Bill in Congress - HR 1374

4-9-2009 National:

`Elder Abuse Prevention Act'

Sponsor: Rep Chandler, Ben [KY-6]
Introduced 3/6/2009) Bill HR 1374

The STATED intent of the bill is: To prevent the abuse and exploitation of older individuals.

UPDATE: Thanks to a reader reminding me of a portion of the U.S. Constitution I have revised my analysis.

My REVISED Summary:
A bill to force states (under threat of denial of various grant money) to deny parole for: 1) any sexually violent predator, 2) and ANY person who has committed a sexual crime against an elderly person, which includes offenses under state law that are equivalent to certain federal offenses, and including offenses committed in the "special maritime and territorial jurisdictions" or in a federal prison, are to be denied parole. Because the U.S. Constitution Article 1,Sec. 8(10) permits Congress "to define and punish ... and Felonies committed on the HIGH SEAS, and Offenses against the Law of Nations," the U.S. would have jurisdiction under this bill. I disagree with denying those folks parole should they be eligible and have completed what was asked of them.


My Analysis:

Who the bill pertains to:

SEC. 3. NO PAROLE FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES COMMITTED AGAINST THE ELDERLY OR FOR SEXUALLY VIOLENT PREDATORS.

(a) In General- For each fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in subsection (b)(1) in which a State receives funds for a program referred to in subsection (b)(2), the State shall have in effect throughout the State laws and policies that prohibit parole for any individual who is--

(1) convicted of a criminal sexual offense against a victim who is elderly, which shall include any such offense under State law for conduct that would constitute an offense under chapter 109A of title 18, United States Code, had the conduct occurred in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or in a Federal prison; or

(2) a sexually violent predator.

"Elderly" is not defined but in the "Congress finds" section it mentions 65 or older.

In essence, any person who has committed a sexual crime against an elderly person, which includes offenses under state law that are equivalent to certain federal offenses, and including offenses committed in the "special maritime and territorial jurisdictions" or in a federal prison, are to be denied parole.

The most interesting portion of this bill is the definition of "special maritime and territorial jurisdictions" which goes so far to say in "Outer Space." How many of those are ever going to occur, I don't think I know of an elderly person (65 or older) who is up to travel in outer space, but maybe there are folks capable.


Denial of grant money:

(2) INELIGIBILITY FOR FUNDS- For any fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), a State that fails to fully implement this Act shall not receive 10 percent of the funds that would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to the State under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), whether characterized as the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, or otherwise.
......

I would OPPOSE this bill 100% just because it automatically denies parole to persons who may have completed everything asked of them.. Contact lawmaker, with your views, by clicking on his/her name above, as well as your own folks in Congress. Today, folks can contact the Committee working on this bill, by simply clicking on the bill number above, going to the "Congressional Actions" section and find the name of the committee to contact.

Thanks,
eAdvocate

Note: To see all bills concerning sex offenders or their families currently in Congress simply click here. At the present time I do not review sex offender bills concerning Immigration or Appropriations, they get very involved and are time consuming.

Note: Full bill text WILL NOT be included in this blog because as time goes on bills are amended by Congressional Committees and also on the floor of either house, and it is too easy to confuse folks who may not realize that. Further, links to the bill in Congress will be provided so folks can always see the latest version of the bill.