I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 720 

To improve intergovernmental planning for and communication during 

security incidents at domestic airports, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2015 

Mr. KATKO (for himself, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. HUDSON, Mrs. TORRES, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, and Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security 

A BILL 

To improve intergovernmental planning for and communication during security incidents at domestic airports, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gerardo Hernandez 

5 Airport Security Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist9 ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 


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1 Homeland Security (Transportation Security) of the 

2 Department of Homeland Security. 

3 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra4 tion’’ means the Transportation Security Adminis5 tration. 

6 SEC. 3. SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE AT AIRPORTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall, in 

8 consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emer9 gency Management Agency, conduct outreach to all air10 ports in the United States at which the Administration 

11 performs, or oversees the implementation and performance 

12 of, security measures, and provide technical assistance as 

13 necessary, to verify such airports have in place individual14 ized working plans for responding to security incidents in15 side the perimeter of the airport, including active shooters, 

16 acts of terrorism, and incidents that target passenger17 screening checkpoints. 

18 (b) TYPES OF PLANS.—Such plans may include, but 

19 may not be limited to, the following: 

20 (1) A strategy for evacuating and providing 

21 care to persons inside the perimeter of the airport, 

22 with consideration given to the needs of persons with 

23 disabilities. 


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1 (2) A plan for establishing a unified command, 

2 including identification of staging areas for non-air3 port-specific law enforcement and fire response. 

4 (3) A schedule for regular testing of commu5 nications equipment used to receive emergency calls. 

6 (4) An evaluation of how emergency calls placed 

7 by persons inside the perimeter of the airport will 

8 reach airport police in an expeditious manner. 

9 (5) A practiced method and plan to commu10 nicate with travelers and all other persons inside the 

11 perimeter of the airport. 

12 (6) To the extent practicable, a projected max13 imum timeframe for law enforcement response. 

14 (7) A schedule of joint exercises and training to 

15 be conducted by the airport, the Administration, 

16 other stakeholders such as airport and airline ten17 ants, and any relevant law enforcement, airport po18 lice, fire, and medical personnel. 

19 (8) A schedule for producing after-action joint 

20 exercise reports to identify and determine how to im21 prove security incident response capabilities. 

22 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 

24 Secretary shall report to the Committee on Homeland Se25 curity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 


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1 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

2 on the findings from its outreach to airports under sub3 section (a), including an analysis of the level of prepared4 ness such airports have to respond to security incidents, 

5 including active shooters, acts of terrorism, and incidents 

6 that target passenger-screening checkpoints. 

7 SEC. 4. DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ON BEST PRAC8 TICES. 

9 The Assistant Secretary shall— 

10 (1) identify best practices that exist across air11 ports for security incident planning, management, 

12 and training; and 

13 (2) establish a mechanism through which to 

14 share such best practices with other airport opera15 tors nationwide. 

16 SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION. 

17 Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

18 of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Sec19 retary shall certify in writing to the Committee on Home20 land Security of the House of Representatives and the 

21 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 

22 the Senate that all screening personnel have participated 

23 in practical training exercises for active shooter scenarios. 


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1 SEC. 6. REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENTS. 

2 Not later than 90 days after the enactment of this 

3 Act, the Assistant Secretary shall provide to the Com4 mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa5 tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 

6 Transportation of the Senate an analysis of how the Ad7 ministration can use cost savings achieved through effi8 ciencies to increase over the next 5 fiscal years the funding 

9 available for checkpoint screening law enforcement sup10 port reimbursable agreements. 

11 SEC. 7. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA12 TIONS. 

13 No additional funds are authorized to be appro14 priated to carry out this Act, and this Act shall be carried 

15 out using amounts otherwise available for such purpose. 

16 SEC. 8. INTEROPERABILITY REVIEW. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 

19 shall, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of the 

20 Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, conduct a 

21 review of the interoperable communications capabilities of 

22 the law enforcement, fire, and medical personnel respon23 sible for responding to a security incident, including active 

24 shooter events, acts of terrorism, and incidents that target 

25 passenger-screening checkpoints, at all airports in the 

26 United States at which the Administration performs, or 


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1 oversees the implementation and performance of, security 

2 measures. 

3 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the com4 pletion of the review, the Assistant Secretary shall report 

5 the findings of the review to the Committee on Homeland 

6 Security of the House of Representatives and the Com7 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

8 Senate. 

Æ 


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