From Overcriminalized.com:
Table of Contents
New:
H.R. 1468: Honest Services Restoration Act
H.R. 1404: Fair Elections Now Act
H.R. 1389: Global Online Freedom Act of 2011
S. 754: Safe Roads Act of 2011
S. 750: Fair Elections Now Act
S. 743: Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011
S. 727: Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2011
S. 711: Secure Water Facilities Act
S. 709: Secure Chemical Facilities Act
Updates:
S. 223: FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H.R. 1468: Honest Services Restoration Act
Sponsor: Weiner (D - NY)
Official Title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit public officials from engaging in undisclosed self-dealing.
Status:
4/8/2011: Introduced in House
4/8/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee
Commentary: The 24-year-old federal "honest services" fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, makes it a federal crime to engage in a "scheme or artifice to defraud another of the intangible right of honest services." The maximum term of incarceration for whatever conduct is deemed to violate this uncommonly broad prohibition is 20 years (30 years if the violation "affects" any financial institution). In June 2010, the Supreme Court held that the language of the "honest services" fraud statute is unconstitutionally vague and limited its reach to acts involving bribery or kickbacks. The Court rejected the government's suggestion that it construe § 1346 to include officials or employees who take action to further their own financial interests. This bill (like S. 3854 from the 111th Congress) would subject to the prohibition and penalties of § 1346 any public official or any officer or director of any publicly-traded corporation or private charity who is involved in a "scheme or artifice ... to engage in undisclosed ... self-dealing." The mental state (mens rea or "criminal intent") that the government would have to prove is essentially undefined. Like the overbroad statute that the Supreme Court struck down, the uncommonly broad definitions of "undisclosed self-dealing" in this bill include, for example, "benefitting or furthering a financial interest of ... the public official ... [or] an individual, business, or organization with whom the public official is negotiating for, or has any arrangement concerning, prospective employment or financial compensation." The maximum penalty for violations would remain 20 years of imprisonment (or 30 years if the violation "affects" any financial institution).
H.R. 1404: Fair Elections Now Act
Sponsor: Larson (D - CT)
Official Title: To reform the financing of House elections, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/6/2011: Introduced in House
4/6/2011: Referred to House Administration Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is a companion bill to S. 750, would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) to set up a quasi-publicly funded system for financing U.S. House campaigns. Specifically, the bill would establish a so-called Fair Elections Fund (FEF) that would contribute $900,000 to each qualified candidate participating in the system. The FEF would be funded by future appropriations, voluntary contributions by taxpayers, and civil penalties levied against H.R. 1404 violators by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Qualified candidates who violate the provisions of this bill would be subject to sanction by the FEC in the form of civil penalties and, in the case of "knowing and willful" violations, referral of the matter to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution.
H.R. 1389: Global Online Freedom Act of 2011
Sponsor: Smith (R - NJ)
Official Title: To prevent United States businesses from cooperating with repressive governments in transforming the Internet into a tool of censorship and surveillance, to fulfill the responsibility of the United States Government to promote freedom of expression on the Internet, to restore public confidence in the integrity of United States businesses, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/6/2011: Introduced in House
4/6/2011: Referred to House Foreign Affairs Committee
4/6/2011: Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee
Commentary: This bill would establish an Office of Global Internet Freedom within the Department of State to help protect and promote abroad the freedom of electronic information related to political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief. Additionally, H.R. 1389 would mandate that any U.S. business that creates, provides, or offers to the public for commercial purposes an Internet search engine, Internet communications services, or Internet content hosting services, adhere to "minimum corporate standards for online freedom." These standards require the protection of "personally identifiable information" in web-restricting countries, transparency regarding search engine filtering and Internet censorship in web-restricting countries, and the safeguard of U.S.-supported online content. Violations of these minimum corporate standards would be punishable by civil fines of up to $2,000,000. U.S. businesses would also be civilly liable for any violations of these standards by foreign entities that were perpetrated with their authorization, direction, control, or participation. H.R. 1389 would also authorize the imposition of criminal sanctions in situations involving the "knowing" provision of personally identifiable information to a foreign official of an Internet-restricting country when such data is given with knowledge that "providing such information will further a policy on the part of the government of such country of prosecuting, persecuting, or otherwise punishing individuals or groups on account of the peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief" and when the provision of such data "leads to the death, torture, serious bodily injury, disappearance, or detention of any individual." The bill would make such criminal violations punishable by up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both.
S. 754: Safe Roads Act of 2011
Sponsor: Pryor (D - AR)
Official Title: A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation to establish and maintain a national clearinghouse for records relating to alcohol and controlled substance testing of commercial motor vehicle operators, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/7/2011: Introduced in Senate
4/7/2011: Referred to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is nearly identical to S. 1113 from the 111th Congress, would create a "national clearinghouse for positive controlled substance and alcohol test results of commercial motor vehicle operators" and impose a variety of testing, disclosure, and recordkeeping requirements on employers of motor vehicle operators. Violations of any of these requirements would be punishable under 49 U.S.C. §521(b) by civil fines of up to $10,000 or, for "knowing" and "willful" transgressions, criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines of up to $25,000, or both.
S. 750: Fair Elections Now Act
Sponsor: Durbin (D - IL)
Official Title: A bill to reform the financing of Senate elections, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/6/2011: Introduced in Senate
4/6/2011: Referred to Senate Rules and Administration Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is a companion bill to H.R. 1404, would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) to set up a quasi-publicly funded system for financing U.S. Senate campaigns. Specifically, the bill would establish a so-called Fair Elections Fund (FEF) that would contribute $1.25 million plus $250,000 per state congressional district to each qualified candidate participating in the system. S. 750 would also attempt to offset the excessive cost of campaign media by mandating a 20 percent reduction in broadcast rates for qualified candidates and offering such candidates up to $100,000 in media vouchers per state congressional district. The FEF would be funded by a tax on all government contractors with contracts valued at greater than $10,000,000, voluntary contributions by taxpayers, and civil penalties levied against S.750 violators by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Qualified candidates who violate the provisions of this bill would be subject to sanction by the FEC in the form of civil penalties and, in the case of "knowing and willful" violations, referral of the matter to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution.
S. 743: Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011
Sponsor: Akaka (D - HI)
Official Title: A bill to amend chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, to clarify the disclosures of information protected from prohibited personnel practices, require a statement in nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements that such policies, forms, and agreements conform with certain disclosure protections, provide certain authority for the Special Counsel, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/6/2011: Introduced in Senate
4/6/2011: Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Commentary: This bill would amend Chapter 23 of Title 5, U.S. Code, to pare back and eliminate many of the restrictions that have been read into the language of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). In addition, S. 743 would expand the scope of the WPA to cover new groups of employee whistleblowers, including employees of the Transportation Safety Administration and various entities within the intelligence community. The bill would also make it easier for the MSPB to issue final orders imposing disciplinary action against individuals who commit a prohibited personnel practice. Currently, the MSPB may punish violators by issuing orders permitting "removal, reduction in grade, debarment from Federal employment for a period not to exceed 5 years, suspension, reprimand, or an assessment of a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000." S. 743 would maintain that same penalty framework, but permit the MSPB to take disciplinary action against individuals who undertake a prohibited personnel practice where activities "protected under [5 U.S.C.] section 2302(b)(8), or 2302(b)(9) (A)(i), (B), (C), or (D) [are] a significant motivating factor, even if other factors also motivated the decision ... to take, fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to take a personnel action."
S. 727: Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2011
Sponsor: Wyden (D - OR)
Official Title: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make the Federal income tax system simpler, fairer, and more fiscally responsible, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/5/2011: Introduced in Senate
4/5/2011: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
Commentary: This bill is nearly identical to S. 3018 from the 111th Congress, which was also introduced by Senator Wyden. S. 727 would make a number of substantive changes to the tax code, including increasing the penalties for several offenses involving attempted tax evasion, willful failure to file tax returns, and willful failure to pay taxes due. Under current law, section 7201 of Title 26, U.S. Code, prohibits the willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax. Violations of this provision are currently punishable by fines of up to $100,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations, imprisonment for up to five years, or both. S. 727 would increase those penalties to fines of up to $500,000 for individuals and $1,000,000 for corporations, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both. Under current law, section 7203 of Title 26, U.S. Code, makes it a violation for those who are required to pay estimated tax to fail to make a return, keep records, supply information, or pay the estimated tax. S. 727 would increase the criminal fine for violating § 7203 from $25,000 to $50,000 for individuals. In addition, the bill would add a subsection to § 7203 creating the offense of aggravated failure to file, which would consist of failing to make a return for any three taxable years out of any period of five taxable years if the aggregate liability is $50,000 or more or where the failure to make a return involves income "attributable to an activity that is a felony under any State or Federal law." The offense of aggravated failure to file would be a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations, or both. S. 727 would also increase the criminal penalty for violating section 7206 of Title 26, U.S. Code, which covers fraud and false statements related to tax returns, tax statements, and other tax documents. The bill would increase the available criminal penalties under § 7206 to a maximum of five years of imprisonment (from three years), fines of $500,000 for individuals (from $100,000) and $1,000,000 for corporations (from $500,000), or both.
