Local Courthouse Safety Act of 2012

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6185) to improve security at State and local courthouses, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 6185, as amended, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank our Judiciary Committee colleague, Mrs. Adams of Florida, for her work on this issue to make America's courthouses safer. This bipartisan, bicameral bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by unanimous consent last May.

Before I yield to her, I do want to urge my colleagues to support this bill and thank Mrs. Adams again for all of her work that brought us to this point we are here today.

Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank my Judiciary Committee colleague, Mrs. Adams of Florida, for her work on this issue to make America's courthouses safer. This bipartisan, bicameral bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee by unanimous consent last May.

State and local courthouses are the workplace for many people. Judges, secretaries, custodians, clerks and attorneys are there every workday. Police officers, litigants and the public go to these courthouses for many reasons. Many of us are called upon to report there for jury duty.

Often in these courthouses, the stakes, and emotions, are high when defendants confront their accusers and victims confront there perpetrators.

Threats against judges and acts of violence in courthouses and courtrooms are occurring throughout the country with greater frequency than ever before. The number of threats and violent incidents that target the judiciary has increased dramatically in recent years.

At the federal level, the U.S. Marshals Service's Center for Judicial Security reports the number of judicial threat investigations has more than doubled to over 1,200 in the past nine years. At the state and local levels, data collected by the Center for Judicial and Executive Security shows that the number of violent incidents in state courthouses has gone up every decade since 1970.

Since 2010, there has been about one shooting per month at local courthouses across the country. In September 2011, for example a defendant opened fire in the Crawford County Courthouse in Arkansas, killing a judge's secretary.

In December 2011, a defendant retrieved a gun from his car, walked into the Cook County Courthouse in Minnesota and shot the prosecuting attorney, a witness and the bailiff.

So far in 2012, there have been at least five courthouse shootings, including a fatal attack in my home State of Texas.

Security at many local courthouses is lax, particularly in rural and suburban areas where access to equipment, training and resources is especially scarce. Law enforcement officers, court personnel and members of our communities are in harm's way as a result.

One Minnesota judge put it well in a recent correspondence to his colleagues: ``I'm no longer willing to risk my life, the life of court staff, [and] the life of the public who have no choice about going to court.''

This bill accomplishes three objectives. First, the bill gives State and local courthouses direct access to security equipment that the Federal Government no longer uses.

This provision is modeled after a Defense Department program that allows the Pentagon to give its excess equipment to local police and firefighters. This legislation gives State and local authorities access to excess metal detectors, wands and baggage screening machines.

Second, this bill gives States the flexibility they need to make courthouse security improvements, but requires modest matching funds.

The bill does not require any new spending and it does not impose any new mandates. States can use existing federal resources for courthouse security upgrades if they so choose.

Lastly, through existing programs and funding authorizations, training and technical assistance will be provided to local law enforcement officers to teach them how to anticipate and survive violent encounters.

The identical Senate bill has broad bipartisan support and its ten co-sponsors come from both sides of the aisle.

This bill has been endorsed by six organizations, including: the National Sheriffs Association, the National Association for Court Management, the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, the American Judges Association and the National Court Reporters Association.

The Congressional Budget Office scored this bill at zero cost.

This bill is a cost-effective approach to provide safety training and technical assistance to local law enforcement agencies. It improves security at State and local government courthouses, which are most in need of basic safety equipment and training.

Our State and local law enforcement officers need support to ensure the security of our courthouses. This bill does that as it recycles excess Federal security equipment and protects Americans at the same time.

I again thank Mrs. Adams for her work on this issue and I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan, bicameral bill.

House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and

Government Reform,

Washington, DC, September 10, 2012.

Hon. Lamar Smith,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Mr. Chairman: On August 1, 2012, the Committee on the

Judiciary ordered H.R. 6185, the ``Local Courthouse Safety

Act of 2012,'' reported to the House. Thank you for

consulting with the Committee on Oversight and Government

Reform with regard to H.R. 6185 on those matters within the

Committee's jurisdiction. I am writing to confirm our mutual

understanding with respect to the consideration of H.R. 6185.

In the interest of expediting the House's consideration of

H.R. 6185, I will forego consideration of the bill. However,

I do so only with the understanding that this procedural

route will not be construed to prejudice the Committee on

Oversight and Government Reform's jurisdictional interest and

prerogatives on this bill or any other similar legislation

and will not be considered as precedent for consideration of

matters of jurisdictional interest to my Committee in the

future.

