S. 445: Courthouse Safety Act of 2013

Introduced:
Mar 04, 2013 (113th Congress, 2013–2015)
Sponsor:
Sen. Alan “Al” Franken [D-MN]
Status:
Referred to Committee

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. S. stands for Senate bill.

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Status

This bill was assigned to a congressional committee on March 4, 2013, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate as a whole.

Progress
Introduced Mar 04, 2013
Referred to Committee Mar 04, 2013
Reported by Committee ...
Passed Senate ...
Passed House ...
Signed by the President ...
Prognosis

45% chance of getting past committee.
4% chance of being enacted.

Only 12% of Senate bills made it past committee and only 2% were enacted in 2011–2013. [show factors | methodology]

Cosponsors
12 cosponsors (6D, 5R, 1I) (show)
Committees

Senate Judiciary

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

Full Title

A bill to improve security at State and local courthouses.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Mar 04, 2013.
5 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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Citation

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

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

3/4/2013--Introduced.
Courthouse Safety Act of 2013 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to permit the Director of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance to carry out a training and technical assistance program to teach employees of state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies how to anticipate, survive, and respond to violent encounters during the course of their duties, including duties relating to security at state, county, and tribal courthouses.
Requires the Director to give preference for any courthouse security training program to employees of jurisdictions that have magnetometers available at their courthouses.
Amends the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to require the State Justice Institute (a private nonprofit organization established to improve judicial administration in state courts) to include courthouse safety as a factor in the national assistance program under which it provides funding to state courts and related national and nonprofit organizations.
Permits state and local courts and other organizations awarded funds pursuant to Institute grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to use such funds to improve safety and security in state and local courts.
Requires, if such a grant is awarded to state or local courts without magnetometers, that specified matching funds be used acquire a magnetometer.
Directs the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to ensure that state or local courthouses having less security equipment than such courthouses require have an opportunity to request surplus security equipment (metal detectors, wands, baggage screening devices) before such equipment is made available to any other individual or entity.
Requires that priority be given to courthouses that have no security equipment.

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.

No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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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.)

Other Citations

  • 40 U.S.C. Chapter 5