H.R. 194

119 HR 194 IH: VENUE Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-01-03
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. R. 194  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   January 3, 2025   Mr. Self  (for himself and  Mr. Nehls ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To amend  chapter 211  of title 18, United States Code, to modify venue for certain offenses.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Venue Named Under Exception Act   or the  VENUE Act .
2.
Venue for certain offenses
(a)
In general
 Chapter 211  of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
3245.
Offenses committed in the National Capital Region
(a)
Offenses in National Capital Region
In the case of an offense that is committed in the National Capital Region on property under the control of the Federal Government, an indictment or information shall be filed in the district of the last known residence of the offender or of any one of two or more joint offenders, or if no such residence is known, the indictment or information may be filed in the District of Columbia.
(b)
Transfer
(1)
Right to transfer
Notwithstanding subsection (a), a district court shall, upon motion of the defendant, grant a transfer of an indictment or information to the district court encompassing the jurisdiction where the defendant is domiciled.
(2)
Multiple defendants
If multiple defendants file a motion to transfer an indictment or information under paragraph (1), the district court shall grant the motion of the defendant who filed the motion first.
(3)
Defendants not domiciled in the United States
A defendant not domiciled in the United States may not file a motion to transfer an indictment or information under paragraph (1).
(c)
Definition
In this section:
(1)
The term  National Capital Region  means the geographic area located within the boundaries of—
(A)
the District of Columbia;
(B)
Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties in the State of Maryland;
(C)
Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties and the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in the Commonwealth of Virginia; and
(D)
all cities and other units of government within the geographic areas of such District, Counties, and City.
(2)
The term  property under the control of the Federal Government  means property owned or leased by the United States, or any agency thereof, except in the case of the United States Postal Service.
(d)
Pending cases
This section shall apply to any offense with respect to which a trial has not been scheduled as of the date of enactment of this section.
(e)
Limitation
This section shall only apply to an offense not otherwise subject to section 3235, 3236, 3237, 3238, 3239, 3241, 3242, 3243 or 3244.
 .
(b)
Clerical amendment
The table of sections for  chapter 211  of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
3245. Offenses committed in the National Capital Region.
  .