Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2002
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Second Amendment Preservation Act of 2002 - Amends the Federal criminal code to: (1) limit the plaintiff's attorney fees in connection with the settlement or adjudication of a civil action brought to curtail the sale or availability of firearms for legal purposes to the lesser of $150 per hour plus actual expenses or ten percent of the amount that the plaintiff receives; and (2) require the plaintiff to reimburse the defendant for reasonable attorney's fees and court costs if the court finds that the defendant is not wholly or primarily liable, unless special circumstances make such reimbursement unjust. Defines such action as one brought against a firearms manufacturer, importer, or dealer seeking damages in excess of $1 million or 50 percent of the defendant's net assets and seeking to hold such defendant liable for damages caused by the unlawful or tortious use of a firearm by a person not employed by or affiliated with the defendant. Makes any court decision that the Constitution does not confer on Congress the power to enact this Act directly appealable to the Supreme Court.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 7, 2002. 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 March 7, 2002: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 107th Congress (2001-02), 377 of the 9,126 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.1 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?
ROBERT SMITH (R-NH) introduced it on March 7, 2002, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 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 March 7, 2002, 8953 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8953 days ago, on March 7, 2002.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 107th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2003 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers