[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8249 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8249

  To prohibit the denial of the right to vote in elections for public 
office on the grounds of owing fines, fees, or restitution relating to 
                  a conviction of a criminal offense.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2020

Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Ms. Tlaib, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Deutch, Mr. 
 Larson of Connecticut, Mr. Lowenthal, Mr. Espaillat, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
  Lee of California, Mr. Cooper, Ms. Pressley, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. 
     Kildee, Mr. Rush, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Evans, and Ms. Schakowsky) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To prohibit the denial of the right to vote in elections for public 
office on the grounds of owing fines, fees, or restitution relating to 
                  a conviction of a criminal offense.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Removing Monetary Barriers to Voting 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The 24th amendment to the Constitution of the United 
        States prohibits Congress and States conditioning the right to 
        vote in Federal elections on payment of any poll tax or any 
        other tax, and this prohibition was extended to States under 
        the 14th amendment in 1964 in Harper v. Virginia Board of 
        Elections.
            (2) The right to vote is the most basic constitutive act of 
        citizenship. Regaining the right to vote reintegrates 
        individuals with criminal convictions into free society, 
        helping to enhance public safety.
            (3) An estimated 6,100,000 citizens of the United States, 
        or about 1 in 40 adults in the United States, currently cannot 
        vote as a result of a felony conviction. As of 2016, an 
        estimated 6,100,000 citizens, or about 1 in 40 adults in the 
        United States, could not vote as a result of a felony 
        convictions.
            (4) At least 8 States explicitly prohibit individuals who 
        owe money associated with their criminal convictions from 
        voting. At least 22 other States have laws that can implicitly 
        prohibit individuals from voting because of unpaid legal debts, 
        either through requirements that individuals complete parole or 
        probation, which themselves hinge on payment of fines, fees or 
        restitution, or clemency restrictions based on unpaid legal 
        debts.
            (5) Across the Nation, approximately 10 million individuals 
        owe a collective $50 billion in debt related to the criminal 
        justice system, and findings from 14 States show that families 
        on average owe $13,600 in fees and fines.
            (6) State disenfranchisement laws additionally 
        disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities.
            (7) The right to vote additionally may not be abridged or 
        denied by the United States or by any State on account of race, 
        color, gender, or previous condition of servitude. The 13th, 
        14th, 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments to the Constitution of 
        the United States empower Congress to enact measures to protect 
        the right to vote.
            (8) Continuing to disenfranchise individuals who have 
        outstanding fees, fines, and restitution and who are living and 
        working in the community serves no State interest and hinders 
        their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITING DENIAL OF RIGHT TO VOTE ON GROUNDS OF OWING AMOUNTS 
              RELATING TO CONVICTION OF CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

    (a) In General.--The right of an individual to vote in any election 
for public office shall not be denied or abridged because that 
individual owes an outstanding fine, fee, or restitution relating to 
conviction of a criminal offense.
    (b) Applicability.--The right of an individual to vote in any 
election under subsection (a) shall apply notwithstanding if such 
individual is on parole, probation, or any other form of supervision 
solely related to an outstanding fine, fee, or restitution.

SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT.

    (a) Attorney General.--The Attorney General may, in a civil action, 
obtain such declaratory or injunctive relief as is necessary to remedy 
a violation of this Act.
    (b) Private Right of Action.--
            (1) In general.--A person who is aggrieved by a violation 
        of this Act may provide written notice of the violation to the 
        chief election official of the State involved.
            (2) Relief.--Except as provided in paragraph (4), if the 
        violation is not corrected within 90 days after receipt of a 
        notice under paragraph (1), or within 20 days after receipt of 
        the notice if the violation occurred within 120 days before the 
        date of an election for public office, the aggrieved person 
        may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunctive relief 
        with respect to the violation.
            (3) Attorney's fees.--In any action or proceeding to 
        enforce this Act against any governmental body, the court may 
        allow a prevailing plaintiff, other than the United States, 
        reasonable attorney's fees as part of the costs, and may 
        include expert fees as part of the attorney's fee.
            (4) Exception.--If the violation occurred within 60 days 
        before the date of an election for public office, the aggrieved 
        person need not provide notice to the chief election official 
        of the State under paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action 
        to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 
        violation.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Chief election official.--The term ``chief election 
        official'' means, with respect to a State, the individual 
        designated by the State under section 10 of the National Voter 
        Registration Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20509) to be responsible 
        for coordination of the State's responsibilities under such Act
            (2) Election.--The term ``election'' means--
                    (A) a general, special, primary, or runoff election 
                for public office;
                    (B) a convention or caucus of a political party 
                held to nominate a candidate for public office;
                    (C) a primary election held for the selection of 
                delegates to a national nominating convention of a 
                political party; or
                    (D) a primary election held for the expression of a 
                preference for the nomination of persons for election 
                to the office of President.
            (3) Fee.--The term ``fee'' means any surcharge, court cost, 
        administrative fee, or any monetary amount imposed to cover the 
        costs of the judicial system or to generate revenue.
            (4) Fine.--The term ``fine'' means any monetary penalty 
        imposed by a court or other entity as punishment for conviction 
        of a crime.
            (5) Restitution.--The term ``restitution'' means any 
        monetary sanction imposed by a court to compensate for actual 
        losses resulting from a crime.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, 
        and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

SEC. 6. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.

    (a) State Laws Relating to Voting Rights.--Nothing in this Act may 
be construed to prohibit a States from enacting any State law which 
affords the right to vote in any election for public office on terms 
less restrictive than those established by this Act.
    (b) Certain Federal Acts.--The rights and remedies established by 
this Act are in addition to all other rights and remedies provided by 
law, and neither rights and remedies established by this Act shall 
supersede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting Rights Act 
of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) or the National Voter Registration 
Act of 1993 (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.).

SEC. 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall apply with respect to individuals voting in any 
election for public office held after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
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