To amend title 5, United States Code, to permit access to databases maintained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for purposes of complying with sex offender registry and notification laws, and for other purposes.

Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to authorize the disclosure to government agencies of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) records on assistance provided to individuals in connection with a major disaster or emergency for purposes of complying with a federal or state sex offender registry or notification law.

Conditions receipt of federal funds by non-governmental organizations under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act on the organization providing assurances satisfactory to the President that it will disclose its records for the purpose of permitting a requesting jurisdiction to comply with a federal or state sex offender registry or notification law.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4381 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4381

  To amend title 5, United States Code, to permit access to databases 
 maintained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for purposes of 
  complying with sex offender registry and notification laws, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 17, 2005

Mr. Poe (for himself, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of Florida, and Mr. Foley) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Government Reform, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation 
 and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 5, United States Code, to permit access to databases 
 maintained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for purposes of 
  complying with sex offender registry and notification laws, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. REQUIREMENT FOR ACCESS TO FEMA DATABASES TO COMPLY WITH SEX 
              OFFENDER REGISTRY AND NOTIFICATION LAWS.

    Section 552a(b) of title 5, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``or'' at the end of paragraph (11);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (12) and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: .
            ``(13) disclosure of a record contained in a system of 
        records maintained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
        on assistance provided to individuals in connection with a 
        major disaster or emergency, for purposes of disclosure to 
        another agency or to an instrumentality of any governmental 
        jurisdiction within or under the control of the United States 
        for purposes of complying with a Federal or State sex offender 
        registry or notification law.''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS MAINTAINED BY NONGOVERNMENTAL 
              ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING EVACUATION ASSISTANCE.

    Title III of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency 
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:

``SEC. 326. DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS MAINTAINED BY NONGOVERNMENTAL 
              ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING EVACUATION ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) In General.--As a condition of receipt of Federal funds under 
this Act for services related to evacuating individuals from an area in 
response to a hazard or threat of a hazard, a nongovernmental 
organization shall provide assurances satisfactory to the President 
that the organization will disclose to a jurisdiction, upon written 
request, records maintained by the organization in connection with such 
services if the purpose of the disclosure is to permit the jurisdiction 
to comply with a Federal or State sex offender registry or notification 
law.
    ``(b) Liability Protection.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, no organization or any employee thereof disclosing a record to a 
jurisdiction pursuant to an assurance made under subsection (a) shall 
be held, by reason of making the disclosure, to be liable in damages 
under any law of the United States or of any State (or political 
subdivision thereof) unless the information disclosed is false and the 
person providing the information knew that the information was 
false.''.
                                 <all>