I respectfully request your support for the appointment of

outside conferees from the Committee on Oversight and

Government Reform should this bill or a similar bill be

considered in a conference with the Senate. I also request

that you include our exchange of letters on this matter in

the Committee Report on H.R. 6185 and in the Congressional

Record during consideration of this bill on the House floor.

Thank you for your attention to these matters.

Sincerely,

Darrell Issa,

Chairman.

I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Adams).

Mr. Speaker, we have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I rise today in support of H.R. 6185, the Local Courthouse Safety Act of 2012, because it will give local courthouses the resources to enhance their security, and to do so at no cost to the Federal taxpayer. My bill would allow for surplus metal detectors to be provided to local courthouses to enhance security.

Like other regions throughout our Nation, central Florida has seen its share of courthouse attacks. Shortly before I joined the Orange County Sheriff's Office as a deputy sheriff, a courthouse shooting occurred. An armed gunman by the name of Thomas Provenzano walked into the Orange County Courthouse with a 12-gauge shotgun, an assault rifle, and a .38 revolver, all loaded with live ammunition. Bailiff William Wilkerson, a 60-

year-old veteran who retired from the Navy as a lieutenant commander, was killed on that day. Bailiff Harry Dalton, a 53-year-old father of six, was shot in the face and left paralyzed from the shooting. He died 7 years later. Correctional Officer Mark Parker was only 19 years old at the time of the shooting. He survived the shooting but was paralyzed from the shoulders down and had to spend the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair.

I introduced the Local Courthouse Safety Act because the things this bill does are important to me and to most Americans. I know the families of Bailiff Dalton and Bailiff Wilkerson, who lost their lives as a result of the violence that day in the Orange County Courthouse, and remained friends with Officer Parker until he passed away a few years ago. I am deeply aware of the grief they've had to live with all of these years.

Since September of 2010, there has been about one shooting per month at a local courthouse. So even though the shooting in Orange County happened 30 years ago, courthouse shootings are still happening all over this country and innocent people are still dying.

Those who are exercising their constitutional right of seeking justice in our courtrooms should not have to fear for their safety, and neither should our law enforcement officers, judges, advocates, and court personnel. It is my hope that this bill will help to prevent horrific and senseless incidents of violence like this from happening in our local courthouses.

I want to thank my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee for recognizing that we need to take courthouse security seriously and for joining me in this bipartisan effort to help prevent violence in local courthouses across this country. We need to give sheriffs and local courthouses access to the training, equipment, and resources they need to improve security, so I urge support for the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6185, the Local Courthouse Safety Act. This measure will provide critical assistance to State and local governments to provide courthouse security.

To begin with, many State and local courthouses face serious security challenges. Serious violence often occurs in these facilities, but many courthouses across the Nation still lack basic security protections such as metal detectors. H.R. 6185 responds to this critical problem by giving sheriffs, as well as State and local courthouses, access to training, equipment, and other resources to help them improve security.

H.R. 6185 accomplishes these goals by making use of existing resources. This legislation requires the General Services Administration to make available to State and local courts--at no cost, except for shipping, handling, and maintenance--surplus security equipment that is used to detect weapons, such as metal detectors, wands, and baggage screening devices. To qualify to receive such security equipment, a State or local courthouse must have less security equipment than necessary to meet the security needs of that courthouse. Because these devices are surplus and not otherwise being utilized by any Federal agencies, it is a wise use of taxpayer money to allow this equipment to be put into service at the State and local level.

Another important aspect of the bill is that it expands the scope of the grants awarded by the State Justice Institute to include the improvement of the safety and security of State and local courts. As a result, H.R. 6185 strengthens the Institute's current authority to award grants to support education, training, and technical assistance projects to improve the administration of justice in the State courts. This measure addresses, in a meaningful way, the serious security challenges that State and local courthouses face.

Not surprisingly, H.R. 6185 enjoys a broad range of support, including the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Association for Court Management, the Conference of Chief Justices, the Conference of State Court Administrators, American Judges Association, the National Court Reporters Association, and the Center for Judicial and Executive Security.

I commend my colleague, the gentlelady from Florida (Mrs. Adams) for her work in developing the bill, and I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.