Fair Legal Access Grants Act
Officially: “Fair Legal Access Grants Act” Read the full text
What it does
Read it in plain language
1Short title
This section would give the Act the short title "Fair Legal Access Grants Act."
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Fair Legal Access Grants Act .
2Legal resources for extreme risk protection order petitioners
This section would amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 by renumbering its current section 509 as section 510 and adding a new section 509. The new section 509 would define a "covered petitioner" as a person who is eligible to seek an extreme risk protection order from a State or Tribal court, and would define an "extreme risk protection order" as a written order or warrant, issued by a State or Tribal court or signed by a magistrate or other comparable judicial officer, whose primary purpose is to reduce the risk of firearm-related death or injury either by prohibiting a named person from owning, purchasing, possessing, receiving, or having a firearm under that person's custody or control, or by having a firearm removed from, or requiring its surrender by, a named person. "Firearm" would carry the meaning given in section 921 of title 18, United States Code. The section would require the Attorney General to award grants to States, local governments, and Tribal governments to provide legal representation and resources to covered petitioners. A government that receives a grant could use the funds to: ensure covered petitioners have access to counsel and to interpretation and translation services; establish legal resource centers that publish and distribute information and respond to inquiries about the applicable State or Tribal government's extreme risk protection order legal process and that focus on expanding resources in languages other than English; hire personnel to process and represent covered petitioners (including personnel in local district attorney offices and law enforcement agencies) or to serve as legal resource coordinators; award subgrants to nonprofit organizations that provide community legal aid; and train legal service providers, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, court personnel, and other individuals on the differences between an extreme risk protection order and a domestic violence protection order, so that domestic violence victims seek the form of protection order that best addresses their safety needs. The section would authorize $50,000,000 to be appropriated to carry out this grant program for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
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2. Legal resources for extreme risk protection order petitioners Subpart I of Part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq. ) is amended— (1) by redesignating section 509 as section 510; and (2) by inserting after section 508 the following: 509. Legal resources for extreme risk protection order petitioners (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered petitioner The term covered petitioner means an individual who is eligible to seek an extreme risk protection order from an applicable State or Tribal court. (2) Extreme risk protection order The term extreme risk protection order means a written order or warrant issued by a State or Tribal court or signed by a magistrate or other comparable judicial officer, the primary purpose of which is to reduce the risk of firearm-related death or injury by— (A) prohibiting a named individual from owning, purchasing, possessing, receiving, or having under the custody or control of the individual a firearm; or (B) having a firearm removed or requiring the surrender of a firearm from a named individual. (3) Firearm The term firearm has the meaning given the term in section 921 of title 18, United States Code. (b) Authority (1) In general The Attorney General shall award grants to States, local governments, and Tribal governments for the purpose of providing legal representation and resources to covered petitioners. (2) Use of funds A State, local government, or Tribal government that receives a grant under paragraph (1) may use amounts from the grant to— (A) ensure covered petitioners have access to counsel and interpretation and translation services; (B) establish legal resources centers— (i) for publishing and distributing information and responding to inquiries relating to the extreme risk protection order legal process of the applicable State or Tribal government; and (ii) that focus on expanding resources in multiple languages other than English; (C) hire personnel to— (i) process and represent covered petitioners, such as personnel in local district attorney offices and law enforcement agencies; or (ii) serve as legal resource coordinators; (D) award subgrants to nonprofit organizations that provide community legal aid; and (E) train legal service providers, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, court personnel, and other individuals on the differences between an extreme risk protection order and a domestic violence protection order to ensure that victims of domestic violence seek the form of protection order that best addresses their safety needs. (c) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031. .
3Jurisdiction of Federal courts
This section would use the same definition of "covered petitioner" given in the new section 509(a) added by section 2. It would bar federal courts from exercising jurisdiction over any federal, State, Tribal, or local cause of action brought in response to a covered petitioner filing a petition for an extreme risk protection order, as long as the covered petitioner did not file a false or intentionally harassing petition. If the covered petitioner did file a false or intentionally harassing petition, this bar would not apply.
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3. Jurisdiction of Federal courts (a) Definition In this section, the term covered petitioner has the meaning given the term in section 509(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as added by section 2 of this Act. (b) No jurisdiction No Federal court may exercise jurisdiction over a Federal, State, Tribal, or local cause of action in response to a covered petitioner filing a petition for an extreme risk protection order if the covered petitioner did not file a false or intentionally harassing petition.
Where it is
In the Senate.