IB
Union Calendar No. 131
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 963
[Report No. 112–204]
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 8, 2011
Mr. Smith of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
September 12, 2011
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
A BILL
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide immunity for reports of suspected terrorist activity or suspicious behavior and response.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
See Something, Say Something Act of
2011
.
Amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002
In general
Subtitle H of title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Immunity for reports of suspected terrorist activity or suspicious behavior and response
Immunity for reports of suspected terrorist activity or suspicious behavior and response
In general
Any person who, in good faith and based on objectively reasonable suspicion, makes, or causes to be made, a voluntary report of covered activity to an authorized official shall be immune from civil liability under Federal, State, and local law for such report.
False reports
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any report that the person knew to be false or was made with reckless disregard for the truth at the time that the person made that report.
Immunity for response
In general
Any authorized official who observes, or receives a report of, covered activity and takes reasonable action in good faith to respond to such activity shall have qualified immunity from civil liability for such action, consistent with applicable law in the relevant jurisdiction. An authorized official as defined by section (d)(1)(A) not entitled to assert the defense of qualified immunity shall nonetheless be immune from civil liability under Federal, State, and local law if such authorized official takes reasonable action, in good faith, to respond to the reported activity.
Savings clause
Nothing in this subsection shall—
affect the ability of any authorized official to assert any defense, privilege, or immunity that would otherwise be available; and
be construed as affecting any such defense, privilege, or immunity.
Attorney fees and costs
Any authorized official or other person found to be immune from civil liability under this section shall be entitled to recover from the plaintiff all reasonable costs and attorney fees.
Definitions
In this section:
Authorized official
The term authorized official means—
any officer,
employee, or agent of the Federal government with responsibility for
preventing, protecting against, disrupting, or responding to a covered
activity;
or
any Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer.
Covered activity
The term covered activity means any suspicious transaction, activity, or occurrence indicating that an individual may be engaging, or preparing to engage, in a violation of law relating to an act of terrorism (as that term is defined in section 3077 of title 18, United States Code).
.
Amendment to the table of contents
The table of contents for the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting at the end of subtitle H of title VIII the following item:
Sec. 890A. Immunity for reports of suspected terrorist activity or suspicious behavior and response.
.
September 12, 2011
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed