STALKERS Act of 2010

Simplifying The Ambiguous Law, Keeping Everyone Reliably Safe Act of 2010 or the STALKERS Act of 2010 - Amends the federal criminal code to revise the definition of stalking and impose criminal penalties on anyone who, with intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate a person or to place a person under surveillance with the intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate such person, travels in interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or enters or leaves Indian country and: (1) causes or attempts to cause bodily injury or serious emotional distress to another person; or (2) engages in conduct that would be reasonably expected to cause serious emotional distress to another person.

Imposes the same criminal penalties on anyone who, with intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate a person, engages in a course of conduct in or substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce that: (1) causes or attempts to cause bodily injury or serious emotional distress to another person; or (2) occurs in circumstances where the conduct would be reasonably expected to cause another person serious emotional distress.

Increases penalties for stalking offenses if: (1) the offense involves conduct in violation of a protection order; or (2) the victim of the offense is under the age of 18 or over the age of 65.

Requires the annual report of the Attorney General to include an evaluation of efforts to enforce laws relating to stalking and to identify and describe elements of such efforts that constitute the best practices for the enforcement of such laws.

Provides for compliance of the budgetary effects of this Act with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 5662 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5662

 To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to the offense of 
                               stalking.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              July 1, 2010

Ms. Loretta Sanchez of California introduced the following bill; which 
             was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 18, United States Code, with respect to the offense of 
                               stalking.

    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 ``Simplifying The Ambiguous Law, 
Keeping Everyone Reliably Safe Act of 2010'' or the ``STALKERS Act of 
2010''.

SEC. 2. STALKING.

    (a) In General.--Section 2261A of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 2261A. Stalking
    ``(a) Whoever, with intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or 
intimidate a person, engages in any conduct in or affecting interstate 
or foreign commerce or in the special maritime and territorial 
jurisdiction of the United States that--
            ``(1) causes or attempts to cause bodily injury or serious 
        emotional distress to a person other than the person engaging 
        in the conduct; or
            ``(2) occurs in circumstances where the conduct would be 
        reasonably expected to cause the other person serious emotional 
        distress;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
    ``(b) The punishment for an offense under this section is the same 
as that for an offense under section 2261, except that--
            ``(1) if the offense involves conduct in violation of a 
        protection order, the maximum term of imprisonment that may be 
        imposed is increased by 5 years, over the term of imprisonment 
        otherwise provided for that offense in section 2261; and
            ``(2) if the victim of the offense is under the age of 18 
        years, the maximum term of imprisonment that may be imposed is 
        increased by 10 years, over the term of imprisonment otherwise 
        provided for that offense in section 2261.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The item relating to section 2261A in the 
table of sections at the beginning of chapter 110A of title 18, United 
States Code, is amended to read as follows:

``2261A. Stalking.''.

SEC. 3. BEST PRACTICES REGARDING ENFORCEMENT OF ANTI-STALKING LAWS TO 
              BE INCLUDED IN ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

    In the annual report under section 529 of title 28, United States 
Code, the Attorney General shall--
            (1) include an evaluation of Federal, tribal, State, and 
        local efforts to enforce laws relating to stalking; and
            (2) identify and describe those elements of such efforts 
        that constitute the best practices for the enforcement of such 
        laws.
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