S. 1749Senate112th Congress (2011-2013)In Committee

CAMPUS Safety Act of 2011

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SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

October 20, 2011

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

October 20, 2011

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Judiciary Committee

October 20, 2011

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 1749 on the floor

1 Democrat

Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" ScottD-VA-3 · Feb 7, 2012

Mr. Speaker, today I am introducting a bill to consolidate programs at the Department of Justice in order to create an offset for the costs in another bill I previously introduced this Congress, the Center to Advance, Monitor and Preserve University Security, ``CAMPUS,'' Safety Act. This consolidation bill is intended to allay the concerns some of my colleagues have expressed about the lack of an offset in the CAMPUS Safety Act. This bill will offset a majority of the costs of the the CAMPUS Safety Act, using the same offsets used in the Senate companion to the CAMPUS Safety Act, S. 1749, as introduced by Senator Mark Warner. When the CAMPUS Safety Act is considered, we will merge the two bills together for consideration.

In order to alleviate a majority of the costs of the CAMPUS Safety Act, this bill requires that the Office of Dispute Resolution of the Department of Justice and the jurisdiction and employees of that office be transferred to the Office of Legal Policy at the Department and funded through the general administration appropriation of the Office of Legal Policy. This was proposed in the President's 2012 budget and also by Senator Coburn in his ``Back in Black'' report. This bill also requires the Attorney General to implement policies that will result in at least $1 million in savings through consolidating ineffective or duplicative programs.

This bill is important because it helps to pay for the CAMPUS Safety Act, which is vitally important to our Nation's institutions of higher education. The CAMPUS Safety Act will create a National Center of Campus Public Safety, ``Center,'' which will be administered through the Department of Justice. The Center will train campus public safety agencies, encourage research to strengthen college safety and security, and serve as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of relevant campus public safety information. By having this information in one central location, institutions of higher education will be able to easily obtain the best information available on ways to keep campuses safe and secure and how to respond in the event of a campus emergency. This bill was introduced in the House in the 110th and 111th Congresses and passed both times by voice vote.

As Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security and a Member of the Education and Workforce Committee, I strongly urge my colleagues to sign on to the CAMPUS Safety Act to help schools keep their campuses safe and free from violence.

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Introduced in SenateIssued October 20, 2011

112th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 1749

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

October 20, 2011

Mr. Warner (for himself and Mr. Webb) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish and operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Center to Advance, Monitor, and Preserve University Security Safety Act of 2011 or the CAMPUS Safety Act of 2011.

National Center for Campus Public Safety

Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

National Center for Campus Public Safety

3021.

National Center for Campus Public Safety

(a)

Authority To establish and operate Center

(1)

In general

The Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is authorized to establish and operate a National Center for Campus Public Safety (referred to in this section as the Center).

(2)

Grant authority

The Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services is authorized to award grants to institutions of higher education and other nonprofit organizations to assist in carrying out the functions of the Center required under subsection (b).

(b)

Functions of the Center

The Center shall—

(1)

provide quality education and training for campus public safety agencies of institutions of higher education and the agencies’ collaborative partners, including campus mental health agencies;

(2)

foster quality research to strengthen the safety and security of institutions of higher education;

(3)

serve as a clearinghouse for the identification and dissemination of information, policies, procedures, and best practices relevant to campus public safety, including off-campus housing safety, the prevention of violence against persons and property, and emergency response and evacuation procedures;

(4)

develop protocols, in conjunction with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Education, State, local, and tribal governments and law enforcement agencies, private and nonprofit organizations and associations, and other stakeholders, to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from, natural and man-made emergencies or dangerous situations involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of the campus community;

(5)

promote the development and dissemination of effective behavioral threat assessment and management models to prevent campus violence;

(6)

coordinate campus safety information (including ways to increase off-campus housing safety) and resources available from the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education, State, local, and tribal governments and law enforcement agencies, and private and nonprofit organizations and associations;

(7)

increase cooperation, collaboration, and consistency in prevention, response, and problem-solving methods among law enforcement, mental health, and other agencies and jurisdictions serving institutions of higher education;

(8)

develop standardized formats and models for mutual aid agreements and memoranda of understanding between campus security agencies and other public safety organizations and mental health agencies; and

(9)

report annually to Congress and the Attorney General on activities performed by the Center during the previous 12 months.

(c)

Coordination with available resources

In establishing the Center, the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services shall—

(1)

consult with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Education, and the Attorney General of each State; and

(2)

coordinate the establishment and operation of the Center with campus public safety resources that may be available within the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Education.

(d)

Definition of institution of higher education

In this section, the term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001).

(e)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,750,000 for each of the fiscal years 2012 through 2016.

Justice program consolidation

(a)

In general

Effective 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Office of Dispute Resolution of the Department of Justice and the jurisdiction and employees of such office shall be—

(1)

transferred to the Office of Legal Policy of the Department of Justice; and

(2)

funded through the general administration appropriation of the Office of Legal Policy.

(b)

Additional amount

The Attorney General shall implement policies that will result in at least $1,000,000 in savings through consolidating ineffective or duplicative programs over the period of fiscal years 2012 through 2016.