of such aircraft. Subtitle B: Maritime Terrorism - Act for the Prevention and Punishment of Violence Against Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish penalties for acts of violence against maritime navigation, such as seizing control of a ship by force, threat, or intimidation, performing acts of violence against persons on board a ship that are likely to endanger safe navigation, and destroying or seriously damaging maritime navigational facilities that are likely to endanger safe navigation. Sets forth analogous provisions with respect to maritime fixed platforms. Declares that all the territorial sea of the United States, as defined by Presidential Proclamation 5928 of December 27, 1988: (1) is part of the United States, subject to its sovereignty; and (2) for purposes of Federal criminal jurisdiction, is within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Sets forth additional provisions with respect to U.S. jurisdiction over the territorial sea and over crimes against U.S. jurisdiction over the territorial sea and over crimes against U.S. nationals on foreign vessels. Subtitle C: Terrorist Alien Removal - Terrorist Alien Removal Act of 1991 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make terrorist activity (as defined by this Act) grounds for deportation. Establishes removal procedures for alien terrorists, including a special removal hearing which shall be open to the public. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) the introduction of evidence, including a provision restricting the public from being fully informed of such evidence or its source unless the Department of Justice elects to introduce such evidence in open session; (2) the burden of proof; and (3) appeals. Specifies that an alien subject to removal under provisions of this title shall have no right of discovery of information derived from electronic surveillance authorized under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or otherwise for national security purposes, nor shall such alien have the right to seek suppression of such evidence. Authorizes the Government to use, in the removal proceeding, the fruits of electronic surveillance authorized under such Act. Specifies that no order of removal shall be stayed pending disposition of a writ of certiorari except as provided by the Court of Appeals or a Justice of the Supreme Court. Directs the Chief Justice of the United States to: (1) designate five district court judges from five of the U.S. judicial circuits, to serve five-year terms, who shall constitute a court with jurisdiction to conduct all matters and proceedings authorized under this title; and (2) provide for the maintenance of appropriate security measures for applications for ex parte orders to conduct the special removal hearing, the orders themselves, evidence received in camera and ex parte, and other matters as necessary to protect information concerning matters before the court from harming the national security of the United States, adversely affecting foreign relations, revealing investigative techniques, or disclosing confidential sources of information. Sets forth provisions with respect to the retention of an alien in custody (including affording a reasonable opportunity for such alien to communicate with and receive visits from family members, to communicate with an attorney, and to contact an appropriate diplomatic or consular official of the alien's country), the deportation of such alien to the alien's or a third country, and the transfer of such alien to the custody of State authorities, as appropriate. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) grant exclusive jurisdiction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to review excludability orders; (2) provide for a ten-year prison sentence, to run concurrently with any other sentence, and a fine, for entering (or attempting to enter) the United States subsequent to exclusion or removal; and (3) delete a provision authorizing an alien held in custody pursuant to a deportation order to obtain judicial review by habeas corpus proceedings. Subtitle D: Terrorism Offenses and Sanctions - Establishes criminal penalties for: (1) committing, or attempting to commit, torture outside the United States (with jurisdiction over the prohibited activity if the alleged offender is a U.S. national or is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or the alleged offender); (2) using weapons of mass destruction against a U.S. national outside of the United States, any person within the United States, or any property that is owned, leased, or used by the United States or any U.S. department or agency; (3) committing certain homicides and attempted homicides involving firearms in Federal facilities; and (4) providing material support to terrorists. Makes specified terrorist offenses predicates to a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute. Authorizes the civil and criminal forfeiture of property used to commit specified terrorist and violent acts. Provides for enhanced penalties for specified offenses, such as fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other entry documents. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to amend its sentencing guidelines to provide an increase of not less than three levels in the base offense level for any felony that involves or is intended to promote international terrorism, with exceptions. Subtitle E: Antiterrorism Enforcement Provisions - Authorizes the Attorney General to award permanent residence or other status to an alien and his immediate family who is already present in the United States under specified circumstances, such as where necessary to protect the life of an individual who has cooperated with Federal law enforcement authorities, subject to certain numerical limitations. Amends the Alien Enemies Act to authorize the President, whenever invoking the authority contained in such Act as to aliens of a hostile nation or government and upon further determining that the United States may also be subject to actual, attempted, or threatened predatory incursions by aliens of other nations, to include within the terms of such Act (which provides for the apprehension, restraint, and removal of alien enemies) any or all other aliens within the United States as the President may designate. Authorizes the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to obtain (after submitting a written request) from a wire or electronic communications service provider subscriber information regarding a person or entity which is relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation, where information available to the FBI indicates that there is reason to believe that communications facilities registered in the name of such person or entity have been used, through the services of such provider, in communication with a foreign agent or power. Establishes penalties for the disclosure by such a provider, or an officer, employee, or agent of such provider, that the FBI has sought or obtained access to such information. Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to require a consumer reporting agency to furnish a consumer report or other information requested in connection with an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation to the FBI under specified conditions. Makes it a misdemeanor for such agency, or an officer, employee, or agent of such institution, to disclose to any person that the FBI has sought or obtained a consumer report or identifying information respecting any consumer. Authorizes: (1) interceptions of communications (subject to approval by the appropriate Federal judge) under specified Federal provisions, such as where such interception may provide evidence related to terrorist acts abroad, use of weapons of mass destruction, and violence at airports; (2) participation of foreign and State government personnel in interceptions; and (3) disclosure of intercepted communications, under specified circumstances, to foreign law enforcement officials. Extends the statute of limitations for specified terrorism offenses. Title VIII: Sexual Violence and Child Abuse - Amends the Federal Rules of Evidence to allow evidence of similar offenses in criminal or civil sexual assault and child molestation cases. Amends the Controlled Substances Act to provide for increased penalties for distribution of a controlled substance to a woman while she is pregnant. Amends Federal criminal code provisions relating to sexual abuse to double the maximum imprisonment for violation of such provisions after a prior conviction under Federal or State law for such an offense. Adds to such provisions a special definition of "sexual act" applicable to individuals under the age of 16. Authorizes the court to order the payment of restitution for victims of sex offenses. Amends the Federal criminal code to require that a person charged with an offense under provisions relating to sexual abuse be tested for the human immunodeficiency virus: (1) before release pending trial; and (2) six months and twelve months after the initial test. Requires results to be provided to the judicial officer or court and disclosed only to the victim, the attorney for the Government, and the person tested. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to enhance the sentence guidelines if the offender had reason to know that he was infected, except where the offender did not engage or attempt to engage in conduct creating a risk of transmission. Amends the Victims' Rights and Restitution Act of 1990 to require a Governmental department or agency to pay for up to two tests for a sexual assault victim in the twelve months following the assault. Title IX: Drug Testing - Requires: (1) the Director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to establish a program of drug testing of criminal defendants on post-conviction release; and (2) the chief probation officer in each district to arrange for the drug testing of such defendants. Requires, as an explicit condition of probation, parole, or supervised release of a defendant involving a felony or a specified violent or drug offense, that the defendant refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance and submit to periodic drug tests. Sets limitations on the authority to require such tests and to take action against a defendant based on test results. Requires the revocation of probation, supervised release, or parole if a prisoner unlawfully uses a controlled substance or refuses to cooperate in drug testing imposed as a condition of such probation, supervised release, or parole. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to condition State eligibility for justice system improvement grants on State implementation of a drug testing program for targeted classes of persons subject to charges, confinement, or supervision in the criminal justice systems of such State. Specifies that: (1) such program must meet criteria specified by the Attorney General; and (2) no State shall be required to expend an amount for drug testing in excess of ten percent of the minimum amount which such State is eligible to receive under such Act. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate regulations to implement such requirements which: (1) incorporate scientific and technical standards determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure reliability and accuracy of drug test results; and (2) include such other guidelines for drug testing programs in State criminal justice systems as the Attorney General determines are appropriate, as well as provisions by which a State may apply for a waiver of such requirements on the grounds that compliance would impose excessive financial or other burdens on such State or would otherwise be impractical or contrary to State policy. Title X: Equal Justice Act - Equal Justice Act - Requires that: (1) the death penalty and all other penalties be administered by the United States and by every State without regard to the race or color of the defendant or victim; and (2) neither the United States nor any State prescribe any racial quota or statistical test for the imposition or execution of the death penalty or any other penalty. Directs that, in a criminal trial in any Federal or State court, on motion of the defense attorney or prosecutor: (1) the risk of racial prejudice or bias be examined on voir dire if there is a substantial likelihood in the circumstances of the case that such prejudice or bias will affect the jury either against or in favor of the defendant; and (2) a change of venue be granted if an impartial jury cannot be obtained in the original venue because of racial prejudice or bias. Bars the prosecutor or the defense attorney from making any appeal to racial prejudice or bias in statements before the jury. Requires: (1) the judge in a Federal capital case before a jury to instruct the jury not to be influenced by prejudice or bias relating to the race or color of the defendant or victim in considering whether a sentence of death is justified, and that the jury is not to recommend the imposition of such sentence unless it has concluded that it would recommend the same sentence for such crime regardless of the race or color of the defendant or victim; and (2) the jury, upon the return of a recommendation of a sentence of death, to also return a certificate, signed by each juror, that the juror's individual decision was not affected by prejudice or bias relating to the race or color of the defendant or victim and that the individual juror would have made the same recommendation regardless of the race or color of the defendant or victim. Makes the fact that the killing of a victim was motivated by racial prejudice or bias an aggravating factor whose existence permits consideration of the death penalty, in a prosecution for an offense against the United States for which a sentence of death is authorized. Authorizes imposition of the death penalty for violation of specified civil rights provisions, if death results. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize drug control and system improvement grants to States to provide in all appropriate cases, particularly in collateral and other post-conviction proceedings, adequate resources and expertise to ensure that the death penalty is expeditiously carried out. Amends specified civil rights provisions to cover conspiracy against rights, and deprivation of rights under color of law, of any person (currently, inhabitant of) a State, territory, or district. Title XI: Victims' Rights - Authorizes the court: (1) to require the defendant to reimburse the victim for necessary child care, transportation, and other expenses related to participation in the investigation or prosecution of, or attendance or proceedings related to, the offense; and (2) if the defendant is delinquent in making restitution pursuant to an established payment schedule, after a hearing, to suspend the defendant's eligibility for all Federal benefits until such time as the defendant demonstrates to the court good-faith efforts to return to such schedule. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to authorize the court: (1) before imposing sentence for a crime of violence or sexual abuse, to address the victim personally if the victim is present at the sentencing hearing and determine if the victim wishes to make a statement and present any information in relation to the sentence; and (2) upon a motion that is filed jointly by the defendant and the attorney for the Government, to hear in camera such a statement by the victim.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 1991
Collegiate Speech Protection Act of 1991 - Amends title VI (Federally Assisted Programs) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit a postsecondary educational institution that is a program or activity from subjecting any student to disciplinary sanctions solely on the basis of conduct that is speech or other communication protected from governmental restriction by the First Amendment of the Constitution. Authorizes civil actions for injunctive and declaratory relief, with awards of attorneys' fees and other costs. Exempts educational institutions controlled by a religious organization from application of this Act if application would be inconsistent with the religious tenets of the organization.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Title I: Findings and Definitions - National Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Act of 1991 - Sets forth congressional findings and definitions. Title II: Oil and Gas Leasing on National Wildlife Refuges - Mandates that all oil and gas leasing receipts generated from activities on units of the National Wildlife Refuge System be deposited into the Refuge Revenue Sharing Fund. Exempts oil and gas leases on Alaskan units of the System from such mandate. Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to repeal, with the commencement of the first coastal plain lease sale, the proscription against oil and gas leasing within the Arctic Refuge. Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to initiate, through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Director), a coastal plain oil and gas leasing program. Makes this Act the sole authority for oil and gas leasing and regulation on the coastal plain. Suspends all lease sales, in the event that the State of Alaska initiates a judicial challenge to the division of revenues between the State and the Federal Government, until a final decision has been issued. Directs the Secretary, through the Director, to publish draft competitive oil and gas coastal plain leasing regulations within six months after the date of enactment of this Act. Declares that further environmental analysis or documentation shall not be required for promulgation of such regulations. Sets forth environmental policy guidelines for such regulations, including a mandatory analysis of the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of oil and gas development. Sets forth general procedures and conditions for competitive oil and gas leasing, including expedited judicial review of administrative actions relating to such leasing, bonding requirements, and environmental stipulations. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Director, to work cooperatively with other Federal, State, and local agencies in developing and implementing a comprehensive oil and gas leasing program for the coastal plain. Grants the Secretary (acting through the Director) exclusive authority to grant a right-of-way across the coastal plain for purposes of a common carrier transportation or utility system corridor. Prohibits granting a permanent or year-round right-of-way until the first competitive coastal plain lease sale has been held. Mandates that the right-of-way standards for oil and gas pipelines across the coastal plain be consistent with the remainder of the pipeline outside the Arctic Refuge. Prohibits the construction of more than two new port facilities necessitated by oil or gas development that affects the Arctic Refuge along a specified coastal area. Prohibits the construction of any port facility within a distance of one and a half miles on either side of Pokok Bluffs (a polar bear denning habitat). Prohibits port facility or offshore causeway construction without prior consultation with specified fish and wildlife agencies. Declares that provisions of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 shall apply to any discharge of oil, or to the substantial threat of such discharge, into or upon the coastal plain, including land owned by the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation or other public or private entity. Makes a party liable for removal costs and damages with respect to such discharges. Grants the Secretary enforcement powers for violations of this Act, including power to issue compliance orders and assess civil and criminal penalties. Requires the Secretary to: (1) revise a specified Arctic Refuge conservation plan to include the Arctic Refuge coastal plain; (2) consult with affected State, native villages, regional corporations, and Canada in evaluating the impact of oil and gas exploration upon fish and wildlife; and (3) report biennially to the Congress regarding the status of the oil and gas leasing program and its impact upon wildlife and the environment. Requires all oil and gas leasing revenues on the Artic and the Teshekpuk-Utukok National Wildlife Refuges to be paid into the Treasury. Outlines the manner in which such revenues shall be disbursed. Establishes the National Wildlife Refuge System Enhancement Fund to promote the restoration and enhancement of units of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Establishes as a National Wildlife Refuge and as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System the Teshekpuk-Utukok National Wildlife Refuge. Requires the Director to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan for such Refuge. Sets forth a limited oil and gas leasing moratorium within such Refuge. Continues the local use of coal as fuel. Repeals certain statutory prohibitions applicable to subsurface coastal plain property interests owned by the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation or surface property rights owned by the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation. Precludes the authorization of exploratory drilling involving such property interests (with specified exceptions) until the day after the first lease sale is held pursuant to this Act. Applies environmental provisions of the final regulations issued pursuant to this Act to all oil and gas exploration, development, production, and transportation activities involving such property interests. Requires all surface disturbance activities involving such property interests to be undertaken in accordance with a plan of operations to be approved by the Director. Authorizes the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation or Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation to bring a claim for money damages or other relief in specified U.S. district courts alleging that the provisions of this Act constitute a taking of contract or property rights under the fifth amendment of the Constitution. Confers full land reclamation liability upon coastal plain oil and gas leaseholders and holders of rights-of-way. Establishes the Coastal Plain Reclamation Fund with royalties from commercially produced crude oil or natural gas. Authorizes appropriations for impact aid for affected governments and communities. Directs the Secretary to establish an impact aid grant program for such entities, and to submit to the Congress the results of a study of projected impact aid needs. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Amends the Migratory Bird Conservation Act to revise the membership content of the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission to include four members (currently, two) from the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively. Provides that lease terms shall, at a minimum, address the same wildlife conservation and protection matters that are applicable to the access and development of reserved non-Federal mineral interests in National Wildlife Refuge System areas. Amends the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act to authorize appropriations for each fiscal year through FY 1998 for the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat. Amends the Refuge Administration Act to provide that specified Federal criminal law does not preclude the use of aircraft and motor vehicles in implementation of approved management plans on national wildlife refuges. National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act - Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to require the Secretary to plan for the expansion of the National Wildlife Refuge System through fish and wildlife conservation activities. Requires the Secretary to resolve conflicts between existing laws establishing a refuge and one of the above purposes. Exempts Alaskan units of the System from the administration and management provisions of this section. Declares that nothing in this section shall prohibit the Secretary from providing compatible fish-and-wildlife-oriented recreation in the System. Prohibits lands acquired with funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund or the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund for inclusion in the System from being managed by an organization or agency other than the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, unless otherwise provided by an Act of the Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to exchange System lands only if he or she determines they are suitable for disposition and are no longer needed. Excludes from such exchanges the exchange of easements or other interests in such lands which would allow such interests to be managed by an organization or agency other than the Service, unless otherwise provided by an Act of the Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Provides for staggered four-year terms for Members of the House of Representatives. Authorizes the Congress to limit and regulate expenditures with respect to elections for Federal office. Provides that if a Representative becomes a candidate for election to the office of Senator, such Representative's seat shall be vacated upon the date of such election.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the Congress and the States shall have the power to prohibit, and establish criminal penalties for, the act of publicly mutilating, defacing, defiling, or burning the U.S. flag.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that authorization by the United States or any State of equal access to the use of public school facilities by student voluntary religious groups shall not constitute an establishment of religion. Prohibits: (1) construing the Constitution to prohibit a moment of silence in public schools for voluntary individual or group silent prayer or reflection; (2) the United States or any State from requiring any person to participate in such silent prayer or reflection; and (3) the United States or any State from composing any prayer or encouraging any particular form of prayer or reflection.
United States · United States Congress · 22 February 1991
Civil Rights Amendments of 1991 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide for the burdens of proof which must be met by the various parties when an allegation of an unlawful employment practice is based on a statistically signficant disparate impact. Declares that, when an employment practice is alleged to have mixed motives, an unlawful employment practice is established when it is shown that a discriminatory basis was a motivating factor, if the respondent fails to demonstrate that it would have taken the same action regardless of the race, color, religion, sex, or national origin of the individual involved. Makes it an unlawful employment practice to interpret or adjust the results of ability tests in a manner that would discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Declares that, in a disparate impact case concerning use of an abiity test, when the respondent has shown that the use is justified by business necessity, use of the test shall not constitute an unlawful practice merely because the test could be adjusted on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin to reduce the disparate impact. Declares that, for provisions relating to time limits for filing charges, an unlawful employment practice occurs with regard to a seniority system: (1) when it is adopted, an individual becomes subject to it, or a person is injured by its application; and (2) if the system is alleged to have been adopted for an intentionally discriminatory purpose, whether or not that purpose is apparent on the system's face. Includes expert fees and other litigation expenses, up to a specified daily limit, in the attorney's fees which the court must (currently, may) allow the prevailing party. Defines "harassment" with regard to conduct based on race, color, religion, or national origin and with regard to conduct based on sex. Makes harassment an unlawful employment practice. Sets forth special procedures, including time limits, for harassment cases. Allows: (1) restitutionary relief in certain cases of intentional harassment; and (2) certain defenses to charges of intentional harassment. Mandates that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure apply in the same manner as to other civil causes of action to a challenge under the Constitution or Federal civil rights laws to an employment practice implementing a litigated or consent judgment or order resolving a claim of employment discrimination. Prohibits the use of fraud or misrepresentation when presenting the qualifications of a purported prospective employee in any program by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission designed to test the existence of unlawful employment discrimination. Declares invalid any charge filed using such fraud or misrepresentation and requires the Chairman of the Commission to take an adverse action against any Commission officer or employee who takes any action on such a charge, knowing it used fraud or misrepresentation. Amends Federal law relating to equal rights under the law and the making and enforcing of contracts to declare that: (1) the rights protected are protected against impairment by non-governmental discrimination as well as against impairment under color of State law; and (2) the provisions afford the same protection against discrimination in the performance, breach, modification, or termination of a contract as they do in the making and enforcement of the contract.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits Federal expenditures from exceeding revenues for any fiscal year and from exceeding 19 percent of the gross national product for the last calendar year ending before the beginning of such fiscal year. Provides for a suspension of such prohibitions for any fiscal year for which three-fifths of the House of the Congress provides, by rollcall vote, for a specific excess of outlays over estimated revenues.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that the people of the several States and the District of Columbia shall elect the President and Vice President. Requires the electors of President and Vice President in each State to have the qualifications requisite for congressional electors from that State, except that for electors of President and Vice President the legislature of any State may prescribe less restrictive residence qualifications and the Congress may establish uniform residence and age qualifications. Provides that the persons having the greatest number of votes for President and Vice President shall be elected, if such number be at least the majority of the whole number of votes cast. Provides that if no person has such number, a runoff election shall be held in which the choice of President and Vice President shall be made from the persons who received the two highest number of votes. Requires the days for such elections to be determined by the Congress. Requires the Congress to prescribe by law the time, place, and manner in which the results of such elections shall be ascertained and declared. Requires each elector to cast a single vote jointly applicable to President and Vice President. Allows the Congress to provide for the case of the death of any candidate for President or Vice President before the day on which the President-elect or Vice President-elect has been chosen, and for the case of a tie in any election.
United States · United States Congress · 21 February 1991
Impeaches George Herbert Walker Bush, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors, including: (1) violating the equal protection clause of the Constitution by putting U.S. soldiers in the Middle East who are overwhelmingly poor white, black, and Mexican-American, as well as basing their military service on the coercion of a system that denies viable economic opportunities to these classes of citizens; (2) bribing, intimidating, and threatening others, including the members of the United Nations Security Council, to support belligerent acts against Iraq; (3) preparing, planning, and conspiring to engage in a massive war against Iraq employing methods of mass destruction that would result in the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, many of whom would be children; (4) committing the United States to acts of war without congressional consent and contrary to the United Nations Charter and international law; and (5) preparing, planning, and conspiring to commit crimes against the peace by leading the United States into aggressive war against Iraq in violation of the U.S. Constitution and certain international instruments and treaties.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Provides that the rate of pay of Members of Congress, judicial officers, and Executive Schedule positions shall be that in effect as of November 1, 1989, increased by 3.6 percent. States that nothing in this Act shall have the effect of reducing the pay of any individual whose compensation may not, under certain provisions of the U.S. Constitution, be diminished during such individual's continuance in office. Prohibits the pay of U.S. justices and judges from being increased to reflect any of the next five adjustments taking effect, beginning on or after the enactment of this Act. Amends the Federal Salary Act of 1967 to provide that recommendations of the President for pay adjustments for Members of Congress and other governmental officials shall be of an advisory nature only, and shall have no force or effect. Restores post-employment rules to individuals leaving government employment only if this Act becomes law before May 31, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the Congress from authorizing the withdrawal of funds from the Treasury during a fiscal year in excess of fiscal year revenue receipts (except those derived from borrowing), determined in accordance with estimates the President must determine and announce as soon as practicable after the end of each calendar year and revise at least quarterly. Directs the President to submit to the Congress a proposed budget that meets this same balanced budget standard. Authorizes a waiver of these provisions in time of war or national emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that nothing in the Constitution shall be construed to prohibit individual or group prayer in public schools or other public institutions. States that no person shall be required by the United States or by any State to participate in prayer.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 1991
