The School Safety And Law Enforcement Improvement Act

In response to the tragedy at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Chairman Leahy has combined several pre-existing bills into a comprehensive package that provides for appropriate improvements in school safety and law enforcement. The package -- titled The School Safety and Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2005 (SSLEIA) -- combines six bills previously reported to or by the Judiciary Committee, with some modifications, and was reported out of Committee by a unanimous vote on August 2, 2007. As amended, SSLEIA includes the following:

* The School Safety Enhancements Act (S.1217)

* The NICS Improvement Amendments Act (H.R. 2640) (also known as the Veteran's Disarmament Act [ cite web
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* The Equity in Law Enforcement Act (S.1448)

* The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007 (S.376)

* The Prevention Resources for Eliminating Criminal Activity in our Neighborhoods (PRECAUTION) Act (S. 1521)

* The Terrorism Hoax Improvements Act of 2007 (S. 735)

Title I: School Safety Enhancements Act

This title addresses school safety concerns both at the elementary and secondary school level (K-12), and for college and university campuses. The K-12 portion adds tip lines, surveillance equipment, and capital improvements to schools as approved uses for an existing Justice Department grant program, and increases annual appropriation authorization for this purpose from $30,000,000 to $50,000,000. It also creates an interagency task force to develop advisory guidelines on school safety. The campus public safety portion authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to establish and operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety ($2.75 million annually), and creates a new Justice Department grant program to help pay for improved campus security at institutions of higher learning, with annual authorized appropriations of $50,000,000.

Title II: The NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007

This title would substantially improve the National Instant Criminal Background System ("NICS") by providing far more mental health and other disqualifying records into the system. The bill more clearly defines what mental health records should be reported to NICS by federal and state authorities, and mandates all federal authorities to provide disqualifying information to the NICS system. The bill also encourages states and the federal government to implement legal programs for restoration of gun rights, if a person has recovered from any mental health disability. The bill creates a "carrot" and "stick" approach for states to reach compliance targets in all disqualifying categories for gun possession under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and 922(n). The "carrot" in the bill is a waiver of the 10% matching requirement for states to qualify for the NCHIP grant program once states reach 90% compliance. The "stick" is a graduated penalty which could take away up to 5% of a state's Byrne grant funding if the state's do not meet certain compliance targets (3% penalty after 3 years, 4% after 5 years, and 5% after 10 years). The bill also authorizes up to $400 million a year over 5 years in new grant funding for improvements to the information technology and state compliance programs to ensure all states meet the 90% compliance goal for reporting records to NICS.

Title III: Equity in Law Enforcement Act

This title would provide Federal death and disability benefits, Byrne grants, and grants for bulletproof vests to officers serving rail carriers and at private colleges and universities. These officers are currently ineligible for these benefits and law enforcement grants.

Title IV: Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007

This title revises the procedure by which qualified retired law enforcement officers may be certified under existing law (18 U.S.C. 926C) to carry concealed weapons across state lines. To accommodate varying administrative circumstances from state to state, the title adds flexibility to the way in which a retired qualified officer may obtain the required certification demonstrating that the individual has met active duty standards for firearm carriage. For example, where a state law enforcement agency cannot conduct the required testing of a retired officer, that officer may obtain the testing and certification from a firearms instructor certified by the state to test active duty officers within the state.

The title also amends existing law (18 U.S.C. 926B, 926C) to clarify that Amtrak and executive branch police officers are law enforcement officers for purposes of LEOSA. Finally, this title reduces from 15 to 10 years the length of service requirement applicable to retired law enforcement officers seeking certification to carry concealed weapons, and no longer requires that an officer be entitled to “non-forfeitable” benefits for purposes of LEOSA. Finally, the title also contains a mandate for a study to be conducted by the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”). This provision directs the GAO to commence a study not later than six months following enactment to determine how many officers are certified for interstate concealed firearms carriage under the existing law (18 U.S.C. 926B, 926C), with specific direction to ascertain how many retired officers have used the new provisions included in the amendments made by the SSLEIA.

This bill was reported by the Judiciary Committee on May 17, 2007 and awaits consideration by the Senate. The Chairman has re-introduced this bill for consideration in this package.

Title V: PRECAUTION Act

This title creates a National Commission on Public Safety to examine existing information on crime prevention and intervention strategies, to identify those programs that are most promising for nationwide use, and to issue a preliminary report on its findings. Based on the preliminary report, the PRECAUTION Act will fund pilot programs, through the National Institute of Justice, to test the programs’ effectiveness at reducing violence at schools, and in home and law enforcement settings. The Commission will then issue a second report evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot programs to help determine future priorities. Two-thirds of the PRECAUTION Act’s funding is youth-focused.

Title VI: The Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 2007

This title will be added to SSLEIA before the bill is reported to the full Senate. It: (1) expands 18 U.S.C. 1038, the terrorism hoax statute, so that it punishes hoaxes about any terrorist offense listed in 2332b(g)(5)(B) of title 18 (the U.S. Code’s official list of terrorist offenses); (2) increases the maximum penalties for hoaxes about the death or injury of a U.S. soldier during wartime; (3) expands current law’s civil liability provisions to allow first responders and others to seek reimbursement from a party who perpetrates a hoax and becomes aware that first responders believe that a terrorist offense is taking place but fails to inform authorities that no such event has occurred; and (4) clarifies that threatening communications are punishable under federal law even if they are directed at an organization rather than a natural person.

External links

*http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200708/080207b.html: Statement Of Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,On The School Safety And Law Enforcement Improvement Act, August 2, 2007
*http://www.students-protected.comWhite Paper on new technologies to protect students ]

References