Kelsey Smith Act
Latest action. Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 560.
Kelsey Smith Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require a provider of a commercial mobile service or an IP-enabled voice service to furnish call location information concerning the telecommunications device of a user of such service at the request of an investigative or law enforcement officer.
Requires such a request to be accompanied by a sworn written statement from such officer stating facts that support that officer's probable cause to believe that disclosure without delay is required: (1) by an emergency involving risk of death or serious physical injury, or (2) in order to respond to the user's call for emergency services. Requires the law enforcement agency of such officer, within 48 hours after the officer makes such a request, to request a court order stating whether such officer had probable cause to believe that such conditions existed at the time of the request.
Shields a telecommunications carrier from any cause of action in any court or any civil or administrative proceeding commenced by a governmental entity for providing call location information in good faith in accordance with this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House amended, Part I" stage on January 2, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 2, 2015: Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 560.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 113th Congress (2013-14), 296 of the 9,091 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.3 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Kevin Yoder (R-KS) introduced it on April 15, 2013, and 3 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 2 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on April 15, 2013, 4896 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4269 days ago, on January 2, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 113th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2015 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers