Sec. 603. Protecting the right to report crime from one’s home

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Chapter 2 of subtitle N of title IV of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 ( 34 U.S.C. 12491 et seq.), as amended by this Act, is further amended by inserting after section 41414 the following: Landlords, homeowners, residents, occupants, and guests of, and applicants for, housing assisted under a covered housing program shall have the right to seek law enforcement or emergency assistance on their own behalf or on behalf of another person in need of assistance, and shall not be penalized based on their requests for assistance or based on criminal activity of which they are a victim or otherwise not at fault under statutes, ordinances, regulations, or policies adopted or enforced by covered governmental entities as defined in subsection (d).

Penalties that are prohibited include— actual or threatened assessment of penalties, fees, or fines; actual or threatened eviction; actual or threatened refusal to rent or renew tenancy; actual or threatened refusal to issue an occupancy permit or landlord permit; and actual or threatened closure of the property, or designation of the property as a nuisance or a similarly negative designation. Consistent with the process provided for in section 104(b) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 ( 42 U.S.C. 5304(b) ), covered governmental entities shall— report any of their laws or policies, or, as applicable, the laws or policies adopted by subgrantees, that impose penalties on landlords, homeowners, residents, occupants, guests, or housing applicants based on requests for law enforcement or emergency assistance or based on criminal activity that occurred at a property; and certify that they are in compliance with the protections under this subtitle or describe the steps they will take within 180 days to come into compliance, or to ensure compliance among subgrantees.

Oversight and accountability mechanisms provided for under title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 ( 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) shall be available to address violations of this section. For purposes of this section, covered governmental entity shall mean any municipal, county, or state government that receives funding pursuant to section 106 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 ( 42 U.S.C. 5306 ). For those covered governmental entities that distribute funds to subgrantees, compliance with subsection (b)(1) includes inquiring about the existence of laws and policies adopted by subgrantees that impose penalties on landlords, homeowners, residents, occupants, guests, or housing applicants based on requests for law enforcement or emergency assistance or based on criminal activity that occurred at a property. .

Section 501(a)(1) of subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10152(a)(1) ) is amended by adding after subparagraph

(H)the following: Programs for the development and implementation of alternative methods of reducing crime in communities, to supplant punitive programs or policies. For purposes of this subparagraph, a punitive program or policy is a program or policy that

(i)imposes a penalty on a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, on the basis of a request by the victim for law enforcement or emergency assistance; or

(ii)imposes a penalty on such a victim because of criminal activity at the property in which the victim resides. . Section 1701(b) of part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10381(b) ) is amended— in paragraph (22), by striking and after the semicolon; in paragraph (23), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: to develop and implement alternative methods of reducing crime in communities, to supplant punitive programs or policies (as such term is defined in section 501(a)(1)(I)). . Section 2101(b) of part U of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10461(b) ) is amended by adding after paragraph

(22)the following: To develop and implement alternative methods of reducing crime in communities, to supplant punitive programs or policies. For purposes of this paragraph, a punitive program or policy is a program or policy that

(A)imposes a penalty on a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking, on the basis of a request by the victim for law enforcement or emergency assistance; or

(B)imposes a penalty on such a victim because of criminal activity at the property in which the victim resides. .

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Sec. 603

Protecting the right to report crime from one’s home

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