[Senate Report 116-213]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 411
116th Congress     }                                    {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                    {      116-213
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



               FIRST STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                   COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND

                          GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                              to accompany

                                H.R. 495

TO AMEND THE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002 TO REQUIRE AN ANNUAL REPORT 
           ON THE OFFICE FOR STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT

              [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


                February 4, 2020.--Ordered to be printed 
                
                               __________


                      U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                      
99-010                     WASHINGTON : 2020 
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
                
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio                    GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky                  THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma             MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah                    KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
RICK SCOTT, Florida                  KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming             JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Staff Director
                   Joseph C. Folio III, Chief Counsel
            Christopher S. Boness, Professional Staff Member
               David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
               Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
                    Roy S. Awabdeh, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk














                                                      Calendar No. 411
116th Congress     }                                    {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                    {      116-213

======================================================================



 
               FIRST STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

                February 4, 2020.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 495]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H.R. 495) to amend the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require an annual report on 
the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommends that the bill (as amended) do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
  I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
 II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................3
 IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Act, as Reported.............5

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 495, the Federal Information Resource to Strengthen 
Ties with State and Local Law Enforcement Act of 2019, or the 
FIRST State and Local Law Enforcement Act, requires the 
Assistant Secretary for State and Local Law Enforcement (SLLE) 
to submit an annual report to Congress on the activities of the 
Office for SLLE. The reporting requirement is for each fiscal 
year 2020 through 2024.

              II. Background and the Need for Legislation

    The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the 
United States (also referred to as the 9/11 Commission) 
recognized the important role that state, local, tribal, and 
territorial (SLTT) agencies play in defending the homeland 
against terrorist attacks.\1\ Specifically, the 9/11 Commission 
report noted that, ``There is a growing role for state and 
local law enforcement agencies. They need more training and 
work with federal agencies so that they can cooperate more 
effectively with those federal authorities in identifying 
terrorist suspects.''\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, 
The 9/11 Commission Report 390 (2004), available at http://www.9-
11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf.
    \2\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Following the 9/11 Commission report, Congress enacted the 
Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 
2007.\3\ The law created the Office for State and Local Law 
Enforcement (SLLE Office) within the Department of Homeland 
Security (DHS) Policy Directorate headed by an Assistant 
Secretary.\4\ Under the law, the SLLE Office is responsible for 
leading coordination between DHS and SLTT law enforcement in 
defending, preparing, and responding to terrorist events and 
natural disasters as well as coordinating information sharing 
between the DHS Office of Intelligence & Analysis and SLTT law 
enforcement.\5\ The legislation also tasked the SLLE Office 
with assisting SLTT law enforcement to utilize grant funding to 
focus on terrorism prevention activities, and serve as an 
overall liaison between DHS and SLTT law enforcement, among 
other things.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Pub. L. No. 110-53.
    \4\Id. Since the passage of the Implementing Recommendations of the 
9/11 Commission Act of 2007, the Office for State and Local Law 
Enforcement is now located within the Office of Partnership and 
Engagement at DHS. With this move, the head of the Office for State and 
Local Law Enforcement is now designated as a Deputy Assistant 
Secretary.
    \5\Pub. L. No. 110-53.
    \6\Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The sharing of terrorism-related information between 
agencies and with SLTT law enforcement has long been on the 
Government Accountability Office's (GAO) High-Risk List.\7\ In 
its 2017 report, GAO removed the area of ``Establishing 
Effective Mechanisms for Sharing and Managing Terrorism-Related 
Information to Protect the Homeland'' due to significant 
progress made in key areas like leadership, measuring 
performance metrics, and tracking progress through an 
established implementation plan.\8\ However, in order for 
improvements and progress to remain on track, oversight in this 
area is crucial to maintaining a robust information-sharing 
enterprise. The 2017 report stated, ``Although no longer a 
high-risk issue, sharing terrorism-related information remains 
an area with some risk, and continues to be vitally important 
to homeland security, requiring ongoing oversight as well as 
continuous improvement to identify and respond to changing 
threats and technology.''\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\U.S. Gov't Accountability Office, GAO-17-317, High Risk Series: 
Progress on Many High-Risk Areas, While Substantial Efforts Needed on 
Others 4 (2017), available at https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/
682765.pdf.
    \8\Id.
    \9\Id. at 8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The SLLE Office is DHS' primary connection to share threat 
and terrorism-related information to SLTT law enforcement. This 
bill requires the SLLE Office to report to congressional 
committees of jurisdiction on its efforts to coordinate and 
share information, efforts to improve the Homeland Security 
Information Network, performance metrics on the office's 
effectiveness, and feedback from SLTT law enforcement. The 
report required by this Act will allow Congress to evaluate 
efforts within the SLLE Office and assist in making 
improvements where necessary.

