zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
State Transportation Emergency Flexibility Act of 2011 - Authorizes a state, after declaring an emergency regarding any component of the National Highway System, to repair or replace such component using any funds apportioned to the state under: (1) the federal-aid highway program; or (2) the coordinated border infrastructure or safe routes to school programs under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).

Date: 2011-11-01
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Transit System Flexibility Protection Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants for the operating costs of equipment and facilities for use in public transportation systems as follows: (1) not exceeding 50 percent in systems that operate 75 or fewer buses during peak service hours in an urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000, and (2) not exceeding 25 percent in systems that operate a minimum of 76 buses and a maximum of 100 buses during peak service hours in such an urbanized area.

Date: 2011-12-01
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Transit Related Investment Improvement Act of 2012 - Amends the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) to make eligible for TIFIA funding any projects to improve or construct public infrastructure located within one-half mile of the station area of a fixed-guideway transit facility, including improvements to mobility and parking, rehabilitation or construction of streets, transit stations, structured parking, or walkways and bikeways.

Date: 2012-01-31
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Public Transit Security and Local Law Enforcement Support Act - Amends the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to allow grants to eligible public transportation agencies for security improvements to be used for specialized patrol teams, including the sustainment of such teams without fiscal year limitation, as long as the agency applying for grant funds submits a sustainment plan for maintaining in future years the capability or capacity achieved with the funds. Authorizes appropriations for FY2012-FY2013. Prohibits more than 50% of such funds from being used for operational costs.

Date: 2012-01-31
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Emergency management
Talk Before You Toll Act of 2012 - Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) to revise the Interstate System (IS) reconstruction and rehabilitation pilot program. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to permit states to collect tolls on highways, bridges, or tunnels for reconstructing and rehabilitating IS highway corridors only if the state has solicited, received, and published on its website public comments approving or disapproving the toll facility, including comments on its economic and environmental impact. Directs the Secretary, upon a state's application for a facility, to meet monthly with local transportation representatives and consumer advocacy groups to discuss their views and recommendations for any modifications to a state's plan for a proposed toll facility. Requires a state to hold at least one public meeting to review the specifics of its final facility management plan and solicit public comment. Requires the Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to: (1) publish on its website all comments and suggestions received by the state regarding the proposed toll facility, and (2) consider them before making a final determination on a state's application.

Date: 2012-05-10
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act - Requires all commercial motor vehicles involved in interstate commerce and operated by a driver subject to both federal hours-of-service and record of duty status requirements, in order to improve compliance with federal hours-of-service regulations, to be equipped with an electronic on-board recording device meeting performance requirements and certification criteria and certain other requirements prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation (DOT).

Date: 2011-03-31
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Private Investment in Commuter Vanpooling Act of 2011 - Allows the local matching share of the cost of a public transportation capital project to include expenditures by a private commuter vanpooling service provider to acquire rolling stock (vans). Authorizes such a private provider to use vanpool revenues exceeding operating costs to acquire such vans, if there is a binding agreement requiring the vans to be used in the state or local government's service area.

Date: 2011-05-05
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Emergency Transportation Safety Fund Act - Eliminates the transportation enhancement program. Establishes the Emergency Transportation Safety Fund. Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to compile a prioritized list of emergency transportation projects, which will guide the allocation of Fund amounts to the states.

Date: 2011-10-04
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Jumpstarting Transit-Oriented Development Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to award grants to transit agencies, state or local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, tribal governments, or partnerships among them to establish a specific, implementable strategy for mixed-income, mixed-use development projects that lead to successful transit-oriented development within one-half mile of an existing or planned major transit facility. Defines "major transit facility" to mean: (1) a station that is part of a fixed-guideway public transportation system, (2) a high-speed rail or intercity rail station, (3) a transit hub, or (4) a transit center located in a nonurbanized area. Authorizes the Secretary to make or guarantee loans to eligible borrowers to carry out such projects.

Date: 2012-02-01
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Mass Transit Intelligence Prioritization Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to make it a priority to assign DHS officers and intelligence analysts, including from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), to participating state and urban area fusion centers located in high-risk jurisdictions with mass transit systems to enhance security of such systems by assisting law enforcement authorities in identifying, investigating, and otherwise interdicting persons, weapons, and contraband that pose a threat to homeland security.

Makes it a primary responsibility of such officers and analysts to create mass transit intelligence products that: (1) assist law enforcement agencies in deploying their resources most efficiently to help detect and interdict terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, and contraband at U.S. mass transit systems; (2) promote more consistent and timely dissemination of mass transit security-relevant information among jurisdictions with such systems; and (3) enhance DHS's situational awareness with respect to the threat of terrorist acts at or involving U.S. mass transit systems.

Date: 2013-03-15
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Emergency management
Commuter Parity Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the exclusion from gross income, for income tax purposes, of certain transportation benefits provided by an employer to an employee, to allow a monthly exclusion amount of: (1) $220 for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle from home to work and any transit pass, (2) $220 for qualified parking, and (3) $35 for qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement. Allows an annual cost-of-living adjustment to such exclusion amounts after 2014.

Date: 2013-06-06
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Taxation
New Opportunities for Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Financing Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish a pilot program to make loans and loan guarantees to eligible entities to carry out bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects.

Prescribes project eligibility requirements.

Requires the Secretary to ensure that at least 25% of funds provided under this Act are used to support projects in low-income communities.

Date: 2014-01-29
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Pedestrian Fatalities Reduction Act of 2014 - Requires any state with a per capita increase in the number of fatalities or serious injuries of pedestrians or users of nonmotorized forms of transportation in the state, or a particular county in the state, during the most recent two-year period to include in its subsequent strategic highway safety plan strategies to address that increase. Requires states to take data on such fatalities and injuries into consideration when updating such plans.

Revises any subset the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) establishes of the model inventory of roadway elements (MIRE) for the inventory of roadway safety, and used by state and local departments of transportation to implement their strategic highway safety plans, to include elements that improve safety for pedestrians and users of nonmotorized forms of transportation.

Date: 2014-04-29
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Government Services Accessibility Act of 2014 - Prohibits the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) from leasing a building for a federal agency unless the Administrator determines that the building to be leased would satisfy requirements relating to access to public transportation, including any requirement that the building is located not greater than a certain distance from public transportation that operates regularly throughout the building's normal business hours.

Date: 2014-06-12
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Bike to Work Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include a bicycle sharing system as a mass transit facility for purposes of the tax exclusion of employer-paid commuting expenses. Defines "bicycle sharing system" as a public transportation system: (1) consisting of a network of stations at which bicycles are made available to customers for commuting and short-term, point-to-point use within the network's service area; and (2) that is operated or authorized by a government agency or public-private partnership.

Date: 2014-07-30
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Taxation
Transportation Connections to Opportunity Act of 2014 - Requires the metropolitan transportation planning process to offer interested parties a reasonable opportunity to participate in the development and consideration of transportation scenarios in a metropolitan planning area. Includes as a national transportation goal an interconnected transportation system which connects people to jobs, schools, and other essential services through a multimodal network. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to establish a performance measure for use by metropolitan planning organizations in assessing the degree to which a transportation system provides multimodal connections to opportunity, particularly for transportation-disadvantaged populations.

Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a pilot program in which not more than 10 metropolitan planning organizations develop and deploy measures and targets to improve multimodal connectivity and increase connections for populations with limited transportation options; (2) create and maintain data sets and analysis tools to assist metropolitan planning organizations, states, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) in carrying out performance management analyses; and (3) carry out a broadband infrastructure initiative to expand right-of-way use to accommodate broadband infrastructure (buried or aerial facilities that provide wired or wireless connections to enable users to send and receive data) and improve broadband access in unserved and underserved areas.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Public Transportation Accountability Act - Prohibits a public transportation agency that receives federal funds from providing annual compensation (i.e., salary and amounts paid under a severance agreement) to the chief executive officer or any other office or employee of such agency in an amount that exceeds the annual compensation of the President of the United States ($400,000 base salary).

Date: 2013-09-11
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Safe Streets Act of 2014 - Requires each state to have in effect within two years a law, or each state department of transportation and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) an explicit policy statement, that requires all federally-funded transportation projects, with certain exceptions, to accommodate the safety and convenience of all users in accordance with certain complete streets principles.

Defines "complete streets principles" as federal, state, local, or regional level transportation laws, policies, or principles which ensure that the safety and convenience of all users of a transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit users, children, older individuals, motorists, freight vehicles, and individuals with disabilities, are accommodated in all phases of project planning and development.

Allows such law or policy to make project-specific exemptions from such principles only if: (1) affected roadways prohibit specified users by law from using them, the cost of a compliance project would be excessively disproportionate to the need, or the population, employment densities, traffic volumes, or level of transit service around a roadway is so low that the expected roadway users will not include pedestrians, public transportation, freight vehicles, or bicyclists; and (2) all such exemptions are properly approved.

Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish a method for evaluating compliance by state departments of transportation and MPOs with complete streets principles.

Requires the Access Board to issue final standards for accessibility of new construction and alterations of pedestrian facilities for public rights-of-way.

Requires the Secretary to conduct research regarding complete streets to: (1) assist states, MPOs, and local jurisdictions in developing and implementing complete streets-compliant plans, projects, procedures, policies, and training programs; and (2) establish benchmarks for, and provide technical guidance on, implementing complete streets policies and principles.

Date: 2014-02-06
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Transit-Oriented Development Infrastructure Financing Act - Amends the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) to make eligible for TIFIA funding any projects to improve or construct public infrastructure located within walking distance of and accessible to a fixed guideway transit facility, passenger rail station, intercity bus station, or intermodal facility, including transportation, public utility, and certain capital projects, and related infrastructure.

Date: 2014-05-01
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Government Services Accessibility Act or the GSA Act - Prohibits the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) from leasing a building for a federal agency unless the Administrator determines that the building to be leased would satisfy requirements relating to access to public transportation, including any requirement that the building is located not greater than a certain distance from public transportation that operates regularly throughout the building's normal business hours.

Date: 2014-06-12
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Bicycle and Pedestrian Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2015

 Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to establish a pilot program to make loans and loan guarantees to eligible entities to carry out bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects.

Prescribes project eligibility requirements.

Requires the Secretary to ensure that at least 25% of funds provided under this Act are used to support projects in low-income communities.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Commute Less Act of 2015

 Requires metropolitan planning organization (MPO) transportation plans to include, among other things, employer and transportation management organization outreach activities and strategies to help create and expand employer-based commuter programs.

Defines "employer-based commuter program" to mean a program implemented by employers to provide their employees with alternatives to driving to and from work in a vehicle occupied by a single individual.

Requires each MPO to establish an employer advisory council consisting of representatives of employers in the transportation management area. Requires each council to develop and maintain a commuter trip reduction plan that identifies area goals for the reduction of vehicle miles traveled during peak commuting hours.

Requires MPO transportation improvement programs to include, among other things, a list of projects identified in a commuter trip reduction plan that help achieve such reduction goals.

Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make a grant to a national nonprofit organization or other entity engaged in efforts relating to employer-based commuter programs to establish and operate an information clearinghouse for employer investment in transportation and employer-based commuter programs.

Requires recipients of federal assistance for the construction of federal-aid highway projects costing $75 million or more, or that will reduce traffic flow for more than 120 days, to prepare congestion mitigation plans that include funding for projects to reduce vehicle miles traveled during peak commuting hours along impacted corridors.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a plan to expand and promote employer-based commuter programs; and (2) report to Congress recommendations on how to better integrate such programs into disaster emergency planning, preparedness, and response activities.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Commuter Parity Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the exclusion from gross income, for income tax purposes, of certain transportation benefits provided by an employer to an employee, including cash reimbursements for such benefits, to allow a monthly exclusion amount of: (1) $235 for transportation in a commuter highway vehicle from home to work and any transit pass, (2) $235 for qualified parking, and (3) $35 for qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement. Allows an annual cost-of-living adjustment to such exclusion amounts after 2016.

Date: 2015-02-13
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Taxation
Transit Tax Parity Act of 2015

This bill makes the tax exclusion for employer-provided mass transit benefits equal to the amount of the exclusion for parking benefits (i.e., $175) and makes such exclusion permanent.

Date: 2015-02-24
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Taxation
Highway Restoration Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a phaseout of the Mass Transit Account by the end of FY2020, after which no funds would be transferred to such Account from the Highway Trust Fund.

Date: 2015-03-23
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Safe Streets Act of 2015

 Requires each state to have in effect within two years a law, or each state department of transportation and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) an explicit policy statement, that requires all federally-funded transportation projects, with certain exceptions, to accommodate the safety and convenience of all users in accordance with certain complete streets principles.

Defines "complete streets principles" as federal, state, local, or regional level transportation laws, policies, or principles which ensure that the safety and convenience of all users of a transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit users, children, older individuals, motorists, freight vehicles, and individuals with disabilities, are accommodated in all phases of project planning and development.

Allows such law or policy to make project-specific exemptions from such principles only if: (1) affected roadways prohibit specified users by law from using them, the cost of a compliance project would be excessively disproportionate to the need, or the population, employment densities, traffic volumes, or level of transit service around a roadway is so low that the expected roadway users will not include pedestrians, public transportation, freight vehicles, or bicyclists; and (2) all such exemptions are properly approved.

Requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish a method for evaluating compliance by state departments of transportation and MPOs with complete streets principles.

Requires the Access Board to issue final standards for accessibility of new construction and alterations of pedestrian facilities for public rights-of-way.

Requires the Secretary to conduct research regarding complete streets to: (1) assist states, MPOs, and local jurisdictions in developing and implementing complete streets-compliant plans, projects, procedures, policies, and training programs; and (2) establish benchmarks for, and provide technical guidance on, implementing complete streets policies and principles.

Date: 2015-04-28
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Right-of-Way for American Drivers Act of 2015

This bill repeals the transportation alternatives program. That program funds such projects as those for pedestrians and bicyclists, non-driver and disabled access to safe transportation, recreational trails and areas, land use in rights-of-way, and environmental mitigation (including protection of wildlife).

Date: 2015-06-02
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
This bill authorizes FY2016-FY2021 appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account) for the University Transportation Centers Program and requires the Federal Highway Administration to administer the program.

The program provides grants to nonprofit institutions of higher education to establish and operate university transportation centers to advance transportation expertise and technology, provide a transportation knowledge base outside of the Department of Transportation, address critical workforce needs, and educate the next generation of transportation leaders.

Date: 2015-10-01
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Coordinating Transportation Services for Transportation Disadvantaged Individuals Act of 2015

This bill establishes in the Department of Transportation (DOT) the New Interagency Transportation Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility to coordinate transportation services to transportation-disadvantaged individuals (those who require the use of public transportation but have difficulty accessing it due to disability, income level, age, or veteran status) in a manner that is cost effective and efficient and that minimizes the fragmentation and duplication of such services.

The Council shall:

 develop a strategic plan that identifies federal agency roles and responsibilities and measurable outcomes in coordinating such services; develop a joint cost-sharing policy among federal agencies with representatives on the Council that provides clear guidance to state and local governments regarding cost allocation; maintain an inventory of all federal programs that provide such services; and partner with State Transport Coordinating Commissions (STCCs) and aid them in coordinating such services. A state must establish an STCC to coordinate transportation for transportation-disadvantaged individuals. An STCC shall:

 compile information on transportation operations for and needs of such individuals; establish statewide objectives for coordinating transportation services for such individuals; develop written policies and procedures for the coordination of government funding for such individuals; identify and pursue the elimination of barriers to transportation services; establish an information clearinghouse; assist communities in developing transportation systems designed to serve such individuals; verify that purchasing procedures aid the coordination of such services; verify that purchasing agencies purchase all trips within transportation systems that serve such individuals, unless they use more cost-effective alternative providers; and develop a strategic plan that addresses the transportation problems and needs of such individuals over a five-year period. DOT must withhold 1% of the amount required to be apportioned to a state under specified federal-aid highway programs on the first day of each fiscal year beginning with FY2017 if the state does not meet this bill's requirements.

Each federal agency shall keep an accounting of expenditures directly related to services for transportation-disadvantaged individuals. No federal agency may make capital investments for the purpose of providing the services.

The bill terminates the Interagency Transportation Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility.

Date: 2015-11-19
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Bike to Work Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to include a bicycle sharing system as a mass transit facility for purposes of the tax exclusion of employer-paid commuting expenses. The bill defines "bicycle sharing system" as a public transportation system: (1) consisting of a network of stations at which bicycles are made available to customers for commuting and short-term, point-to-point use within the network's service area; and (2) that is operated or authorized by a government agency or public-private partnership.

Date: 2015-11-19
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Taxation
Bikeshare Transit Act of 2016

This bill makes a bikeshare project eligible to be an associated transit improvement project, including one carried out to facilitate a bicycle rental operation that makes bicycles available for public transportation, allows riders to pick up and drop off bicycles, serves a defined geographic area, and facilitates the transit of individuals between various points in the area.

Public transportation capital projects shall include any project for the acquisition or replacement of bicycles and related equipment, including technology and vehicles needed to restock stations, and the construction of bicycle-related facilities to facilitate a bikeshare project.

The bill also makes eligible for funds under the congestion mitigation air quality improvement program projects or programs that reduce demand for roads through bikesharing.

Date: 2016-01-07
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Commuter Access Reform Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat transportation provided by an employer's qualified alternative commuter program as a qualified transportation fringe benefit that is excluded from an employee's gross income.

A "qualified alternative commuter program" reimburses an employee for the cost of certain ride-share commuting transportation between the employee's residence, place of employment, or a mass transit facility.

The benefit applies to ride-sharing commuting transportation in a commuter vehicle provided by a transportation network company if: (1) it is designed to provide service to multiple passengers with fully or partially overlapping journeys, and (2) the fare for each passenger is determined at the beginning of the trip and is based on the transportation having multiple riders.

The benefit is subject to a limit on the aggregate amount of transportation fringe benefits for parking and an alternative commuter program that may be excluded from gross income.

Date: 2016-12-01
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Taxation
This bill permits the federal share requirements applicable to the transportation alternatives program (TAP) to be met based on: (1) an individual project or activity, or (2) a program of projects or activities.

In the allocation of funds for transportation alternatives, 66.67% (increased from 50%) of reserved funds per fiscal year shall be obligated to any eligible entity in proportion to its relative shares of the state population in: (1) urbanized areas with a population of over 200,000, (2) non-urban areas with a population greater than 5,000, and (3) other areas of the state.

Certain not-for-profit entities and metropolitan planning organizations are now eligible to be TAP project sponsors.

 A state's authority to opt out of the recreational trails program is repealed.

Each state or metropolitan planning organization responsible for carrying out TAP requirements must report annually to the Department of Transportation on the the number of TAP project applications received and the number of projects selected for funding.

Date: 2015-03-11
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Transit-Oriented Development Infrastructure Financing Act 

 Amends the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) to make eligible for TIFIA funding any projects to improve or construct public infrastructure located within walking distance of and accessible to a fixed guideway transit facility, passenger rail station, intercity bus station, or intermodal facility, including transportation, public utility, and certain capital projects, and related infrastructure that promote transit ridership, walkability, or increased private investment.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Transportation (Mass)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Save Our Children: Stop the Violent Predators Against Children DNA Act of 2007 - Directs the Attorney General to establish and maintain a database solely for collecting DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) information with respect to violent predators against children. Authorizes federal, state, and local agencies and other entities to submit DNA information for the database and to compare DNA information within the database. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to states to improve programs to decrease recidivism of such predators.Requires the maximum sentence to be imposed for a crime of violence, including a sex crime, against an individual under age 18 that would, in and of itself, establish the offender as such a predator, without regard to any mitigating circumstance that would otherwise apply.

Date: 2007-01-05
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2007 or the SAFE Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to expand the reporting requirements of electronic communication and remote computing service providers with respect to violations of child sexual exploitation and pornography laws. Requires such service providers, in reporting violations of such laws to the CyberTipline of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to provide: (1) information on the Internet identity of a suspected sex offender, including the electronic mail address, website address, uniform resource locator, or other identifying information; (2) the time child pornography was uploaded or discovered; (3) geographic location information for the offender; and (4) images of such child pornography. Requires the Center to forward each report which it receives from a service provider to a designated law enforcement agency. Requires service providers to preserve images of child pornography for evidentiary purposes. Grants service providers and the Center immunity from civil claims or criminal charges for complying the requirements of this Act, except for certain intentional or reckless misconduct. Requires the U.S. Trade Representative, the Attorney General, and other relevant federal officials to encourage foreign governments to combat child sexual exploitation and pornography. Authorizes appropriations for grants to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Authorizes courts to order monitoring of Internet use by a convicted sex offender as a condition for such offender's supervised release. Imposes enhanced criminal penalties for use of the Internet to violate child pornography or sexual exploitation laws. Requires the Attorney General to make publicly available reports on investigations and prosecutions of child sexual exploitation crimes.

Date: 2007-02-07
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Family Abduction Prevention Act of 2007 - Directs the Attorney General to make grants to states for projects involving: (1) the extradition of individuals suspected of committing a family abduction; (2) investigation by law enforcement agencies of family abduction cases; (3) training for law enforcement agencies in responding to family abductions and recovering abducted children; (4) outreach and media campaigns to educate parents on the dangers of family abductions; and (5) notifying law enforcement authorities of the name and address of anyone requesting the school records of an abducted child. Requires that not less than 50 percent of the cost of a project for which a grant is made be provided by non-federal sources.

Date: 2007-02-12
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Safe Babies Act of 2007 - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to require the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to award a grant to a national early childhood development organization to establish a National Court Teams Resource Center to: (1) promote the well-being of maltreated infants and toddlers and their families; (2) help prevent the recurrence of abuse and neglect of children; (3) promote timely reunification of families or other successful permanency outcomes for maltreated infants and toddlers in foster care; and (4) select, and provide assistance to, local Court Teams created to achieve those goals.Sets forth organization selection criteria and application requirements, including assurance that at least one qualified judge will serve as Judicial Leader of each Court Team receiving assistance.Requires the Center to: (1) develop materials to guide judges in the decision-making process regarding, and to train Court Teams in the appropriate care for, maltreated infants and toddlers; (2) develop a database to track the progress of and to evaluate such Teams; and (3) provide information to communities and courts seeking to adopt the Court Teams approach. Requires Center assistance to each Team to include: (1) direction, coordination, oversight, training, and technical assistance; and (2) providing a Local Community Coordinator to serve as a resource of child development expertise.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Families
Preventing the Endangerment of Children on Recreational Lands by Sexual Violators Act - Prohibits an individual convicted of a sexual offense involving a minor from serving in the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture.Provides that this Act does not require the separation of any employee or contractor whose service began before enactment of this Act.

Date: 2007-05-03
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Protecting Our Children Comes First Act of 2007 - Amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to: (1) revise, and expand the required uses for, the annual grant made to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; (2) reauthorize the missing children's assistance and the NCMEC grant programs through FY2013; and (3) repeal criteria for grants. Specifies additional mandatory uses of grants to NCMEC, including provision of: (1) annual reports to the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on the numbers of children nationwide reported as missing, victims of non-family abductions, and victims of parental kidnappings, as well as those recovered; (2) analytical as well as onsite support and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies through searching public records databases in locating and recovering missing and exploited children and helping to locate and identify abductors; (3) forensic technical assistance and consultation to law enforcement and other agencies in the identification of unidentified deceased children; and (4) training and assistance to law enforcement agencies in identifying and locating non-compliant sex offenders.Requires the use of grants also to facilitate the deployment of the National Emergency Child Locator Center to assist in reuniting missing children with their families during periods of national disasters.Adds to the kinds of reports for which the cyber tipline shall be used.Requires NCMEC to use grant funds to: (1) work with law enforcement, Internet service providers, electronic payment service providers, and others on methods to reduce the distribution on the Internet of images and videos of sexually exploited children; (2) operate a child victim identification program to assist the efforts of law enforcement agencies in identifying victims of child pornography and other sexual crimes; and (3) develop and disseminate programs and information to the general public, schools, and other public officials and organizations on the prevention of child abduction and sexual exploitation, and Internet safety.

Date: 2007-05-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Bring Our Children Home Act - Amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to expand the definition of "missing child."Requires the Attorney General to provide state and local law enforcement agencies with information for locating a child from a foreign country who has been abducted and is believed to be in the United States. Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require state missing children reports to include a statement specifying whether a missing child is believed to have been taken outside of the United States. Amends the International Child Abduction Remedies Act to provide funding for legal and technical assistance and training relating to international child abduction. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the efforts of foreign countries to prohibit international child abduction.Requires the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to Congress on the cooperation of domestic and foreign airlines with the investigation of international child abduction cases.Authorizes additional funds for the investigation and prosecution of international parental kidnapping and for the extradition of individuals from foreign countries to the United States for violations of child abduction laws.Establishes a grant program to reimburse travel costs related to the return of abducted children to the United States.

Date: 2007-05-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt rules to protect children from indecent video programming carried by a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD). Gives MVPDs the option to either: (1) in accordance with FCC indecency and profanity policies and standards, not transmit indecent or profane material in the expanded basic tier between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. in the Eastern or Pacific time zones or between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the Central or Mountain times zones; (2) scramble or block any channel that a subscriber does not wish to receive; or (3) allow a subscriber to subscribe to a family tier of programming (defined as including all channels on the expanded basic tier, except those that carry programs rated TV-14 or TV-MA during those hours). Requires MVPDs that elect to scramble or block channels to issue credit in certain circumstances to a subscriber for any channel the subscriber elects to block. Requires MVPDs that elect to provide a family tier to allow a subscriber to obtain the family tier of programming for one or more of the subscriber's reception devices while simultaneously obtaining other tiers for other of the subscriber's reception devices.

Date: 2007-06-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Child Pornography Elimination Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) impose a mandatory minimum prison term of two years for possession of child pornography and increase to 15 years the maximum prison term for such crime; (2) increase fines for the intentional failure of Internet service providers to report online child pornography and to impose a new fine for negligent failure to report; (3) make it a crime to knowingly access with intent to view child pornography; (4) prohibit conspiracies to commit human trafficking crimes; (5) expand and make mandatory restitution for certain child sex offenses; (6) include production of child pornography within the definition of "illicit sexual conduct" for purposes of the crime of transporting minors with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; and (7) make the prohibition against sex trafficking of children applicable to prosecutions of child pornographers and repeat offenders.

Date: 2007-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Protecting America's Children Act of 2007 - Prohibits the Attorney General from providing funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to states or local governments that fail to certify that their laws provide adequate protection against the pre-trial release of individuals charged with certain violent or serious sex crimes (e.g., kidnapping and sexual abuse or exploitation of a child) and who pose a serious risk of fleeing, obstructing justice, or threatening, injuring, or intimidating a potential witness, judge, magistrate, or juror.

Date: 2007-07-24
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act of 2007 or the SAFE Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to expand the reporting requirements of electronic communication and remote computing service providers with respect to violations of laws prohibiting sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.Requires such service providers who obtain knowledge of violations of child exploitation and pornography laws to: (1) complete and maintain with current information a registration with the CyberTipline of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC); and (2) provide information relating to the Internet identity of any individual who appears to have violated a child exploitation or pornography law, including the geographic location of such individual and images of any apparent child pornography. Requires NCMEC to forward any report of suspected child pornography violations to law enforcement agencies designated by the Attorney General. Imposes civil penalties on service providers who fail to report suspected child exploitation or pornography. Prohibits law enforcement agencies that receive reports from service providers from disclosing information in such reports except for law enforcement and criminal defense purposes.Requires service providers to preserve images of child pornography for evidentiary purposes. Grants service providers and NCMEC limited immunity from civil and criminal liability for reporting information required by this Act, except in cases of intentional misconduct or malicious failure to act in accordance with law. Requires service providers and NCMEC to minimize employee access to pornographic images and to destroy such images upon notification from a law enforcement agency.Authorizes NCMEC to provide images of child pornography reported to its CyberTipline to service providers to enable such providers to stop further transmission of pornographic images of children.

Date: 2007-10-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Intercept Child Predators Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to add child sexual exploitation and child pornography to the crimes for which interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications (wiretaps) may be authorized in state investigations.

Date: 2007-10-10
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Convicted Child Sex Offender DNA Index System Support Act - Requires the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to develop a plan to assist states in performing DNA analyses of samples collected from convicted child sex offenders, with the objective of eliminating the backlog of samples awaiting analysis in state or local forensic laboratory storage and providing for entry of those analyses into the combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS).Provides that the plan shall require that: (1) the Director establish requirements for the performance of DNA analyses by private forensic laboratories; (2) only laboratories determined to satisfy such requirements perform DNA analyses; (3) the Director provide assistance only pursuant to arrangements with those laboratories; and (4) each DNA sample collected and analyzed be accessible only under specified circumstances for criminal justice agencies, in judicial proceedings, for a criminal defendant, or for validation studies and protocol development purposes.

Date: 2007-10-15
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Responsible and Effective Solutions for Children Using and Entering Online Services Act of 2007 - Amends the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 to: (1) specify the types of information that providers of electronic communication or remote computing services (providers) should include, if available, in reports of apparent child pornography violations; (2) authorize the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to forward provider reports to appropriate state, local, and foreign law enforcement agencies; (3) grant immunity from criminal prosecution (in addition to civil immunity) to providers who comply in good faith with child pornography reporting requirements; (4) authorize NCMEC to provide images of child pornography to providers to assist them in stopping the further transmission of child pornography images and in developing technologies and best practices to prevent and detect child pornography; and (5) preempt state laws that impose notification and liability provisions pertaining to child pornography on the Internet.

Date: 2007-10-16
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Capturing On-line Predators Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to 10 years for knowingly misrepresenting one's age in any Internet communication to a minor to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce any individual to engage in illicit sexual activity.

Date: 2007-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Amends the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 to revise the minimum standards, under a pilot program, for electronic monitoring of sex offenders to eliminate requirements that the tracking device: (1) contain cellular technology in a single unit; and (2) provide two- and three-way voice communication.

Date: 2007-11-06
Topic: Law and Crime (Child Abuse)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement