S. 2298: Mens Rea Reform Act of 2015
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S. 2298: Mens Rea Reform Act of 2015
114th Congress · introduced 2015-11-18 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2015-11-18 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Committee on the Judiciary. Hearings held. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Mens Rea Reform Act of 2015
Plain summary
Mens Rea Reform Act of 2015 This bill amends the federal criminal code to establish a default intent (state of mind)standardfor a federal criminal offense, unless the provision of law that defines such offense specifically provides otherwise. A federal criminal offense conviction under the default standard requires proof beyond a reasonable doubtthat a defendant acted intentionally and willfully with respect to each element of the offense.If a state of mind is not specified for an element of the offense, it must be shown that the defendant acted willfully. A person who acts "willfully" does so with the knowledge that the conduct is unlawful. The bill sets forth certain exceptions where the default standard shall not apply. Additionally, the bill requires that when a provision of lawidentifies an intentstandard but does not specify which elements of the offense the standard applies to, the identified standard must apply to all elements of the offense.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
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A “Nay” vote
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What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Mens Rea Reform Act of 2015
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Hatch, Orrin G. [R-UT] · 4 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Mike Lee (R-UT), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rand Paul (R-KY)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (1)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s2298.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>
Record fed-us-cong114-s2298 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114