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HR 365 RH

Union Calendar No. 334

EHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

2d SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

H. R. 365CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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To encourage, enhance, and integrate Blue Alert plans throughout the United States in order to disseminate information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘National Blue Alert Act of 2012’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) COORDINATOR- The term ‘Coordinator’ means the Blue Alert Coordinator of the Department of Justice designated under section 4(a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) BLUE ALERT- The term ‘Blue Alert’ means information relating to the serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer in the line of duty sent through the network.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) BLUE ALERT PLAN- The term ‘Blue Alert plan’ means the plan of a State, unit of local government, or Federal agency participating in the network for the dissemination of information received as a Blue Alert.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER- The term ‘law enforcement officer’ shall have the same meaning as in section 1204 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(6)).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) NETWORK- The term ‘network’ means the Blue Alert communications network established by the Attorney General under section 3.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) STATE- The term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. BLUE ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK.

The Attorney General shall establish a national Blue Alert communications network within the Department of Justice to issue Blue Alerts through the initiation, facilitation, and promotion of Blue Alert plans, in coordination with States, units of local government, law enforcement agencies, and other appropriate entities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. BLUE ALERT COORDINATOR; GUIDELINES.

(a) Coordination Within Department of Justice- The Attorney General shall assign an existing officer of the Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator of the Blue Alert communications network.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Duties of the Coordinator- The Coordinator shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) provide assistance to States and units of local government that are using Blue Alert plans;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) establish voluntary guidelines for States and units of local government to use in developing Blue Alert plans that will promote compatible and integrated Blue Alert plans throughout the United States, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) a list of the resources necessary to establish a Blue Alert plan;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) criteria for evaluating whether a situation warrants issuing a Blue Alert;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) guidelines to protect the privacy, dignity, independence, and autonomy of any law enforcement officer who may be the subject of a Blue Alert and the family of the law enforcement officer;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(D) guidelines that a Blue Alert should only be issued with respect to a law enforcement officer if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) the law enforcement agency involved--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(I) confirms--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(aa) the death or serious injury of the law enforcement officer; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(bb) the attack on the law enforcement officer and that there is an indication of the death or serious injury of the officer; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(II) concludes that the law enforcement officer is missing in the line of duty;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) there is an indication of serious injury to or death of the law enforcement officer;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) the suspect involved has not been apprehended; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iv) there is sufficient descriptive information of the suspect involved and any relevant vehicle and tag numbers;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(E) guidelines--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) that information relating to a law enforcement officer who is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty should be provided to the National Crime Information Center database operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation under section 534 of title 28, United States Code, and any relevant crime information repository of the State involved;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) that a Blue Alert should, to the maximum extent practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in consultation with law enforcement agencies of States and units of local governments), be limited to the geographic areas most likely to facilitate the apprehension of the suspect involved or which the suspect could reasonably reach, which should not be limited to State lines;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) for law enforcement agencies of States or units of local government to develop plans to communicate information to neighboring States to provide for seamless communication of a Blue Alert; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iv) providing that a Blue Alert should be suspended when the suspect involved is apprehended or when the law enforcement agency involved determines that the Blue Alert is no longer effective; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(F) guidelines for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) the issuance of Blue Alerts through the network; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) the extent of the dissemination of alerts issued through the network;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) develop protocols for efforts to apprehend suspects that address activities during the period beginning at the time of the initial notification of a law enforcement agency that a suspect has not been apprehended and ending at the time of apprehension of a suspect or when the law enforcement agency involved determines that the Blue Alert is no longer effective, including protocols regulating--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the use of public safety communications;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) command center operations; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) incident review, evaluation, debriefing, and public information procedures;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) work with States to ensure appropriate regional coordination of various elements of the network;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) establish an advisory group to assist States, units of local government, law enforcement agencies, and other entities involved in the network with initiating, facilitating, and promoting Blue Alert plans, which shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) to the maximum extent practicable, representation from the various geographic regions of the United States; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) members who are--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) representatives of a law enforcement organization representing rank-and-file officers;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) representatives of other law enforcement agencies and public safety communications;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) broadcasters, first responders, dispatchers, and radio station personnel; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iv) representatives of any other individuals or organizations that the Coordinator determines are necessary to the success of the network;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) act as the nationwide point of contact for--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the development of the network; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) regional coordination of Blue Alerts through the network; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) determine--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) what procedures and practices are in use for notifying law enforcement and the public when a law enforcement officer is killed or seriously injured in the line of duty; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) which of the procedures and practices are effective and that do not require the expenditure of additional resources to implement.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Limitations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION- The guidelines established under subsection (b)(2), protocols developed under subsection (b)(3), and other programs established under subsection (b), shall not be mandatory.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION- The guidelines established under subsection (b)(2) shall, to the maximum extent practicable (as determined by the Coordinator in consultation with law enforcement agencies of States and units of local government), provide that appropriate information relating to a Blue Alert is disseminated to the appropriate officials of law enforcement agencies, public health agencies, and other agencies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES PROTECTIONS- The guidelines established under subsection (b) shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) provide mechanisms that ensure that Blue Alerts comply with all applicable Federal, State, and local privacy laws and regulations; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) include standards that specifically provide for the protection of the civil liberties, including the privacy, of law enforcement officers who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty and the families of the officers.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Cooperation With Other Agencies- The Coordinator shall cooperate with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Transportation, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and appropriate offices of the Department of Justice in carrying out activities under this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Restrictions on Coordinator- The Coordinator may not--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) perform any official travel for the sole purpose of carrying out the duties of the Coordinator;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) lobby any officer of a State regarding the funding or implementation of a Blue Alert plan; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) host a conference focused solely on the Blue Alert program that requires the expenditure of Federal funds.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(f) Reports- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Coordinator shall submit to Congress a report on the activities of the Coordinator and the effectiveness and status of the Blue Alert plans that are in effect or being developed.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM FOR SUPPORT OF BLUE ALERT PLANS.

Section 1701(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(b)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (16), by striking ‘and’ at the end;

(2) by redesignating paragraph (17) as paragraph (18); and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (16) the following:

‘(17) to assist a State in the development or enhancement of programs and activities in support of a Blue Alert plan and the network (as those terms are defined in section 2 of the National Blue Alert Act of 2012), including--

‘(A) developing and implementing education and training programs, and associated materials, relating to Blue Alert plans;

‘(B) developing and implementing law enforcement programs, and associated equipment, relating to Blue Alert plans; and

‘(C) developing and implementing new technologies to improve the communication of Blue Alerts; and’.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

Section 1001(a)(11) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘(C)(i) Of amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out part Q in any fiscal year, $10,000,000 is authorized to be appropriated for grants for the purposes described in section 1701(b)(17).

‘(ii) Amounts appropriated pursuant to clause (i) shall remain available until expended.’.

Union Calendar No. 334

Passed the House of Representatives May 15, 2012. CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

2d SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

H. R. 365CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

[Report No. 112-478]

A BILL

AN ACT CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To encourage, enhance, and integrate Blue Alert plans throughout the United States in order to disseminate information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.

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May 11, 2012

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

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