Thursday, July 19, 2007

The King amendment

Here is a followup to my previous post. The King amendment is part of H.R. 1401(Rail and Public Transportation Security Act of 2007)

SEC. 137. IMMUNITY FOR REPORTING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITIES
AND MITIGATING TERRORIST THREATS RELATING TO TRANSPORTATION SECURITY.
(a)
Immunity for Reporting Suspicious Behavior- Any person who makes or causes to be
made a voluntary disclosure of any suspicious transaction, activity or
occurrence indicating that an individual may be engaging or preparing to engage
in a matter described in subsection (b) to any employee or agent of the
Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation, the
Department of Justice, any Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer, any
transportation security officer, or to any employee or agent of a transportation
system shall be immune from civil liability to any person under any law or
regulation of the United States, any constitution, law, or regulation of any
State or political subdivision of any State, for such disclosure.
(b) Covered
Disclosures- The matter referred to in subsection (a) is a possible violation or
attempted violation of law or regulation relating--
(1) to a threat to
transportation systems or passenger safety or security; or
(2) to an act of
terrorism, as defined in section 3077 of title 18, United States Code, that
involves or is directed against transportation systems or passengers.
(c)
Immunity for Mitigation of Threats- Any person, including an owner, operator or
employee of a transportation system, who takes reasonable action to mitigate a
suspicious matter described in subsection (b) shall be immune from civil
liability to any person under any law or regulation of the United States, any
constitution, law, or regulation of any State or political subdivision of any
State, for such action.
(d) Limitation on Application- Subsection (a) shall
not apply to a statement or disclosure by a person that, at the time it is made,
is known by the person to be false.
(e) Attorney Fees and Costs- If a person
is named as a defendant in a civil lawsuit for making voluntary disclosures of
any suspicious transaction or taking actions to mitigate a suspicious matter
described in subsection (b), and the person is found to be immune from civil
liability under this section, the person shall be entitled to recover from the
plaintiff all reasonable costs and attorney's fees as allowed by the
court.
(f) Retroactive Application- This section shall apply to activities
and claims occurring on or after November 20, 2006.


Note that this is retroactive to November 20, 2006 in order to protect the passengers who have been sued by the flying imams and their handlers from CAIR.

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