[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1343 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1343

To provide immunity from civil liability to first responders engaged in 
  lawful efforts to prevent acts of terrorism, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2009

 Mrs. Myrick introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide immunity from civil liability to first responders engaged in 
  lawful efforts to prevent acts of terrorism, 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. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``First Responders Fighting Terrorism 
Protection Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR ENGAGING IN LAWFUL EFFORTS TO 
              PREVENT ACTS OF TERRORISM.

    (a) In General.--A first responder who takes reasonable action to 
prevent an act of terrorism, or who observes, or receives a report of, 
covered activity and takes reasonable action to respond to such 
activity shall have qualified immunity from civil liability for such 
action, consistent with applicable law in the relevant jurisdiction. A 
first responder not entitled to assert the defense of qualified 
immunity shall nevertheless be immune from civil liability under 
Federal, State, and local law if such first responder acted in good 
faith and on objectively reasonable suspicion and took reasonable 
action to prevent terrorist activity or in responding to the reported 
or observed covered activity.
    (b) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this Act shall affect the ability 
of a first responder to assert any defense, privilege, or immunity that 
would otherwise be available, and this Act shall not be construed as 
affecting any such defense, privilege, or immunity.
    (c) Attorney Fees and Costs.--A first responder found to be immune 
from civil liability under this Act shall be entitled to recover from 
the plaintiff all reasonable costs and attorney fees.
    (d) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) The term ``first responder'' means any Federal, State, 
        or local law enforcement agent, prosecution agent, border 
        agent, immigration agent, transportation security agent, fire 
        fighter, or emergency medical service provider, including--
                    (A) any agent of the Department of Justice, the 
                Office of the Director of National Intelligence and 
                constituent agencies, the Department of Homeland 
                Security, the United States Capitol Police, the Park 
                Police, and the Intelligence and Criminal Investigation 
                Divisions of each military department;
                    (B) a State or Commonwealth attorney, an officer or 
                agent of a State police department, an agent of a State 
                Bureau of Investigation, an agent of any State Parks 
                Commission police, State and federalized National Guard 
                personnel, and any uniformed officer of Wildlife Fish 
                and Game Commissions; and
                    (C) a county or municipal district attorney, an 
                agent of a county sheriff's department or municipal 
                police department, an agent or officer of a county or 
                municipal fire department, volunteer fire departments 
                under contract with a State, county or municipality, or 
                a county or municipal emergency service department.
            (2) The term ``act of terrorism'' means an act of domestic 
        or international terrorism as defined in section 2331 of title 
        18, United States Code.
            (3) The term ``covered activity'' means any suspicious 
        transaction, activity, or occurrence that indicates that an 
        individual may be engaging, or preparing to engage, in a 
        violation of law relating to an act of terrorism.
            (4) The term ``reasonable action'' means a lawful effort 
        made in good faith and includes, but is not limited to, conduct 
        involving--
                    (A) the investigation of suspicious behavior or 
                suspected violations of law relating to an act of 
                terrorism;
                    (B) the arrest, detention, or interrogation of 
                individuals engaging in suspicious behavior or 
                suspected of engaging in, or preparing to engage in, a 
                violation of a law relating to an act of terrorism; and
                    (C) the administration of or enrollment in 
                counterterrorism training and research programs 
                designed to prevent violations of law relating to an 
                act of terrorism.

SEC. 3. APPLICATION OF ACT.

    This Act shall apply to all activities and claims occurring on or 
after the date of enactment of this Act.
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