116 S3776 IS: Coast Guard Academy Safe-to-Report Act U.S. Senate 2024-02-08 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II118th CONGRESS2d SessionS. 3776IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESFebruary 8 (legislative day, February 7), 2024Mr. Blumenthal (for himself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Blackburn, Ms. Baldwin, and Mrs. Britt) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationA BILLTo establish a safe-to-report policy within the Coast Guard, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Coast Guard Academy Safe-to-Report Act.

2.

Coast Guard safe-to-report policy

(a)

In general

The Commandant of the Coast Guard shall prescribe regulations to establish a safe-to-report policy that—(1)applies to—(A)all members of the Coast Guard (including members of the reserve component of the Coast Guard); and(B)cadets at the United States Coast Guard Academy; and(2)is consistent with the safe-to-report policy prescribed by the Secretary of Defense under section 539A of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 10 U.S.C. 1561 note).(b)

Safe-to-Report policy

The safe-to-report policy established in accordance with the regulations prescribed under subsection (a) shall set forth a procedure for the handling of minor collateral misconduct involving any individual described in paragraph (1) or (2) of that subsection who is the alleged victim of sexual assault or sexual harassment.(c)

Aggravating circumstances

The regulations under subsection (a) shall specify aggravating circumstances that increase the gravity of minor collateral misconduct or the impact of such misconduct on good order and discipline.(d)

Tracking of collateral misconduct incidents

In conjunction with the issuance of regulations under subsection (a), the Commandant shall develop and implement a process to track incidents of minor collateral misconduct that are subject to the safe-to-report policy.(e)

Definition of minor collateral misconduct

In this section, the term minor collateral misconduct means any minor misconduct that is potentially punishable under chapter 47 of title 10, United States Code (the Uniform Code of Military Justice), that—(1)is committed close in time to or during a sexual assault or instance of sexual harassment, and directly related to the incident that formed the basis of the allegation of sexual assault or sexual harassment;(2)is discovered as a direct result of—(A)the report of sexual assault or sexual harassment; or(B)an investigation into a sexual assault or an instance of sexual harassment; and(3)does not involve aggravating circumstances (as specified in the regulations prescribed under subsection (c)) that increase the gravity of the minor misconduct or the impact of such misconduct on good order and discipline.