In an effort to collect information about racial profiling nationwide, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee introduced a bill that would collect data on stops for traffic violations by local law enforcement officers.
The Houston Democrat”s “Traffic Stops Along the Border Statistics Study Act of 2013″ would allow state and local police departments to trade their traffic-stop data for federal funds. Jackson Lee submitted the measure to the House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 3, the first day of the new Congress.
The proposal already is drawing criticism from conservatives and libertarians, who see it as another step by Big Government to collect information on average Americans. The libertarian web site American Vision News reported that Jackson Lee would “require state and local police departments to report broad information about all traffic stops into a national database under the control of the Justice Department.”
