Public Transit Crime Prevention Act

Key Points

• The bill creates a new federal crime for defacing, damaging, or destroying public transit vehicles, facilities, or property through graffiti or other vandalism. It also criminalizes possessing tools like spray paint with the intent to vandalize transit systems.
• Vandalism convictions carry up to 5 years in prison. If the damage exceeds $1,000 or the person has a prior conviction for vandalism or graffiti, the maximum penalty jumps to 10 years.
• Assaulting a transit worker or passenger becomes a federal crime with a mandatory minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison, even for simple assault without a weapon.
• Aggravated assaults on transit systems, including those involving dangerous weapons or causing serious bodily injury, carry a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. This also applies to repeat offenders.
• Courts must order convicted offenders to pay full restitution covering the cost of repairs, cleanup, or replacement of damaged transit property. This is meant to shift costs away from transit agencies and taxpayers.
• The bill applies to transit systems that affect interstate or foreign commerce or receive federal funding, giving it a very broad reach since most major public transit systems get some federal money.