[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4780 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4780

    To remove linguistic barriers to participation in Gun Violence 
                         Prevention Strategies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2023

Ms. Chu (for herself, Ms. Norton, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Johnson of 
Georgia, Ms. Crockett, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Takano, Mr. 
Grijalva, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Kildee, Mrs. Foushee, and Mr. 
  Moskowitz) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 
    and Commerce, 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 remove linguistic barriers to participation in Gun Violence 
                         Prevention Strategies.

    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 ``Language Access to Gun Violence 
Prevention Strategies Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Community-based organization.--The term ``community-
        based organization'' means a neighborhood or community-based 
        organization, as that term is defined in section 901 of title I 
        of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
        U.S.C. 10251).
            (2) Extreme risk protection order.--The term ``extreme risk 
        protection order'' means a written order or warrant, issued by 
        a State or Tribal court or signed by a magistrate (or other 
        comparable judicial officer), the primary purpose of which is 
        to reduce the risk of firearm-related death or injury by doing 
        1 or more of the following:
                    (A) Temporarily prohibiting a named individual from 
                owning, purchasing, possessing, receiving, or having 
                under the custody or control of the individual, a 
                firearm.
                    (B) Having a firearm temporarily removed or 
                requiring the temporary surrender of a firearm from a 
                named individual.
            (3) Firearm.--The term ``firearm'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 921 of title 18, United States Code.
            (4) Gun violence.--The term ``gun violence'' includes mass 
        shooting incidents, other firearm homicides or assaults, 
        firearm suicides or self-harm, unintentional firearm deaths and 
        injuries, and firearm-related crime.
            (5) Gun violence prevention strategy.--The term ``Gun 
        Violence Prevention Strategy'' means programs, policies, or 
        practices that have the potential to reduce firearm-related 
        violence, injuries, death, or crime within populations or 
        settings experiencing elevated risk.
            (6) Individual with limited english proficiency.--The term 
        ``individual with limited English proficiency'' means an 
        individual who does not speak English as the individual's 
        primary language and has a limited ability to read, write, 
        speak, or understand English.
            (7) Language access.--The term ``language access'' means 
        the provision of culturally competent and effective language 
        services to an individual with limited English proficiency 
        designed to enhance that individual's access to, understanding 
        of, or benefit from the services, activities, programs, or 
        benefits provided by a Federal agency.
            (8) Limited english proficient population.--The term 
        ``limited English proficient population'' means the sum of all 
        individuals with limited English proficiency.
            (9) Priority languages.--The term ``priority languages'' 
        means, at a minimum, the 10 most commonly spoken languages in 
        the United States other than English, which shall include 
        Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, and Korean.
            (10) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.
            (11) Significant resource.--The term ``significant 
        resource'' means, in the case of a Federal agency, any 
        material, digital or otherwise, prepared by the Federal agency 
        that contains information critical for education, awareness, 
        and participation in public education campaigns, such as 
        informational and outreach materials.

SEC. 3. TRANSLATION OF FEDERAL AGENCY MATERIALS.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General and the Secretary shall 
ensure that all significant resources for services, activities, 
benefits, and programs of the Department of Justice and the Department 
of Health and Human Services, respectively, that are prepared for the 
general public relating to gun violence prevention and firearm safety 
are competently translated and provided in accessible formats in 
priority languages.
    (b) Specific Resources.--The significant resources described in 
subsection (a) shall include--
            (1) extreme risk protection orders and safe gun storage 
        materials; and
            (2) significant resources prepared using amounts 
        appropriated under division B of the Bipartisan Safer 
        Communities Act (Public Law 117-159; 136 Stat. 1338) for 
        Federal grant programs and other activities carried out by the 
        Attorney General and the Secretary that were in effect as of 
        the date of enactment of that Act to support mental health 
        services, crisis response, school-based mental health, and 
        suicide prevention.
    (c) Community Review.--
            (1) In general.--For the purpose of ensuring that 
        significant resources described in subsection (a) are 
        culturally competent and accessible by the intended audience, 
        the Attorney General and the Secretary shall ensure all 
        translated materials are reviewed by community-based 
        organizations with demonstrated relationships with speakers of 
        a given language prior to publishing.
            (2) Funding.--The Attorney General and the Secretary shall 
        provide amounts appropriated to carry out this Act to 
        community-based organizations to carry out paragraph (1).

SEC. 4. PRIORITY GRANT APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall ensure that 
applications for grants for the creation and implementation of extreme 
risk protection orders, State crisis intervention court proceedings, 
and other gun violence reduction efforts incorporate meaningful 
engagement with limited English proficient populations by giving 
priority to applications that demonstrate a targeted outreach plan.
    (b) Public Outreach and Education Efforts.--Section 501 of title I 
of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10152) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)(I)(iv)--
                    (A) in subclause (III), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subclause (IV), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(V) public outreach and education 
                                efforts, which shall include--
                                            ``(aa) meaningful 
                                        engagement with community-based 
                                        organizations directly serving 
                                        limited English proficient 
                                        populations (as defined in 
                                        section 2 of the Language 
                                        Access to Gun Violence 
                                        Prevention Strategies Act of 
                                        2023); and
                                            ``(bb) translation of 
                                        public facing documents into 
                                        any language other than English 
                                        spoken by a limited English 
                                        proficient population that 
                                        constitutes not less than 3 
                                        percent or 500 individuals, 
                                        whichever is less, of the 
                                        population served or 
                                        encountered.''; and
            (2) in subsection (h)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) measures that have been taken by each grant recipient 
        to comply with subsection (a)(1)(I)(iv)(V).''.
    (c) Guidance.--Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Attorney General shall issue guidance related to the 
requirements set forth in subsections (a)(1)(I)(iv)(V) and (h)(5) of 
section 501 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152), as added by subsection (b).

SEC. 5. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION PUBLIC AWARENESS 
              CAMPAIGN.

    (a) In General.--For the purpose of increasing language access to 
community-based gun violence prevention strategies, the Attorney 
General, acting through the Director of the Office of Justice Programs, 
and in coordination with the Community-Based Violence Intervention and 
Prevention Initiative of the Office of Justice Programs, shall develop 
and implement a national public awareness campaign to increase 
awareness of federally supported gun violence prevention strategies, 
such as extreme risk protection orders, with a focus on outreach and 
engagement with limited English proficient populations.
    (b) Requirements.--The public awareness campaign under this section 
shall include--
            (1) the provision of in-language and culturally appropriate 
        messaging to disseminate scientific and evidence-based 
        information; and
            (2) the dissemination of information on subgrants to 
        community-based organizations educating professionals and 
        community stakeholders.
    (c) Coordination.--The public awareness campaign under this section 
shall be complementary to, and coordinated with, any other Federal, 
State, Tribal, and local efforts, as appropriate.
    (d) Reports to Congress.--The Attorney General shall submit a 
report to Congress detailing how funds appropriated to carry out this 
section were used.

SEC. 6. DEPARTMENT OF HEATH AND HUMAN SERVICES GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION 
              PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.

    (a) In General.--For the purpose of increasing language access to 
gun violence prevention strategies, the Secretary, acting through the 
Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in 
coordination with the Director of the National Center for Injury 
Prevention and Control, shall develop and implement a national public 
education campaign to increase awareness of gun violence prevention 
strategies and firearm safety programs supported by the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, such as safe gun storage practices, 
with a focus on outreach and engagement with limited English proficient 
populations.
    (b) Requirements.--The public awareness campaign under this section 
shall include--
            (1) the provision of in-language and culturally appropriate 
        messaging to disseminate scientific and evidence-based 
        information related to gun violence prevention and firearm 
        safety; and
            (2) the dissemination of information on subgrants to 
        community-based organizations educating professionals and 
        community stakeholders.
    (c) Coordination.--The public awareness campaign under this section 
shall be complementary to, and coordinated with, any other Federal, 
State, Tribal, and local efforts, as appropriate.
    (d) Reports to Congress.--The Secretary shall submit a report to 
Congress detailing how funds appropriated to carry out this section 
were used.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025.
                                 <all>