Counterintelligence Improvements Act of 1991 - Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to establish requirements for access to "top secret" information (access). Entitles the President and Vice President, Members of the Congress, Justices of the Supreme Court, and Article III judges to access needed for the performance of their governmental functions without regard to the other provisions of this Act. Restricts access among government employees to those who are U.S. citizens who require routine access for the performance of official governmental functions and who have been determined to be trustworthy based upon background investigations. Permits access by others only as permitted in accordance with regulations issued by the President which shall provide that: (1) no Govenment employee shall be given access unless such person has been subject to an appropriate background investigation and has consented to granting the responsible investigative agency authority, for the period of access and five years thereafter, to examine specified financial records, consumer reports, and records maintained by commercial entities within the United States pertaining to foreign travel, has agreed to report travel to foreign countries not authorized as part of the subject's official duties, and has agreed to report to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or other appropriate investigative authorities any unauthorized contacts with foreign nationals or persons representing foreign nationals attempting to acquire classified information; (2) all employees granted access shall be subject to additional background investigations at least every five years and to investigation by an appropriate governmental authority at any time during the period of access; (3) access by persons who do not meet such requirements shall be permitted only where the President determines that such access is essential to protect or further U.S. national security interests; and (4) a single office shall be designated to monitor implementation of such provisions and to submit annual reports and implementing regulations to the appropriate congressional committees. Sets forth provisions authorizing waivers of such provisions or regulations in extraordinary circumstances when essential for national security interests in cases involving U.S. citizens or persons admitted for permanent residence. Requires that such waivers be made a matter of record and reported to such designated office. Requires, as conditions of access to classified cryptographic information, that persons: (1) meet the requirements applicable to those having access to top secret information; and (2) be subject, during the period of such access, to periodic polygraph examinations limited in scope to questions of a counterintelligence nature. Precludes the removal of individuals from access to cryptographic information based solely upon the results produced by a polygraph instrument measuring physiological resources unless, after further investigation, the head of the department or agency concerned determines the risk to national security in permitting such access to be so potentially grave that access must be denied. Amends the Right to Financial Privacy Act to permit a customer who is the subject of a personnel security investigation conducted by an authorized investigative Government agency as a condition of being granted or maintaining access to authorize nonrevocable disclosure of all financial records maintained by financial institutions to the appropriate governmental authorities for the period of the customer's access and for up to five years after such access has been terminated. (Under current law, a person may consent to access to his financial records for a period of three months.) Requires the designated office to inform the House and Senate intelligence committees annually concerning the number of requests for financial records made pursuant to this Act. Makes it a crime to possess espionage devices with intent to violate the espionage statutes and to sell top secret documents or materials to foreign governments, with exceptions. Allows, as a defense, that the information or document in question has been officially released to the public by an authorized representative of the United States prior to the sale or transfer in question. Makes it a misdemeanor for a U.S. officer, employer, or contractor to knowingly remove top secret documents and retain them at an unauthorized location. Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) grant specified U.S. courts jurisdiction to try cases involving espionage and related offenses begun or committed outside the United States; and (2) extend coverage of the special forfeiture provision (permitting the Attorney General to file suit to recover the profits of certain crimes) to additional crimes of espionage and to espionage convictions in foreign courts for misconduct that would constitute offenses under U.S. espionage laws. Permits the Government to deny retirement pay to U.S. retirees in the civil service, Foreign Service, and Central Intelligence Agency retirement and disability systems who are convicted of espionage in foreign courts which involve U.S. national defense information, subject to certification by the Attorney General to the agency employing or formerly employing the person concerned that the conviction had been obtained by an impartial court of appropriate jurisdiction, that the conviction is not being appealed or that final action has been taken on such appeal, and that the conviction was obtained under procedures which accorded the U.S. retiree due process rights comparable to those under the Constitution. Subjects such denial determinations to review by the U.S. Court of Claims. Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to require consumer reporting agencies, upon request, to furnish: (1) consumer reports to the FBI pursuant to a written certification by the Director of the FBI that the records are sought for an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation and that the person to whom such reports relate is believed to be a foreign agent; and (2) identifying information respecting any consumer at the Director's request when necessary to the conduct of an authorized counterintelligence investigation. Prohibits such agencies from divulging to the consumer that the FBI has sought or obtained such information. Requires the Director to inform the House and Senate intelligence committees annually concerning all such requests. Amends the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to authorize the Director of the FBI to request from wire or electronic communications service providers subscriber information concerning a person or entity where the Director certifies that the information sought is relevant to an authorized foreign counterintelligence investigation and there is reason to believe that communications facilities registered in the name of the person or entity have been used, through the services of such provider, in communication with a foreign agent or power, or a foreign diplomatic establishment. Prohibits the FBI from conducting any investigation of a person or entity on the basis of nonpublishable information received pursuant to such request unless there is reason to believe that such person or entity is involved, or is seeking to become involved, in clandestine intelligence or international terrorism activities on behalf of a foreign agent or power, or is in a position to provide assistance to the FBI in countering such activities. Authorizes the FBI to: (1) conduct a limited inquiry to determine whether there is a basis for such an investigation, subject to guidelines issued by the Attorney General and submitted to the House and Senate intelligence committees; and (2) disseminate information and records so obtained only as provided in such guidelines and, with respect to dissemination to another Federal agency, only if such information is clearly relevant to the authorized responsibilities of such agency. Bars the dissemination of information concerning a communication of a U.S. person so obtained outside the FBI except for authorized counterintelligence or law enforcement purposes. Authorizes the Attorney General to pay rewards of up to $1,000,000 for information leading to: (1) the arrest or conviction of any individual for committing, or conspiring or attempting to commit, espionage; or (2) the prevention or frustration of an act of espionage against the United States. Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to provide a court order process, similar to that required for electronic surveillance, for physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes. Empowers the special courts established under such Act, upon appropriate application and with appropriate certification, to issue an order authorizing such a search. Sets forth: (1) reporting requirements; (2) penalties for intentional violations of search or nondisclosure requirements; and (3) provisions for civil actions, including punitive damages, for violations with respect to an unauthorized search or the disclosure of information arising out of an unauthorized search.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Mowa Band of Choctaw Indians Recognition Act - Extends Federal recognition and associated services and benefits to the Mowa Band of Choctaw Indians of Alabama. Restores Federal rights and privileges abrogated by earlier statutes. Approves and ratifies the cession to the United States of all historical tribal lands of the Band. Regards such cession as an extinguishment of all interests of the Band, if any, in such lands. Extinguishes all specified claims against the United States, a State or local government, or any other person or entity, by the Band arising subsequent to such cession, and based upon any interest in or right involving the land. Prohibits the Band from using its Federal recognition to assert any historical land claim. Provides that nothing in this Act alters any obligations: (1) with respect to property; (2) under any contract; or (3) to pay a tax levied before its enactment. Transfers all interests in lands held by the Band to the United States, to be held in trust for the benefit of the Band. Requires the Band to transfer to the United States any interest in lands acquired after enactment of this Act. Provides that such lands shall constitute the Band's reservation. Authorizes the Band to adopt a constitution that will take effect only after being filed with the Secretary of the Interior. Limits membership in the Band, until a constitution is adopted, to every individual who: (1) is named in the tribal membership roll in effect on the enactment of this Act; or (2) is a descendant of any such individual. Provides that membership will be determined according to the constitution after its adoption.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Death Penalty Act of 1991 - Amends the Federal criminal code to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for specified Federal crimes. Requires the Government, for any offense punishable by death, to serve notice upon the defendant a reasonable time before trial or acceptance of a plea, that it intends to seek the death penalty and the aggravating factors upon which it will rely. Requires a separate sentencing hearing before a jury, or the court upon motion by the defendant, when the defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty to an offense punishable by death. Allows the defendant and the Government to present any information relevant to sentencing, without regard to the rules of evidence, but permits information to be excluded where its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. Specifies mitigating factors which the defendant must establish by a preponderance of the information and aggravating factors which the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Includes as threshold aggravating factors for homicide that the defendant: (1) intentionally killed the victim; (2) intentionally participated in an act, contemplating that the life of a person would be taken or intending that lethal force would be used in connection with a person, other than one of the participants in the offense, and the victim died as a direct result of the act; (3) attempted to kill the President of the United States; or (4) intentionally engaged in an act constituting reckless disregard for human life, knowing that the act created a grave risk of death to someone other than the participants, and the victim died as a direct result of the act. Sets forth special aggravating factors with respect to the crimes of treason, espionage, homicide, and attempted murder of the President. States that no person who was less than 18 years of age at the time of the offense may be sentenced to death. Prohibits the execution of mentally retarded persons or pregnant women. Directs the court, or the jury by unanimous vote, to impose the death penalty upon a finding that such sentence is justified based on consideration of both the aggravating and mitigating factors. Requires the court to instruct the jury not to consider the race, color, national origin, creed, or sex of the defendant or any victim in its consideration of the sentence. Establishes procedures for appeal from a death sentence. Requires the Court of Appeals, upon considering the record and the information and procedures of the sentencing hearing, to affirm the decision if: (1) the sentence was not imposed under influence of passion, prejudice, or arbitrariness; and (2) the information supports the finding of aggravating factors. Requires the court to provide a written explanation of its determination. Prohibits requiring any employee of any State department of corrections, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, or any provider of services under contract to participate in any execution if participation is contrary to his or her moral or religious convictions. Provides for the appointment of counsel in Federal capital cases where the defendant is or becomes financially unable to obtain adequate representation. Sets standards for the competence of counsel in death penalty cases. Precludes consideration of claims of ineffectiveness of counsel in specified circumstances. Provides for a mandatory stay of execution during post-conviction review. Details conditions which will cause such stay to expire. Prohibits a Federal court, if one of such conditions has occurred, from entering a stay of execution or granting relief in a capital case unless: (1) the basis for the stay and request for relief is a claim not previously presented by the prisoner in the State or Federal courts; (2) the failure to raise the claim was the result of State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States, was the result of Supreme Court recognition of a new fundamental right that is retroactively applicable, or is based on facts that could not have been discovered through the exercise of reasonable diligence in time to present the claim for State or Federal post-conviction review; and (3) the facts underlying the claim would be sufficient, if proven, to undermine the court's confidence in the jury's determination of guilt on the offense for which the death penalty was imposed. Specifies that no person subject to the criminal jurisdiction of an Indian tribal government