H.R. 7171

119 HR 7171 IH: Fair Legal Access Grants Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-01-21
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 7171  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   January 21, 2026   Ms. Chu  (for herself,  Mr. Goldman of New York ,  Ms. Norton ,  Mr. Lynch ,  Mr. