Friday, July 1, 2011

Overcriminalized.com Legislative Update

From Overcriminalized.com:


Table of Contents



New:

■H.R. 2210: Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2011

■H.R. 2168: Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance (GPS) Act

■H.R. 2164: Legal Workforce Act

■S. 1199: Protecting the Privacy of Social Security Numbers Act

Updates:

■S. 978:

■S. 815: Sanctity of Eternal Rest for Veterans Act (SERVE Act) of 2011



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H.R. 2210: Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2011





Sponsor: Cohen (D - TN)



Official Title: A bill to amend Title 18, United States Code, to prohibit certain interstate conduct relating to exotic animals and certain computer-assisted remote hunting, and for other purposes.



Status:

6/16/2011: Introduced in House

6/16/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee



Commentary: This bill would make it a crime to knowingly transfer, transport, or possess confined exotic animals in interstate commerce for the purpose of killing or injuring the animals for entertainment or for a trophy. The penalty would be imprisonment of less than one year and/or a fine under Title 18. The bill defines “confined exotic animal” as an animal not indigenous to the U.S. that has been held in captivity for the majority of its life or for at least one continuous year. The bill would also would ban the interstate movement of equipment for computer-assisted remote hunting punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a fine under Title 18.

H.R. 2168: Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance (GPS) Act






Sponsor: Chaffetz (R - UT)



Official Title: A bill to amend Title 18, United States Code, to specify the circumstances in which a person may acquire geolocation information and for other purposes.



Status:

6/14/2011: Introduced in House

6/14/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee

6/14/2011: Referred to House Select Intelligence Committee



Commentary: This act would make misappropriation of certain geolocation information a criminal offense. “Geolocation information” is “with respect to a person, any information that is not the content of a communication, concerning the location of a wireless communication device or tracking device . . . that, in whole or in part, is generated by or derived from the operation of that device and that could be used to determine or infer information regarding the location of the person.” These offenses include 1) intentionally intercepting, attempting to intercept, or procuring another’s geolocation information; 2) intentionally disclosing or using or attempting to disclose or use the geolocation information of another person if the offender knew or had reason to know the information was obtained through interception; and 3) intentionally disclosing, or attempting to disclose geolocation information of another that was obtained through authorized means. A violator would face a five year maximum term of imprisonment and a fine under Title 18. This bill would add additional criminal penalties to the statutory framework for fraud regarding the use of confidential phone records, codified in 18 U.S.C. § 1039. The maximum sentence would be a fine under Title 18 and five years imprisonment.
 
H.R. 2164: Legal Workforce Act






Sponsor: Smith (R - TN)



Official Title: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to make mandatory and permanent requirements relating to use of an electronic employment eligibility verification system, and for other purposes.



Status:

6/14/2011: Introduced in House

6/14/2011: Referred to House Education and the Workforce Committee

6/14/2011: Referred to House Judiciary Committee

6/14/2011: Referred to House Ways and Means Committee



Commentary: This bill would require the use of the Employment Eligibility Verification System, commonly known as E-Verify. Individuals would be required to certify that they are in the U.S. legally. Any person supplying identifying information “knowing that the number does not belong to the individual providing the number” would be subject to a criminal fine under Title 18 and a minimum of one year and maximum of 15 years incarceration. Employers who know that the identifying information they provide to the E-Verify system does not belong to the individual they are inquiring about would also be subject to the same criminal sanctions. The act would also establish a good-faith defense for employers.







S. 1199: Protecting the Privacy of Social Security Numbers Act





Sponsor: Feinstein (D - CA)



Official Title: A bill to amend Title 18, United States Code, to limit the misuse of Social Security numbers, to establish criminal penalties for such misuse, and for other purposes.

Status:


6/15/2011: Introduced in Senate

6/15/2011: Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee



Commentary: This bill would prohibit the improper “display, sale, or purchase” of Social Security numbers and prohibit the improper “display, sale, or purchase” of public records that contain Social Security numbers. The bill would also prohibit the obtaining a Social Security number of an individual with the intent to injure or harm that person, or to use that person’s identity for illegal activity. Another provision would limit the disclosure of Social Security number by prohibiting commercial entities from requesting a social security number for goods or services, or denying goods and services on that basis. A conviction on any of these provisions would result in a maximum fine under Title 18 and five years imprisonment.







S. 978:





Sponsor: Klobuchar (D - MN)



Official Title: A bill to amend the criminal penalty provision for criminal infringement of a copyright, and for other purposes.



Status:

5/12/2011: Introduced in Senate

5/12/2011: Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee

6/20/2011: Reported to Senate by Senate Judiciary Committee

6/20/2011: Placed on Senate calendar



Commentary: This bill would amend 17 U.S.C. § 506 and 18 U.S.C. § 2319 to broaden the scope of the criminal offense and penalty provisions for infringement of a copyright. Currently, 17 U.S.C. § 506(a) punishes the willful infringement of a copyright “for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain.” Violations involving the “the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of at least 10 copies or phonorecords, of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than $2,500” are punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 2319(b) by up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. S. 978 would maintain this existing statutory framework but add criminal sanctions for unauthorized public performances. Violators would be subject to up to five years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both, if “the offense consists of 10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works; and … the total retail value of the performances, or the total economic value of such public performances to the infringer or to the copyright owner, would exceed $2,500; or … the total fair market value of licenses to offer performances of those works would exceed $5,000.”








S. 815: Sanctity of Eternal Rest for Veterans Act (SERVE Act) of 2011





Sponsor: Snowe (R - ME)



Official Title: A bill to guarantee that military funerals are conducted with dignity and respect.



Status:

4/13/2011: Introduced in Senate

4/13/2011: Referred to Senate Veterans Affairs Committee

6/8/2011: Hearing Held by Senate Veterans Affairs Committee

Commentary: This bill, like its House counterpart (H.R.1591), would amend 18 U.S.C. § 1388 and 38 U.S.C. § 2413 to heighten the currently existing restrictions on disruptions of funerals for members or former members of the armed forces as well as the restrictions on demonstrations and disruptions at cemeteries under control of the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) and at Arlington National Cemetery. At present, § 1388 prohibits any person from engaging in prohibited activities “during the period beginning 60 minutes before and ending 60 minutes after” funerals for members or former members of the armed forces. Prohibited activities include “any individual willfully making or assisting in the making of any noise or diversion that is not part of such funeral and that disturbs or tends to disturb the peace or good order of such funeral with the intent of disturbing the peace or good order of that funeral.” Prohibited activities also include “any individual willfully and without proper authorization impeding the access to or egress from such location with the intent to impede the access to or egress from such location.” Violations of these provisions are punishable by criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. S. 815 would enhance the applicable criminal penalties for § 1388 violations to a maximum of two years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. Under current law, 38 U.S.C. § 2413 also prohibits“demonstration on the property of a cemetery under the control of the [NCA] or on the property of Arlington National Cemetery unless the demonstration has been approved by the cemetery superintendent or the director of the property on which the cemetery is located.” Violators of this provision are punishable under 18 U.S.C. § 1387 and would be subject to criminal sanctions of up to one year imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. S. 815 would enhance the applicable criminal penalties for violations of § 2413 to a maximum of up to two years imprisonment, fines under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, or both. In addition to increasing the criminal penalties for violations of these provisions, the bill would enlarge the demonstration and disturbance buffer zone around all military funerals to a distance of 500 feet and increase the restricted time period at cemeteries from a period of one hour before and after a funeral to a period of two hours before and after a funeral.




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