SECURE IT Act of 2012
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
Strengthening and Enhancing Cybersecurity by Using Research, Education, Information, and Technology Act of 2012 or SECURE IT Act of 2012 - Authorizes private entities to employ countermeasures and use cybersecurity systems to obtain, identify, or possess cyber threat information on its own networks or the networks of another entity with such entity's authorization.
Allows private entities, nonfederal government agencies, or state, tribal, or local governments to voluntarily disclose cyber threat information to designated cybersecurity centers or to each other to assist with preventing, investigating, or mitigating threats to information security.
Requires federal contractors of electronic communication, remote computing, or cybersecurity services to immediately provide the contracting agency with any cyber threat information directly related to the contract. Permits contractors to also provide such information to a cybersecurity center.
Directs federal agencies receiving such contractor-provided information to disclose it immediately to a cybersecurity center.
Declares that such contractor information requirements and procedures shall not apply with respect to services provided under a contract in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.
Permits cyber threat information provided to a cybersecurity center to be disclosed to, or used by, consistent with otherwise applicable law, the federal government for a cybersecurity or national security purpose or to prevent, investigate, or prosecute various criminal offenses for which law enforcement officials are authorized, under existing law, to seek a court order authorizing an interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications.
Prohibits federal, state, tribal, or local agencies from directly using such information to regulate an entity's lawful activities.
Sets forth conditions with regard to information provided to a cybersecurity center including: (1) the disclosure of such information to state, tribal, or local governments; (2) the use, distribution, and any prerequisite consent necessary for sharing such information; and (3) the legal treatment of such information under specified privileges, exemptions, ex parte communications rules, and requirements for disclosing public information and records.
Provides legal protections to entities engaged in authorized cybersecurity activities.
The summary continues for 22 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 27, 2012. 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 July 10, 2012: Referred to the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.
- 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 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 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?
MARY BONO MACK (R-CA) introduced it on March 27, 2012, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
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 March 27, 2012, 5280 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5175 days ago, on July 10, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 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