Countering Threats and Attacks on Our Judges Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8093 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8093

To amend the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to authorize the State 
    Justice Institute to provide awards to certain organizations to 
  establish a State judicial threat intelligence and resource center.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 19, 2024

 Ms. Jackson Lee (for herself and Mr. McCaul) introduced the following 
       bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 to authorize the State 
    Justice Institute to provide awards to certain organizations to 
  establish a State judicial threat intelligence and resource center.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Countering Threats and Attacks on 
Our Judges Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 202 of the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 
10701) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(9) `eligible organization' means a national nonprofit 
        organization that--
                    ``(A) provides technical assistance and training 
                on, and has expertise and national-level experience in, 
                judicial security and safety at the State and local 
                levels;
                    ``(B) has experience in courthouse design and 
                courthouse security design standards;
                    ``(C) has an understanding of State judicial 
                operations and public access to judicial services; and
                    ``(D) has experience working with a wide array of 
                different judges and court systems, including an 
                understanding of the challenges facing trial courts, 
                appellate courts, rural courts, and limited-
                jurisdiction courts at the State and local levels.''.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE JUDICIAL THREAT INTELLIGENCE AND 
              RESOURCE CENTER.

    Section 206(c) of the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 (42 
U.S.C. 10705(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (14), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (15) as paragraph (16); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (14) the following:
            ``(15) to provide financial and technical support to 
        eligible organizations to establish, implement, and operate a 
        State judicial threat and intelligence resource center to--
                    ``(A) provide technical assistance and training 
                around judicial security, including--
                            ``(i) providing judicial officer safety 
                        education and training for judicial officers, 
                        courts, and local law enforcement;
                            ``(ii) creating resources and guides around 
                        judicial security; and
                            ``(iii) providing physical security 
                        assessments for courts, homes, and other 
                        facilities where judicial officers and staff 
                        conduct court-related business;
                    ``(B) proactively monitor threats to the safety of 
                State and local judges and court staff;
                    ``(C) coordinate with Federal, State, and local law 
                enforcement agencies to mitigate threats to the safety 
                of State and local judges and court staff;
                    ``(D) develop standardized incident reporting and 
                threat evaluation practices for State and local courts 
                in coordination with State and local law enforcement 
                and fusion centers;
                    ``(E) develop a national database for reporting, 
                tracking, and sharing information about threats and 
                incidents towards judicial officers and court staff at 
                local and State levels with entities working in the 
                interest of judicial security, including State and 
                local law enforcement and fusion centers; and
                    ``(F) coordinate research to identify, examine, and 
                advance best practices around judicial security.''.

SEC. 4. REPORTS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date on which a State judicial 
threat intelligence and resource center is established under paragraph 
(15) of section 206(c) of the State Justice Institute Act of 1984, as 
added by section 3 of this Act, the State Justice Institute shall 
submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives an annual 
report on the number of threats to State and local judiciary members 
and court staff, with breakdown of types of threats and level of 
seriousness.
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