H.R. 180: National Blue Alert Act of 2013

Introduced:
Jan 04, 2013 (113th Congress, 2013–2015)
Sponsor:
Rep. Michael Grimm [R-NY11]
Status:
Passed House

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill passed in the House on May 14, 2013 and goes to the Senate next for consideration.

Progress
Introduced Jan 04, 2013
Referred to Committee Jan 04, 2013
Reported by Committee May 07, 2013
Passed House May 14, 2013
Passed Senate ...
Signed by the President ...
Votes

House Vote on Passage
May 14, 2013 6:52 p.m.
Passed 406/2

Prognosis

74% chance of being enacted.

Only 28% of House bills that made it past committee in 2011–2013 were enacted. [show factors | methodology]

Cosponsors
14 cosponsors (8D, 6R) (show)
Committees

House Judiciary

↪ Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

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.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated May 14, 2013.
12 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

We don’t have a summary available yet.

Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

1/4/2013--Introduced.
National Blue Alert Act of 2013 - Directs the Attorney General to:
(1) establish a national Blue Alert communications network within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to disseminate information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, in coordination with federal, state, and local Blue Alert plans; and
(2) assign an existing DOJ officer to act as the national coordinator of the Blue Alert communications network.
Sets forth the duties of the national coordinator, including:
(1) providing assistance to states and local governments that are using Blue Alert plans;
(2) establishing voluntary guidelines for states and local governments to use in developing such plans;
(3) developing protocols for efforts to apprehend suspects;
(4) working with states to ensure appropriate regional coordination of various elements of the network;
(5) establishing an advisory group to assist states, local governments, law enforcement agencies, and other entities in initiating, facilitating, and promoting Blue Alert plans;
(6) acting as the nationwide point of contact for the development of the network and the regional coordination of Blue Alerts through the network; and
(7) determining 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 and which of the procedures and practices are effective and that do not require the expenditure of additional resources to implement.
Requires the guidelines to:
(1) provide that appropriate information relating to a Blue Alert is disseminated to officials of law enforcement, public health, and other agencies; and
(2) provide mechanisms that ensure that Blue Alerts comply with all applicable federal, state, and local privacy laws and regulations and include standards that specifically provide for the protection of the civil liberties of law enforcement officers and their families.
Directs the coordinator to annually submit a report on the coordinator's activities and the effectiveness and status of the Blue Alert plans that are in effect or being developed.

House Republican Conference Summary

The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.

This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/113/1/hr180.

Background

According to the Committee on the Judiciary[1], every year hundreds of law enforcement officers are killed or seriously injured in the line of duty.  Immediately after these events happen, information can mean the difference between life and death. 

To help catch offenders more quickly and to help prevent incidents, many states and local governments have joined in a voluntary Blue Alert system, similar to the Amber Alert system for missing children and the Silver Alert system for seniors, both of which quickly disseminate important information among law enforcement agencies.  H.R. 180 seeks to improve this system by establishing a national coordinator in the Department of Justice who will create voluntary national guidelines and encourage states that have not already done so to develop Blue Alert plans.

In the 112th Congress, the House passed similar legislation (H.R. 365) on May 15, 2012 by a recorded vote of 394-1 (Roll Call No. 250).


[1] See Committee Report 112-478

Summary

H.R. 180 directs the Attorney General to establish a national Blue Alert communications network within the Department of Justice (DOJ) to disseminate information among federal, state and local governments, and law enforcement in the event a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. 

The bill directs the Attorney General to assign an existing DOJ officer to act as the national coordinator of the network.  The coordinator will provide assistance to state governments that are using Blue Alert plans, establish guidelines to promote effectiveness and communication, including standards for issuing a Blue Alert and protocols for efforts to apprehend suspects.  H.R. 180 directs the coordinator to establish an advisory group to assist governments and law enforcement agencies in initiating, facilitating and promoting their Blue Alert plans. 

Further, H.R. 180 limits the ability of the coordinator to travel and host conferences solely for purposes related to his duties as coordinator. 

Cost

CBO estimates that H.R. 180 would cost “about $1 million annually from appropriated for DOJ to establish and administer a new program.  Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.”

House Democratic Caucus Summary

The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.

So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.

We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.

The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)