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S. 956: Text a Tip Act of 2011

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S. 956: Text a Tip Act of 2011

112th Congress · introduced 2011-05-11 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2011-05-11 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Text a Tip Act of 2011

Plain summary

Text a Tip Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to state or local police departments to implement an anonymous tip program using cell phone text messaging to assist police in preventing and solving crimes. Sets forth requirements for such program, including that: (1) state or local law police departments shall administer the program; (2) incoming text messages shall be stripped of any identifying information and the text tip shall not be traceable by any means; (3) police departments shall train sufficient personnel to intercept and respond to text tips; (4) the program shall be made compatible with most mobile phone providers; and (5) police departments shall promote the participation of citizens, especially youth, in the program.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Text a Tip Act of 2011

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Kerry, John F. [D-MA] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong112-s956 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong112 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong112