II 
Calendar No. 163 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 720 
[Report No. 114–92] 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 11, 2015 
Received 
FEBRUARY 12, 2015 
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation 
JULY 23, 2015 
Reported by Mr. THUNE, with an amendment 
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 
AN ACT 
To improve intergovernmental planning for and communica-
tion during security incidents at domestic airports, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gerardo Hernandez 
Airport Security Act of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Homeland Security (Transportation Security) of the 
Department of Homeland Security. 
(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra-
tion’’ means the Transportation Security Adminis-
tration. 
SEC. 3. SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE AT AIRPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall, in 
consultation with the Administrator of the Federal Emer-
gency Management Agency, conduct outreach to all air-
ports in the United States at which the Administration 
performs, or oversees the implementation and performance 
of, security measures, and provide technical assistance as 
necessary, to verify such airports have in place individual-
ized working plans for responding to security incidents in-
side the perimeter of the airport, including active shooters, 
acts of terrorism, and incidents that target passenger- 
screening checkpoints. 
(b) TYPES OF PLANS.—Such plans may include, but 
may not be limited to, the following: 
(1) A strategy for evacuating and providing 
care to persons inside the perimeter of the airport, 
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with consideration given to the needs of persons with 
disabilities. 
(2) A plan for establishing a unified command, 
including identification of staging areas for non-air-
port-specific law enforcement and fire response. 
(3) A schedule for regular testing of commu-
nications equipment used to receive emergency calls. 
(4) An evaluation of how emergency calls placed 
by persons inside the perimeter of the airport will 
reach airport police in an expeditious manner. 
(5) A practiced method and plan to commu-
nicate with travelers and all other persons inside the 
perimeter of the airport. 
(6) To the extent practicable, a projected max-
imum timeframe for law enforcement response. 
(7) A schedule of joint exercises and training to 
be conducted by the airport, the Administration, 
other stakeholders such as airport and airline ten-
ants, and any relevant law enforcement, airport po-
lice, fire, and medical personnel. 
(8) A schedule for producing after-action joint 
exercise reports to identify and determine how to im-
prove security incident response capabilities. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 
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Secretary shall report to the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
on the findings from its outreach to airports under sub-
section (a), including an analysis of the level of prepared-
ness such airports have to respond to security incidents, 
including active shooters, acts of terrorism, and incidents 
that target passenger-screening checkpoints. 
SEC. 4. DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ON BEST PRAC-
TICES. 
The Assistant Secretary shall— 
(1) identify best practices that exist across air-
ports for security incident planning, management, 
and training; and 
(2) establish a mechanism through which to 
share such best practices with other airport opera-
tors nationwide. 
SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Sec-
retary shall certify in writing to the Committee on Home-
land Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate that all screening personnel have participated 
in practical training exercises for active shooter scenarios. 
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SEC. 6. REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENTS. 
Not later than 90 days after the enactment of this 
Act, the Assistant Secretary shall provide to the Com-
mittee on Homeland Security of the House of Representa-
tives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation of the Senate an analysis of how the Ad-
ministration can use cost savings achieved through effi-
ciencies to increase over the next 5 fiscal years the funding 
available for checkpoint screening law enforcement sup-
port reimbursable agreements. 
SEC. 7. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS. 
No additional funds are authorized to be appro-
priated to carry out this Act, and this Act shall be carried 
out using amounts otherwise available for such purpose. 
SEC. 8. INTEROPERABILITY REVIEW. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 
shall, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of the 
Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, conduct a 
review of the interoperable communications capabilities of 
the law enforcement, fire, and medical personnel respon-
sible for responding to a security incident, including active 
shooter events, acts of terrorism, and incidents that target 
passenger-screening checkpoints, at all airports in the 
United States at which the Administration performs, or 
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oversees the implementation and performance of, security 
measures. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the com-
pletion of the review, the Assistant Secretary shall report 
the findings of the review to the Committee on Homeland 
Security of the House of Representatives and the Com-
mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate. 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Gerardo Hernandez Air-
port Security Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ASSISTANT SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Assist-
ant Secretary’’ means the Assistant Secretary of 
Homeland Security (Transportation Security) of the 
Department of Homeland Security. 
(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The term ‘‘Administra-
tion’’ means the Transportation Security Administra-
tion. 
SEC. 3. SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE AT AIRPORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall, in 
consultation with other Federal agencies as appropriate, 
conduct outreach to all airports in the United States at 
which the Administration performs, or oversees the imple-
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mentation and performance of, security measures, and pro-
vide technical assistance as necessary, to verify such air-
ports have in place individualized working plans for re-
sponding to security incidents inside the perimeter of the 
airport, including active shooters, acts of terrorism, and in-
cidents that target passenger-screening checkpoints. 
(b) TYPES OF PLANS.—Such plans may include, but 
may not be limited to, the following: 
(1) A strategy for evacuating and providing care 
to persons inside the perimeter of the airport, with 
consideration given to the needs of persons with dis-
abilities. 
(2) A plan for establishing a unified command, 
including identification of staging areas for non-air-
port-specific law enforcement and fire response. 
(3) A schedule for regular testing of communica-
tions equipment used to receive emergency calls. 
(4) An evaluation of how emergency calls placed 
by persons inside the perimeter of the airport will 
reach airport police in an expeditious manner. 
(5) A practiced method and plan to commu-
nicate with travelers and all other persons inside the 
perimeter of the airport. 
(6) To the extent practicable, a projected max-
imum timeframe for law enforcement response to ac-
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tive shooters, acts of terrorism, and incidents that tar-
get passenger security-screening checkpoints. 
(7) A schedule of joint exercises and training to 
be conducted by the airport, the Administration, other 
stakeholders such as airport and airline tenants, and 
any relevant law enforcement, airport police, fire, 
and medical personnel. 
(8) A schedule for producing after-action joint 
exercise reports to identify and determine how to im-
prove security incident response capabilities. 
(9) A strategy, where feasible, for providing air-
port law enforcement with access to airport security 
video surveillance systems at category X airports 
where those systems were purchased and installed 
using Administration funds. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 
Secretary shall report to the Committee on Homeland Secu-
rity of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on 
the findings from its outreach to airports under subsection 
(a), including an analysis of the level of preparedness such 
airports have to respond to security incidents, including ac-
tive shooters, acts of terrorism, and incidents that target 
passenger-screening checkpoints. 
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SEC. 4. DISSEMINATING INFORMATION ON BEST PRAC-
TICES. 
The Assistant Secretary shall— 
(1) identify best practices that exist across air-
ports for security incident planning, management, 
and training; and 
(2) establish a mechanism through which to 
share such best practices with other airport operators 
nationwide. 
SEC. 5. CERTIFICATION. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, and annually thereafter, the Assistant Secretary 
shall certify in writing to the Committee on Homeland Se-
curity of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 
that all screening personnel have participated in practical 
training exercises for active shooter scenarios. 
SEC. 6. REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENTS. 
Not later than 90 days after the enactment of this Act, 
the Assistant Secretary shall provide to the Committee on 
Homeland Security of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of 
the Senate an analysis of how the Administration can use 
cost savings achieved through efficiencies to increase over 
the next 5 fiscal years the funding available for checkpoint 
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screening law enforcement support reimbursable agree-
ments. 
SEC. 7. SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE FOR SURFACE 
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary shall, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, and 
other relevant agencies, conduct outreach to all passenger 
transportation agencies and providers with high-risk facili-
ties, as identified by the Assistant Secretary, to verify such 
agencies and providers have in place plans to respond to 
active shooters, acts of terrorism, or other security-related 
incidents that target passengers. 
(b) TYPES OF PLANS.—As applicable, such plans may 
include, but may not be limited to, the following: 
(1) A strategy for evacuating and providing care 
to individuals, with consideration given to the needs 
of persons with disabilities. 
(2) A plan for establishing a unified command. 
(3) A plan for frontline employees to receive ac-
tive shooter training. 
(4) A schedule for regular testing of communica-
tions equipment used to receive emergency calls. 
(5) An evaluation of how emergency calls placed 
by individuals using the transportation system will 
reach police in an expeditious manner. 
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(6) A practiced method and plan to commu-
nicate with individuals using the transportation sys-
tem. 
(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Sec-
retary shall report to the Committee on Homeland Security 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Com-
merce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the 
findings from its outreach to the agencies and providers 
under subsection (a), including an analysis of the level of 
preparedness such transportation systems have to respond 
to security incidents. 
(d) DISSEMINATION OF BEST PRACTICES.—The Assist-
ant Secretary shall identify best practices for security inci-
dent planning, management, and training and establish a 
mechanism through which to share such practices with pas-
senger transportation agencies nationwide. 
SEC. 8. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS. 
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated 
to carry out this Act, and this Act shall be carried out using 
amounts otherwise available for such purpose. 
SEC. 9. INTEROPERABILITY REVIEW. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary shall, 
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Calendar No. 163 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 720 
[Report No. 114–92] 
AN ACT 
To improve intergovernmental planning for and 
communication during security incidents at do-
mestic airports, and for other purposes. 
JULY 23, 2015 
Reported with an amendment 
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