BIAS Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3017 To direct the Secretary of Transportation to provide a grant for research and training in the operation or establishment of an implicit bias training program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 7, 2021 Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. VARGAS, and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To direct the Secretary of Transportation to provide a grant for research and training in the operation or establish- ment of an implicit bias training program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bias In Automobile 4 Stops Act of 2021’’ or ‘‘BIAS Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. IMPLICIT BIAS RESEARCH AND TRAINING GRANTS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 7 shall make grants to institutions of higher education (as 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3017.IH H3017 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3017 IH such term is defined in section 101 of the Higher Edu- 1 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) to carry out re- 2 search, development, technology transfer, and training ac- 3 tivities in the operation or establishment of an implicit 4 bias training program as it relates to racial profiling at 5 traffic stops. 6 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be eligible for a grant 7 under this section, an institution of higher education 8 shall— 9 (1) have an active research program or dem- 10 onstrate, to the satisfaction of the Secretary, that 11 the applicant is beginning a research program to 12 study implicit bias as it relates to racial profiling be- 13 fore and during traffic stops; and 14 (2) partner with State and local police depart- 15 ments to conduct the research described in para- 16 graph (1) and carry out the implementation of im- 17 plicit bias training with State and local police de- 18 partments. 19 (c) REPORT.—No later than 1 year after a grant has 20 been awarded under this section, the institution of higher 21 education awarded the grant shall submit to the Com- 22 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House 23 of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, 24 Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report sum- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3017.IH H3017 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3017 IH marizing the research on implicit bias as it relates to racial 1 profiling before and during traffic stops, and recommenda- 2 tions on effective interventions and trainings. 3 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 4 are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each 5 fiscal year to carry out this section. 6 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘implicit 7 bias training program’’ means a program that looks at the 8 attitudes, stereotypes, and lenses human beings develop 9 through various experiences in life that can unconsciously 10 affect how they interact with one another. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:56 Jun 10, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3017.IH H3017 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS