H.R. 1616: Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-03-17 · Crime and Law Enforcement · Latest: Signed by President.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-03-17 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Ratcliffe, John [R-TX-4] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: 1 recorded vote in our records. Latest: House roll call 258 (2017): On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, HR1616 (2017-05-16), Passed. See all
Where it stands now: Signed by President. (final step reached)
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

Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017

Plain summary

Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017 (Sec. 2) This bill amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to authorize a National Computer Forensics Institute within the U.S. Secret Service for FY2017-FY2022. The institute shall: (1) disseminate information related to the investigation and prevention of cyber and electronic crime and related threats; and (2) educate, train, and equip state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges. Institute functions include: educating such officers, prosecutors, and judges on current cyber and electronic crimes and related threats, methods for investigating such crime and threats and for conducting computer and mobile device forensic examinations, and related prosecutorial and judicial challenges; training such officers to conduct investigations of such crime and related threats, as well as such forensic examinations, and to respond to network intrusion incidents; and training such officers, prosecutors, and judges on methods to obtain, process, store, and admit digital evidence in court. The institute: shall ensure that timely, actionable, and relevant expertise and information related to such crime and related threats is shared with such officers and prosecutors; may provide such officers with computer equipment, hardware, software, manuals, and tools necessary to conduct investigations of such crime and related threats and such forensic examinations; and shall facilitate the expansion of the network of Electronic Crime Task Forces of the Secret Service through the addition of officers trained at the institute. (Sec. 3) The bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to set forth provisions titled the "National White Collar Crime Control Act of 2017," authorizing the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance to enter into a cooperative agreement with or make a grant to an eligible entity for the purpose of improving the identification, investigation, and prosecution of high-tech crime, economic crime, and Internet-based crime against children and child pornography by providing training and technical assistance to state and local law enforcement officers, investigators, auditors, and prosecutors. Such a grant or cooperative agreement may be made only for programs to: provide a nationwide support system for state and local criminal justice agencies; assist such agencies in establishing and maintaining intelligence-focused policing strategies and related information sharing; provide training and investigative support services to provide such agencies with skills and resources needed to investigate and prosecute such criminal activities; provide research support, establish partnerships, and provide other resources to help such agencies prevent, investigate, and prosecute such criminal activities and related problems; provide information and research to the general public to facilitate the prevention of such criminal activities; establish or support national training and research centers regionally to provide training and research services for such agencies; and provide training and oversight to such agencies to develop and comply with applicable privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties related policies, procedures, rules, and guidelines.

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate amended), 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

Strengthening State and Local Cyber Crime Fighting Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate amended)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Ratcliffe, John [R-TX-4] · 18 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Gary J. Palmer (R-AL), Pete Sessions (R-TX), Michael T. McCaul (R-TX), Roger Williams (R-TX), Glenn Thompson (R-PA), David P. Joyce (R-OH)

Recorded votes

House roll call 258 (2017): On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended, HR1616 (2017-05-16): Passed

Words on this page, explained (4)

Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Passed Senate amended)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115hr1616.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/hr>

Record fed-us-cong115-hr1616 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115