S. 711: Secure Water Facilities Act
Sponsor: Lautenberg (D - NJ)
Official Title: A bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce or eliminate the risk of releases of hazardous chemicals from public water systems and wastewater treatment works, and for other purposes.
Status:
3/31/2011: Introduced in Senate
3/31/2011: Referred to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is nearly identical to S. 3598 from the 111th Congress, calls on the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate new regulations establishing risk-based performance standards for the security of public water systems that serve more than 3,300 people or otherwise present a security risk. S. 711 and the regulations promulgated in accordance with it would also protect certain information from disclosure, including any data associated with water system vulnerability assessments, documents associated with audits or inspections of covered systems, or documents relating to a security threat or breach. "Whoever discloses protected information in knowing violation of the regulations" promulgated in accordance with this bill would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. If the person who unlawfully discloses protected information is a federal officeholder or employee, that person would also be subject to removal from federal office or employment.
S. 709: Secure Chemical Facilities Act
Sponsor: Lautenberg (D - NJ)
Official Title: A bill to enhance the security of chemical facilities and for other purposes.
Status:
3/31/2011: Introduced in Senate
3/31/2011: Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is nearly identical to S.3599 from the 111th Congress, would modify and make permanent the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to regulate security practices at chemical facilities throughout the United States. Specifically, S. 709 would require the risk-based designation and ranking of chemical facilities that possess "substances of concern" or meet other criteria established by the Secretary of DHS. The bill would also protect from disclosure certain information associated with the designation and ranking process, including information related to the assessment of the vulnerability of a chemical facility, documents that relate to an audit or inspection of a covered chemical facility, and documents relating to a security threat or breach of security. "Any person" who discloses protected information "in knowing violation of the regulations" promulgated in accordance with S. 709 would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. If the person who unlawfully discloses protected information is a federal official or employee, that person would also be subject to removal from federal office or employment.
S. 223: FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act
Sponsor: Rockefeller (D - WV)
Official Title: A bill to modernize the air traffic control system, improve the safety, reliability, and availability of transportation by air in the United States, provide modernization of the air traffic control system, reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, and for other purposes.
Status:
1/27/2011: Introduced in Senate
1/27/2011: Placed on Senate calendar
2/2/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/3/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/8/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/15/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/16/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/17/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/17/2011: Cloture invoked in Senate by yea-nay vote
2/17/2011: Senate passage with amendments by yea-nay vote
4/7/2011: Measure incorporated as amendment to other legislation
Commentary: This authorization bill would modify the approved funding levels and scope of a wide array of programs associated with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the national air traffic control system. Of the 108 proposed amendments to the legislation, five (S. Amendments 8, 29, 58, 67, and 85) seek to add new criminal penalties to the federal code. Three of those amendments (S. Amendments 8, 58, and 85) have been agreed to by the Senate and added to the language of S. 223. Senate Amendment 8 authorizes criminal punishment for any individual who "knowingly aims the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United Stated, or at the flight path of such an aircraft." The sanction for such behavior would be up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. Senate Amendments 58 and 85, on the other hand, permit criminal punishment for the unauthorized recording and distribution of any images produced using "advanced imaging technology during the screening of an individual at an airport, or upon entry into any building owned or operated by the Federal Government." Violators of this prohibition would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. [Ed. note: The language of S. 223 has been incorporated whole cloth as an amendment to the House version of the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (H.R. 658), which was recently passed by the House and was referred to the Senate. This Senate amended version of H.R. 658, which includes the criminal penalties described above, passed by unanimous consent. At present, the Senate insists on its amendment and has requested a conference committee to resolve differences between the two pieces of legislation.]
Table of Contents
New:
H.R. 1468: Honest Services Restoration Act
H.R. 1404: Fair Elections Now Act
H.R. 1389: Global Online Freedom Act of 2011
S. 754: Safe Roads Act of 2011
S. 750: Fair Elections Now Act
S. 743: Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011
S. 727: Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2011
S. 711: Secure Water Facilities Act
S. 709: Secure Chemical Facilities Act
Updates:
S. 223: FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H.R. 1468: Honest Services Restoration Act
Sponsor: Weiner (D - NY)
Official Title: To amend title 18, United States Code, to prohibit public officials from engaging in undisclosed self-dealing.
Status:
4/8/2011: Introduced in House
4/8/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee
Commentary: The 24-year-old federal "honest services" fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1346, makes it a federal crime to engage in a "scheme or artifice to defraud another of the intangible right of honest services." The maximum term of incarceration for whatever conduct is deemed to violate this uncommonly broad prohibition is 20 years (30 years if the violation "affects" any financial institution). In June 2010, the Supreme Court held that the language of the "honest services" fraud statute is unconstitutionally vague and limited its reach to acts involving bribery or kickbacks. The Court rejected the government's suggestion that it construe § 1346 to include officials or employees who take action to further their own financial interests. This bill (like S. 3854 from the 111th Congress) would subject to the prohibition and penalties of § 1346 any public official or any officer or director of any publicly-traded corporation or private charity who is involved in a "scheme or artifice ... to engage in undisclosed ... self-dealing." The mental state (mens rea or "criminal intent") that the government would have to prove is essentially undefined. Like the overbroad statute that the Supreme Court struck down, the uncommonly broad definitions of "undisclosed self-dealing" in this bill include, for example, "benefitting or furthering a financial interest of ... the public official ... [or] an individual, business, or organization with whom the public official is negotiating for, or has any arrangement concerning, prospective employment or financial compensation." The maximum penalty for violations would remain 20 years of imprisonment (or 30 years if the violation "affects" any financial institution).
H.R. 1404: Fair Elections Now Act
Sponsor: Larson (D - CT)
Official Title: To reform the financing of House elections, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/6/2011: Introduced in House
4/6/2011: Referred to House Administration Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is a companion bill to S. 750, would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) to set up a quasi-publicly funded system for financing U.S. House campaigns. Specifically, the bill would establish a so-called Fair Elections Fund (FEF) that would contribute $900,000 to each qualified candidate participating in the system. The FEF would be funded by future appropriations, voluntary contributions by taxpayers, and civil penalties levied against H.R. 1404 violators by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Qualified candidates who violate the provisions of this bill would be subject to sanction by the FEC in the form of civil penalties and, in the case of "knowing and willful" violations, referral of the matter to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution.
H.R. 1389: Global Online Freedom Act of 2011
Sponsor: Smith (R - NJ)
Official Title: To prevent United States businesses from cooperating with repressive governments in transforming the Internet into a tool of censorship and surveillance, to fulfill the responsibility of the United States Government to promote freedom of expression on the Internet, to restore public confidence in the integrity of United States businesses, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/6/2011: Introduced in House
4/6/2011: Referred to House Foreign Affairs Committee
4/6/2011: Referred to House Energy and Commerce Committee
Commentary: This bill would establish an Office of Global Internet Freedom within the Department of State to help protect and promote abroad the freedom of electronic information related to political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief. Additionally, H.R. 1389 would mandate that any U.S. business that creates, provides, or offers to the public for commercial purposes an Internet search engine, Internet communications services, or Internet content hosting services, adhere to "minimum corporate standards for online freedom." These standards require the protection of "personally identifiable information" in web-restricting countries, transparency regarding search engine filtering and Internet censorship in web-restricting countries, and the safeguard of U.S.-supported online content. Violations of these minimum corporate standards would be punishable by civil fines of up to $2,000,000. U.S. businesses would also be civilly liable for any violations of these standards by foreign entities that were perpetrated with their authorization, direction, control, or participation. H.R. 1389 would also authorize the imposition of criminal sanctions in situations involving the "knowing" provision of personally identifiable information to a foreign official of an Internet-restricting country when such data is given with knowledge that "providing such information will further a policy on the part of the government of such country of prosecuting, persecuting, or otherwise punishing individuals or groups on account of the peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological opinion or belief" and when the provision of such data "leads to the death, torture, serious bodily injury, disappearance, or detention of any individual." The bill would make such criminal violations punishable by up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both.
S. 754: Safe Roads Act of 2011
Sponsor: Pryor (D - AR)
Official Title: A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Transportation to establish and maintain a national clearinghouse for records relating to alcohol and controlled substance testing of commercial motor vehicle operators, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/7/2011: Introduced in Senate
4/7/2011: Referred to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is nearly identical to S. 1113 from the 111th Congress, would create a "national clearinghouse for positive controlled substance and alcohol test results of commercial motor vehicle operators" and impose a variety of testing, disclosure, and recordkeeping requirements on employers of motor vehicle operators. Violations of any of these requirements would be punishable under 49 U.S.C. §521(b) by civil fines of up to $10,000 or, for "knowing" and "willful" transgressions, criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines of up to $25,000, or both.
S. 750: Fair Elections Now Act
Sponsor: Durbin (D - IL)
Official Title: A bill to reform the financing of Senate elections, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/6/2011: Introduced in Senate
4/6/2011: Referred to Senate Rules and Administration Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is a companion bill to H.R. 1404, would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) to set up a quasi-publicly funded system for financing U.S. Senate campaigns. Specifically, the bill would establish a so-called Fair Elections Fund (FEF) that would contribute $1.25 million plus $250,000 per state congressional district to each qualified candidate participating in the system. S. 750 would also attempt to offset the excessive cost of campaign media by mandating a 20 percent reduction in broadcast rates for qualified candidates and offering such candidates up to $100,000 in media vouchers per state congressional district. The FEF would be funded by a tax on all government contractors with contracts valued at greater than $10,000,000, voluntary contributions by taxpayers, and civil penalties levied against S.750 violators by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Qualified candidates who violate the provisions of this bill would be subject to sanction by the FEC in the form of civil penalties and, in the case of "knowing and willful" violations, referral of the matter to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution.
S. 743: Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2011
Sponsor: Akaka (D - HI)
Official Title: A bill to amend chapter 23 of title 5, United States Code, to clarify the disclosures of information protected from prohibited personnel practices, require a statement in nondisclosure policies, forms, and agreements that such policies, forms, and agreements conform with certain disclosure protections, provide certain authority for the Special Counsel, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/6/2011: Introduced in Senate
4/6/2011: Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Commentary: This bill would amend Chapter 23 of Title 5, U.S. Code, to pare back and eliminate many of the restrictions that have been read into the language of the Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA) by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). In addition, S. 743 would expand the scope of the WPA to cover new groups of employee whistleblowers, including employees of the Transportation Safety Administration and various entities within the intelligence community. The bill would also make it easier for the MSPB to issue final orders imposing disciplinary action against individuals who commit a prohibited personnel practice. Currently, the MSPB may punish violators by issuing orders permitting "removal, reduction in grade, debarment from Federal employment for a period not to exceed 5 years, suspension, reprimand, or an assessment of a civil penalty not to exceed $1,000." S. 743 would maintain that same penalty framework, but permit the MSPB to take disciplinary action against individuals who undertake a prohibited personnel practice where activities "protected under [5 U.S.C.] section 2302(b)(8), or 2302(b)(9) (A)(i), (B), (C), or (D) [are] a significant motivating factor, even if other factors also motivated the decision ... to take, fail to take, or threaten to take or fail to take a personnel action."
S. 727: Bipartisan Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2011
Sponsor: Wyden (D - OR)
Official Title: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make the Federal income tax system simpler, fairer, and more fiscally responsible, and for other purposes.
Status:
4/5/2011: Introduced in Senate
4/5/2011: Referred to Senate Finance Committee
Commentary: This bill is nearly identical to S. 3018 from the 111th Congress, which was also introduced by Senator Wyden. S. 727 would make a number of substantive changes to the tax code, including increasing the penalties for several offenses involving attempted tax evasion, willful failure to file tax returns, and willful failure to pay taxes due. Under current law, section 7201 of Title 26, U.S. Code, prohibits the willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax. Violations of this provision are currently punishable by fines of up to $100,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations, imprisonment for up to five years, or both. S. 727 would increase those penalties to fines of up to $500,000 for individuals and $1,000,000 for corporations, imprisonment for up to ten years, or both. Under current law, section 7203 of Title 26, U.S. Code, makes it a violation for those who are required to pay estimated tax to fail to make a return, keep records, supply information, or pay the estimated tax. S. 727 would increase the criminal fine for violating § 7203 from $25,000 to $50,000 for individuals. In addition, the bill would add a subsection to § 7203 creating the offense of aggravated failure to file, which would consist of failing to make a return for any three taxable years out of any period of five taxable years if the aggregate liability is $50,000 or more or where the failure to make a return involves income "attributable to an activity that is a felony under any State or Federal law." The offense of aggravated failure to file would be a felony punishable by up to five years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for corporations, or both. S. 727 would also increase the criminal penalty for violating section 7206 of Title 26, U.S. Code, which covers fraud and false statements related to tax returns, tax statements, and other tax documents. The bill would increase the available criminal penalties under § 7206 to a maximum of five years of imprisonment (from three years), fines of $500,000 for individuals (from $100,000) and $1,000,000 for corporations (from $500,000), or both.
S. 711: Secure Water Facilities Act
Sponsor: Lautenberg (D - NJ)
Official Title: A bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce or eliminate the risk of releases of hazardous chemicals from public water systems and wastewater treatment works, and for other purposes.
Status:
3/31/2011: Introduced in Senate
3/31/2011: Referred to Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is nearly identical to S. 3598 from the 111th Congress, calls on the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate new regulations establishing risk-based performance standards for the security of public water systems that serve more than 3,300 people or otherwise present a security risk. S. 711 and the regulations promulgated in accordance with it would also protect certain information from disclosure, including any data associated with water system vulnerability assessments, documents associated with audits or inspections of covered systems, or documents relating to a security threat or breach. "Whoever discloses protected information in knowing violation of the regulations" promulgated in accordance with this bill would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. If the person who unlawfully discloses protected information is a federal officeholder or employee, that person would also be subject to removal from federal office or employment.
S. 709: Secure Chemical Facilities Act
Sponsor: Lautenberg (D - NJ)
Official Title: A bill to enhance the security of chemical facilities and for other purposes.
Status:
3/31/2011: Introduced in Senate
3/31/2011: Referred to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
Commentary: This bill, which is nearly identical to S.3599 from the 111th Congress, would modify and make permanent the authority of the Department of Homeland Security to regulate security practices at chemical facilities throughout the United States. Specifically, S. 709 would require the risk-based designation and ranking of chemical facilities that possess "substances of concern" or meet other criteria established by the Secretary of DHS. The bill would also protect from disclosure certain information associated with the designation and ranking process, including information related to the assessment of the vulnerability of a chemical facility, documents that relate to an audit or inspection of a covered chemical facility, and documents relating to a security threat or breach of security. "Any person" who discloses protected information "in knowing violation of the regulations" promulgated in accordance with S. 709 would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. If the person who unlawfully discloses protected information is a federal official or employee, that person would also be subject to removal from federal office or employment.
S. 223: FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act
Sponsor: Rockefeller (D - WV)
Official Title: A bill to modernize the air traffic control system, improve the safety, reliability, and availability of transportation by air in the United States, provide modernization of the air traffic control system, reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, and for other purposes.
Status:
1/27/2011: Introduced in Senate
1/27/2011: Placed on Senate calendar
2/2/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/3/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/8/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/15/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/16/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/17/2011: Amended by the Senate
2/17/2011: Cloture invoked in Senate by yea-nay vote
2/17/2011: Senate passage with amendments by yea-nay vote
4/7/2011: Measure incorporated as amendment to other legislation
Commentary: This authorization bill would modify the approved funding levels and scope of a wide array of programs associated with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the national air traffic control system. Of the 108 proposed amendments to the legislation, five (S. Amendments 8, 29, 58, 67, and 85) seek to add new criminal penalties to the federal code. Three of those amendments (S. Amendments 8, 58, and 85) have been agreed to by the Senate and added to the language of S. 223. Senate Amendment 8 authorizes criminal punishment for any individual who "knowingly aims the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United Stated, or at the flight path of such an aircraft." The sanction for such behavior would be up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. Senate Amendments 58 and 85, on the other hand, permit criminal punishment for the unauthorized recording and distribution of any images produced using "advanced imaging technology during the screening of an individual at an airport, or upon entry into any building owned or operated by the Federal Government." Violators of this prohibition would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. [Ed. note: The language of S. 223 has been incorporated whole cloth as an amendment to the House version of the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (H.R. 658), which was recently passed by the House and was referred to the Senate. This Senate amended version of H.R. 658, which includes the criminal penalties described above, passed by unanimous consent. At present, the Senate insists on its amendment and has requested a conference committee to resolve differences between the two pieces of legislation.]
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