shall be subject to a capital sentence for specified offenses unless the governing body of the tribe has made an election that provisions of the Federal criminal code have effect over land and persons subject to its criminal jurisdiction. Provides for the imposition of the death penalty for: (1) murder committed by prisoners in Federal prisons; (2) kidnappings which result in the death of any person; (3) hostage takings which result in the death of any person; (4) attempting to kill the President of the United States (if such attempt results in bodily injury or comes dangerously close to causing the President's death); (5) murder for hire; (6) murder in the aid of a racketeering activity; (7) international terrorism (where the killing is a first-degree murder); and (8) engaging in a criminal enterprise activity which results in death. Amends the Controlled Substances Act to establish criteria for the imposition of the death penalty for certain continuing criminal enterprise drug offenses. Sets forth provisions authorizing the death penalty or lesser penalties for genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits any person from serving: (1) as a Representative for more than ten years in a 12-year period; (2) as a Senator for more than 12 years during any 14-year period; or (3) as a judge of the Supreme Court or an inferior court for more than ten years in a 12-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Modifies the fifth amendment to the United States Constitution to: (1) state that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself except in open court; and (2) provide that a person shall not be confronted with prior criminal convictions except where they are an element of the crime charged. Modifies the sixth amendment to entitle the accused in all criminal prosecutions to be informed of the evidence of the accusation (in addition to the nature and cause of the accusation as currently provided).
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares the term of office of Members of the House of Representatives to be four years. Prohibits persons from being elected to the office of Representative more than three times and to the office of Senator more than twice.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Permits the President to grant a reprieve or a pardon to an individual for an offense only after such individual has been convicted.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Repeals congressional authority to declare war.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Requires a two-thirds vote of both Houses of the Congress to pass any concurrent resolution on the budget which carries a deficit.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Directs the Congress, in exercising its powers, to assure that total fiscal year Federal outlays do not exceed receipts and that Federal indebtedness is eliminated. Presents a mandatory three fiscal year timetable for achieving a balanced budget, permitting a ten percent receipt to outlay deficit during the first fiscal year after ratification, and decreasing the permissible deficit by five percent for the succeeding two fiscal years, until a totally balanced budget is achieved. Permits waiver of these balanced budget requirements (not to exceed a ten percent receipt to outlay deficit) in times of national emergency, but only by rollcall vote of three-fourths of the total membership of both Houses. Requires a surplus budget with total Government receipts exceeding outlays by two and one-half percent of Federal indebtedness during the 40 fiscal years following achievement of a balanced budget. Applies the surplus to eliminating Federal indebtedness. Permits a waiver under emergency circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the expenditure of money for the election of public officials is not protected speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Defines "person" to include the unborn for the purpose of the right to life guarantee. Exempts from applicability of this amendment laws permitting medical procedures required to prevent the death of the mother.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Defines "person" to include the unborn for the purpose of the right to life guarantee. Prohibits the performance of any abortion except under and in conformance with a law that: (1) authorizes the performance of an abortion only when a reasonable medical certainty exists that continuation of the pregnancy would result in the death of the mother; and (2) requires the person performing the abortion to make every effort to preserve the life of the unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Authorizes the Congress to limit campaign expenditures of candidates for Federal office. Permits the States to limit expenditures of candidates for offices within their jurisdictions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the right to life vests in a human being at the moment of fertilization.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the Congress, prior to each fiscal year, to adopt a statement in which total Federal outlays (except those for repayment of debt principal) do not exceed total receipts (except those derived from borrowing), unless a three-fifths vote of both Houses authorizes a specific excess. Limits the rate of increase in receipts in the statement to that of the increase in national income in the previous calendar year, unless law is enacted solely to approve specific additional receipts. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget. Authorizes waiver of these provisions in time of war. Sets a permanent limit on the amount of Federal public debt, prohibiting any increase unless legislation enacted by a three-fifths majority of both Houses becomes law.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Grants the President the authority to reduce or disapprove any item of appropriation in any Act or joint resolution, except any item of appropriation for the legislative branch.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Limits Members of the House of Representatives to six consecutive terms and Members of the Senate to two consecutive terms.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Repeals the 22d amendment to the Constitution (limitation on presidential terms).
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Limits Members of the House of Representatives to six consecutive terms and Members of the Senate to two consecutive terms.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the Congress and the States shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 1991
Constitutional Amendment - Requires the President to submit a balanced budget to the Congress prior to each fiscal year. Requires the Congress to: (1) approve a proposed balanced budget for each fiscal year; and (2) adopt measures necessary to assure that fiscal year appropriations do not exceed revenues. Permits any bill that would cause a violation of this latter requirement to become law only if passed by two-thirds of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Authorizes a waiver of these provisions during times of declared national emergency.