S.Amdt. 3259

SA 3259. Mr. UDALL of Colorado submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed to amendment SA 2786 proposed by Mr. Reid (for himself, Mr.
Baucus, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Harkin) to the bill H.R. 3590, to amend the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the first-time homebuyers
credit in the case of members of the Armed Forces and certain other
Federal employees, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on
the table; as follows:

On page 396, between lines 8 and 9, insert the following:

SEC. 1__. STATE COURT INNOVATION PROJECT.

(a) Grant.--
(1) In general.--
(A) Grant program.--The Attorney General shall develop and
implement a competitive grant program to improve the
efficiency and lessen the costs and burdens of medical
malpractice civil litigation for plaintiffs and defendants.
(B) Elements of program.--The grant program under
subparagraph (A) shall be designed--
(i) to give State courts a mechanism for improving court
rules and procedures, allowing parties to go to trial in more
cost-effective ways and reducing the complexity and cost of
litigation; and
(ii) to fund research and objective measurement,
evaluation, and reporting of outcomes to identify innovative
ways of promoting the resolution of medical malpractice cases
in court or tried by jury in a more cost-effective and timely
manner pursuant to clause (i).
(C) Eligible entity.--To be eligible to receive a grant
under subparagraph (A), an entity shall--
(i) be a nonprofit State court improvement organization
that was incorporated or in existence before December 31,
2009, and which is experienced in developing State court
improvement programs; and
(ii) submit to the Attorney General an application at such
time, in such manner, and containing such information as the
Attorney General may require.
(2) Use of funds.--A grant recipient under paragraph (1)
shall use amounts awarded under the grant to conduct research
and evaluations, develop rules and procedures designed to
improve the efficiency and lessen the costs of medical
malpractice litigation for plaintiffs and defendants, and to
award subgrants to eligible entities to carry out
activities--
(A) to conduct pilot projects;
(B) to increase the operating efficiency of State courts
with respect to medical malpractice litigation;
(C) to conduct research to seek innovative ways to resolve
medical malpractice litigation in State courts in a more
cost-effective and timely manner; and
(D) to measures and report on outcomes with respect to
activities funded under the subgrant.
(3) Eligible subgrant entity.--To be eligible to receive a
subgrant under paragraph (2), an entity shall--
(A)(i) be a State or local governmental entity in a
jurisdiction that permits jury trials for civil medical
malpractice actions; or
(ii) be an academic institution; and
(B) submit an application at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as required by the recipient of
the grant under paragraph (1), in accordance with any rules
established by the Attorney General.
(4) Reporting.--Not later than 2 years after receiving
grant funds under this subsection, each grant recipient under
paragraph (1) shall submit to the Attorney General a report
that describes the activities conducted by the recipient
under this section, including the activities of any
subgrantees of such grant recipient under paragraph (2).
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out this section.
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