S. 739 · 117th Congress

Mens Rea Reform Act of 2021

Stage
In committee
Sponsor
Mike Lee
Introduced
2021-03-11
Latest action
2021-03-11 · Introduced in Senate

Summary

Mens Rea Reform Act of 2021 This bill establishes a default mens rea standard (i.e., state of mind requirement) for federal criminal offenses—statutory and regulatory—that lack an explicit standard.

The government must generally prove that a defendant acted willfully with respect to each element of an offense for which the text does not specify a state of mind.