IB 

Union Calendar No. 290 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6538 

[Report No. 117–379] 

To create an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2022 

Mr. CICILLINE (for himself, Mr. UPTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mrs. SPARTZ, 

Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. MEIJER, Mr. DEUTCH, and Ms. MACE) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

JUNE 21, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. NEGUSE, Mr. BACON, Mr. SWALWELL, Mr. 

GARBARINO, Mr. CARSON, Mr. OBERNOLTE, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VAN

DREW, Mr. PHILLIPS, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Mr. TAKANO, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mrs. FLETCHER, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. 

RICE of South Carolina, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. MCCAUL, Ms. DEAN, Mr. 

ARMSTRONG, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. MCKINLEY, Mr. LIEU, Ms. LETLOW, Mr. 

RUSH, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Ms. MANNING, Mr. 

SUOZZI, Ms. NORTON, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. 

WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. BOURDEAUX, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. 

DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. CORREA, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. GREEN of 

Texas, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mr. TRONE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. CRIST, Mr. BERA, Ms. STRICKLAND, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. 

BROWNLEY, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. 

GOTTHEIMER, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, and Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia 

JUNE 21, 2022 

Deleted sponsor: Ms. LETLOW (added June 14, 2022; deleted June 21, 2022) 

JUNE 21, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 6538 RH

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 1, 2022] 

A BILL 

To create an Active Shooter Alert Communications Network, 

and for other purposes. 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 6538 RH

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 ‘‘Active Shooter Alert Act 

5 of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) ACTIVE SHOOTER.—The term ‘‘active shoot9 er’’ means an individual who is engaged in killing or 

10 attempting to kill persons with a firearm in a popu11 lated area and who is determined to pose an active, 

12 imminent threat to people in that populated area. 

13 (2) ADMINISTRATOR OF FEMA.—The term ‘‘Ad14 ministrator of FEMA’’ means the Administrator of 

15 the Federal Emergency Management Agency. 

16 (3) CHAIRMAN OF THE FCC.—The term ‘‘Chair17 man of the FCC’’ means the Chairman of the Federal 

18 Communications Commission. 

19 (4) COORDINATOR.—The term ‘‘Coordinator’’ 

20 means the Active Shooter Alert Coordinator of the De21 partment of Justice designated under section 3(a). 

22 (5) NETWORK.—The term ‘‘Network’’ means the 

23 Active Shooter Alert Communications Network, an 

24 interconnected system of Federal, State, Tribal, and 

25 local governments that is organized to provide inforVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6538.RH H6538

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 6538 RH

1 mation to the public, within geographically relevant 

2 areas, on active shooter situations. 

3 (6) POPULATED AREA.—The term ‘‘populated 

4 area’’ means a location where one or more persons 

5 other than the active shooter are present. 

6 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of the 

7 50 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, 

8 Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, 

9 the Virgin Islands of the United States, and any other 

10 territory of the United States. 

11 SEC. 3. NATIONAL COORDINATION OF ACTIVE SHOOTER 

12 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

13 (a) COORDINATION WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF JUS14 TICE.—The Attorney General shall assign an officer of the 

15 Department of Justice to act as the national coordinator 

16 of the Active Shooter Alert Communications Network re17 garding an emergency involving an active shooter. The offi18 cer so designated shall be known as the Active Shooter Alert 

19 Coordinator of the Department of Justice. 

20 (b) DUTIES.—The Coordinator shall— 

21 (1) encourage Federal, State, Tribal, and local 

22 government agencies to establish procedures to re23 spond to an active shooter, including active shooter 

24 procedures relating to interstate or interjurisdictional 

25 travel (including airports and border crossing areas 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 6538 RH

1 and checkpoints), and focus on governments that have 

2 not yet established such procedures; and 

3 (2) work with State, Tribal, and local govern4 ments to encourage appropriate regional and inter5 jurisdictional coordination of various elements of the 