                        III. Legislative History

    Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) introduced H.R. 
495, the FIRST State and Local Law Enforcement Act, on January 
11, 2019. The House of Representatives passed the Act under 
suspension of the rules by voice vote on January 29, 2019.
    The Act was referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs on January 29, 2019. The 
Committee considered H.R. 495 at a business meeting on November 
6, 2019. Chairman Ron Johnson offered an amendment that 
corrects the title of the Act from 2017 to 2019. The amendment 
was adopted by voice vote and the Act, as amended, was reported 
favorably by voice vote en bloc. Senators present for the vote 
were Johnson, Portman, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, Enzi, 
Hawley, Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, and Rosen.
    Consistent with Committee rules, the Committee reports the 
bill with a technical amendment by mutual agreement of the 
Chairman and Ranking Member.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Act, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section names the Act the ``Federal Information 
Resource to Strengthen Ties with State and Local Law 
Enforcement Act of 2019'' or the ``FIRST State and Local Law 
Enforcement Act.''

Section 2. Annual report on Office for State and Local Law Enforcement

    This section creates a requirement for the Assistant 
Secretary for SLLE to report annually from 2020 through 2024 on 
the activities of the Office. The report is to be submitted to 
the House Committee on Homeland Security, House Committee on 
the Judiciary, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs, and the Senate Committee on the 
Judiciary. The report's contents are to include a description 
of efforts to carry out and improve information sharing with 
SLLE agencies, the status of performance metrics within the 
SLLE Office, feedback from SLTT agencies, and efforts to carry 
out other responsibilities of the office.

                   V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact

    Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule 
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has 
considered the regulatory impact of this Act and determined 
that the Act will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement that the Act contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs 
on state, local, or tribal governments.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, December 11, 2019.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for Department of Homeland 
Security Legislation.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Kim Cawley.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

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    On November 6, 2019, the Senate Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs ordered reported the 
following pieces of legislation:
           H.R. 495, the Federal Information Resource 
        to Strengthen Ties with State and Local Law Enforcement 
        Act of 2019, which would require the Department of 
        Homeland Security (DHS) to submit an annual report to 
        the Congress on the department's efforts to coordinate 
        activities and share information with state, local, and 
        tribal law enforcement agencies;
           H.R. 1589, the CBRN Intelligence and 
        Information Sharing Act of 2019, which would direct DHS 
        to gather and analyze intelligence on terrorist threats 
        involving chemical, biological, radiological, and 
        nuclear (CBRN) materials and to share that information 
        with federal, state, and local authorities; and
           H.R. 2066, the DHS Intelligence Rotational 
        Assignment Program Act of 2019, which would authorize 
        DHS to permit its intelligence analysts to participate 
        in the department's in-house employee rotation program.
    DHS is currently carrying out activities similar to those 
required by the acts listed above, and any new activities 
required under the legislation would not require substantial 
action by the department. Thus, CBO estimates that implementing 
each act would not have a significant cost; any spending would 
be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    On April 23, 2019, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
1589, the CBRN Intelligence and Information Sharing Act of 
2019, as passed by the House of Representatives on April 1, 
2019. The two versions of the legislation are similar and CBO's 
estimate of the budgetary effects for each version are the 
same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Kim Cawley. The 
estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 2006. TERRORISM PREVENTION.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (5) Annual report.--For each of fiscal years 2020 
        through 2024, the Assistant Secretary for State and 
        Local Law Enforcement shall submit to the Committee on 
        Homeland Security and the Committee on the Judiciary of 
        the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
        Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the 
        Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report on 
        the activities of the Office for State and Local Law 
        Enforcement. Each such report shall include, for the 
        fiscal year covered by such report, a description of 
        each of the following:
                  (A) Efforts to coordinate and share 
                information regarding Department and component 
                agency programs with State, local, and Tribal 
                law enforcement agencies.
                  (B) Efforts to improve information sharing 
                through the Homeland Security Information 
                Network by appropriate component agencies of 
                the Department and by State, local, and Tribal 
                law enforcement agencies.
                  (C) The status of performance metrics within 
                the Office for State and Local Law Enforcement 
                to evaluate the effectiveness of efforts to 
                carry out the activities specified in 
                subsection (a).
                  (D) Any feedback from State, local, and 
                Tribal law enforcement agencies regarding the 
                Office for State and Local Law Enforcement, 
                including the mechanisms utilized to collect 
                such feedback.
                  (E) Efforts to carry out all other 
                responsibilities of the Office for State and 
                Local Law Enforcement.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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