[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4263 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4263

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the Department 
of Homeland Security to establish a social media working group, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 14, 2014

 Mrs. Brooks of Indiana (for herself, Mr. Payne, Mr. Palazzo, and Mr. 
   Swalwell of California) introduced the following bill; which was 
             referred to the Committee on Homeland Security

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize the Department 
of Homeland Security to establish a social media working group, 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 ``Social Media Working Group Act of 
2014''.

SEC. 2. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP.

    (a) In General.--Title III of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 
U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
section:

``SEC. 318. SOCIAL MEDIA WORKING GROUP.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish within the 
Department a social media working group (in this section referred to as 
the `Group').
    ``(b) Purpose.--In order to enhance information sharing between the 
Department and appropriate stakeholders, the Group shall provide 
guidance and best practices to the emergency preparedness and response 
community on the use of social media technologies before, during, and 
after a terrorist attack.
    ``(c) Membership.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Under Secretary for Science and 
        Technology shall serve as the permanent chairperson of the 
        Group, and shall designate, on a rotating basis, a 
        representative from a State or local government who is a member 
        of the Group to serve as co-chairperson. Membership of the 
        Group shall be composed of a cross section of subject matter 
        experts from Federal, State, local, tribal, and nongovernmental 
        organization practitioners, including representatives from the 
        following entities:
                    ``(A) The Office of Public Affairs of the 
                Department.
                    ``(B) The Office of the Chief Information Officer 
                of the Department.
                    ``(C) The Privacy Office of the Department.
                    ``(D) The Federal Emergency Management Agency.
                    ``(E) The American Red Cross.
                    ``(F) The United States Forest Service.
                    ``(G) The Centers for Disease Control and 
                Prevention.
                    ``(H) The United States Geological Survey.
                    ``(I) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration.
            ``(2) Additional members.--The Under Secretary for Science 
        and Technology shall appoint, on a rotating basis, qualified 
        individuals to the Group. The total number of such additional 
        members shall--
                    ``(A) be equal to or greater than the total number 
                of regular members under paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) include--
                            ``(i) not fewer than three representatives 
                        from the private sector; and
                            ``(ii) representatives from--
                                    ``(I) State, local, and tribal 
                                entities, including from--
                                            ``(aa) law enforcement;
                                            ``(bb) fire services;
                                            ``(cc) emergency management 
                                        services; and
                                            ``(dd) public health 
                                        entities;
                                    ``(II) universities and academia; 
                                and
                                    ``(III) non-profit disaster relief 
                                organizations.
    ``(d) Consultation With Non-Members.--To the extent practicable, 
the Group shall work with existing bodies in the public and private 
sectors to carry out subsection (b).
    ``(e) Meetings.--
            ``(1) Initial meeting.--Not later than 90 days after the 
        date of the enactment of this section, the Group shall hold its 
        initial meeting. Such initial meeting may be held virtually.
            ``(2) Subsequent meetings.--After the initial meeting under 
        paragraph (1), the Group shall meet at least twice each year, 
        or at the call of the Chairperson. Such subsequent meetings may 
        be held virtually.
    ``(f) Nonapplicability of FACA.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the Group.
    ``(g) Reports.--Not later than March 30 of each year, the Group 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that 
includes the following:
            ``(1) A review of current and emerging social media 
        technologies being used to support preparedness and response 
        activities related to terrorist attacks.
            ``(2) A review of best practices and lessons learned on the 
        use of social media during the response to terrorist attacks 
        that occurred during the period covered by the report at issue.
            ``(3) Recommendations to improve the Department's use of 
        social media.
            ``(4) Recommendations to improve information sharing among 
        the Department and its components.
            ``(5) Recommendations to improve information sharing among 
        State and local governments.
            ``(6) A review of available training for Federal, State, 
        local, and tribal officials on the use of social media in 
        response to a terrorist attack.
            ``(7) A summary of coordination efforts with the private 
        sector to discuss and resolve legal, operational, technical, 
        privacy, and security concerns.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 is amended by inserting after the 
item relating to section 317 the following new item:

``Sec. 318. Social media working group.''.
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