6 Network. 

7 (c) GOALS.—The Coordinator shall encourage the 

8 adoption of best practices established under section 4(a) in 

9 State, Tribal, and local governments for— 

10 (1) the development of policies and procedures to 

11 guide the use of mass alert systems, changeable mes12 sage signs, or other information systems to notify 

13 local residents, motorists, travelers, and individuals 

14 in the vicinity of an active shooter; 

15 (2) the development of guidance or policies on 

16 the content and format of alert messages to be con17 veyed on mass alert systems, changeable message 

18 signs, or other information systems relating to an ac19 tive shooter; 

20 (3) the coordination of State, Tribal, and local 

21 Active Shooter Alert communications plans within a 

22 region for the use of mass alert systems relating to an 

23 active shooter; 

24 (4) the planning and designing of mass alert 

25 systems for multilingual communication with local 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 6538 RH

1 residents, motorists, travelers, and individuals in the 

2 vicinity of an active shooter, which system may in3 clude the capability for issuing wide area alerts to 

4 local residents, motorists, travelers, and individuals 

5 in the vicinity of an active shooter; 

6 (5) the planning of systems and protocols to fa7 cilitate the efficient issuance of active shooter alerts 

8 and other key information to local residents, motor9 ists, travelers, and individuals in the vicinity of an 

10 active shooter during times of day outside of normal 

11 business hours; 

12 (6) the provision of training and guidance to 

13 transportation authorities to facilitate the appro14 priate use of mass alert systems and other informa15 tion systems for the notification of local residents, mo16 torists, travelers, and individuals in the vicinity of 

17 an active shooter; and 

18 (7) the development of appropriate mass alert 

19 systems to ensure that alerts sent to individuals in 

20 the immediate vicinity of an active shooter do not 

21 alert the active shooter to the location of individuals 

22 sheltering in place near the active shooter. 

23 (d) INTEGRATED PUBLIC ALERT AND WARNING SYS24 TEM.—In carrying out duties under subsection (b), the Co25 ordinator shall notify and coordinate with the AdminisVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:22 Jun 22, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H6538.RH H6538

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 6538 RH

1 trator of FEMA, the Secretary of Transportation, and the 

2 Chairman of the FCC on using the Integrated Public Alert 

3 and Warning System to issue alerts for the Network. 

4 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter until 

6 such time as each of the State, Tribal, and local govern7 ments have adopted an active shooter alert protocol, the Co8 ordinator, in consultation with the Administrator of 

9 FEMA, Secretary of Transportation, and the Chairman of 

10 the FCC, shall submit to Congress a report on the activities 

11 of the Coordinator and the effectiveness and status of the 

12 Active Shooter Alert communications plan of each State, 

13 Tribal, and local government within each region that has 

14 implemented such a plan. 

15 SEC. 4. STANDARDS FOR ISSUANCE AND DISSEMINATION 

16 OF ALERTS THROUGH ACTIVE SHOOTER 

17 ALERT COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF BEST PRACTICES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (c), the 

20 Coordinator, using the recommendations of the Advi21 sory Panel established under subsection (b) and in co22 ordination with the Administrator of FEMA, the Sec23 retary of Transportation, the Chairman of the FCC, 

24 local broadcasters, and Federal, State, Tribal, and 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 6538 RH

1 local law enforcement agencies, shall establish best 

2 practices for— 

3 (A) the issuance of alerts through the Net4 work; 

5 (B) the extent of the dissemination of alerts 

6 issued through the Network; and 

7 (C) the achievement of the goals described in 

8 section 3(c). 

9 (2) UPDATING BEST PRACTICES.—The Coordi10 nator shall review the best practices established under 

11 paragraph (1) no less frequently than every 5 years 

12 to ensure the best practices are consistent with up13 dated data and recommendations on active shooter 

14 situations and technological advancements in the In15 tegrated Public Alert and Warning System or other 

16 technologies. The Coordinator shall convene the Advi17 sory Panel as necessary to provide updated rec18 ommendations if the best practices are to be updated. 

19 (b) ADVISORY PANEL.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Coordinator 

22 shall establish an Advisory Panel to make rec23 ommendations with respect to the establishment of 

24 best practices under subsection (a). 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 6538 RH

1 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Panel shall be 

2 comprised of at least 9 members, including— 

3 (A) at least 5 law enforcement officers, in4 cluding at least one nonsupervisory law enforce5 ment officer, who have responded to active shoot6 er incidents and who represent rural, suburban, 

7 and urban communities; 

8 (B) at least 1 public safety expert who is 

9 not a law enforcement officer and who has re10 sponded to an active shooter incident; 

11 (C) at least 1 emergency response official 

12 who is not a law enforcement officer; 

13 (D) at least 1 city planning expert; and 

14 (E) at least 1 mental and behavioral health 

15 expert. 

16 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 15 

17 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

18 Advisory Panel shall submit to Coordinator rec19 ommendations with respect to the establishment of 

20 best practices under subsection (a). 

21 (c) LIMITATIONS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The best practices established 

23 under subsection (a) shall— 

24 (A) be adoptable on a voluntary basis only; 

25 and 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 6538 RH

1 (B) to the maximum extent practicable (as 

2 determined by the Coordinator, in consultation 

3 with State, Tribal, and local law enforcement 

4 agencies), provide that— 

5 (i) appropriate information relating to 

6 an active shooter response is disseminated 

7 to the appropriate law enforcement, public 

8 health, communications, and other public 

9 officials; and 

10 (ii) the dissemination of an alert 

11 through the Network be limited to the geo12 graphic areas most likely to be affected by, 

13 or able to respond to, an active shooter situ14 ation. 

15 (2) NO INTERFERENCE.—In establishing best 

16 practices under subsection (a), the Coordinator may 

17 not interfere with systems of voluntary coordination 

18 between local broadcasters and State, Tribal, and 

19 local law enforcement agencies for improving and im20 plementing the Network. 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 6538 RH

1 SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON STATE RE2 SPONSES TO ACTIVE SHOOTER SITUATIONS 

3 REQUIRING THE ISSUANCE OF PUBLIC 

4 ALERTS AND WARNINGS. 

5 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

6 States shall conduct a study on State and local responses 

7 to active shooters and situations requiring the issuance of 

8 a public alert or warning. Such study shall address each 

9 of the following: 

10 (1) Differences between the definitions of the 

11 term ‘‘active shooter’’ used by different States. 

12 (2) The amount of time it takes and the process 

13 in each State to receive approval from the State alert14 ing officials after a local law enforcement agency re15 quests the issuance of a public alert or warning, such 

16 as an AMBER Alert, a Blue Alert, or an Ashanti 

17 alert. 

18 (3) A comparison of the timing and effectiveness 

19 of the issuance of public alerts and warnings by 

20 State, Tribal, and local alerting officials. 

21 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 2 years 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen23 eral of the United States shall submit to Congress a report 

24 containing the findings of the study conducted under sub25 section (a). 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 6538 RH

1 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro3 priated to the Attorney General to carry out this Act 

4 $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2023. 

5 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts appropriated 

6 under subsection (a) shall remain available until expended. 

7 SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act may be con9 strued to provide that a participating agency, or an officer, 

10 employee, or agent thereof, shall be liable for any act or 

11 omission pertaining to the Network. 

12 (b) STATE OR OTHER FEDERAL LAW.— Nothing in 

13 this section may be construed to limit the application of 

14 any State or other Federal law providing for liability for 

15 any act or omission pertaining to the Network. 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS

ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 290 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6538 

[Report No. 117–379] 

A BILL 

To create an Active Shooter Alert Communications 

Network, and for other purposes. 

JUNE 21, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS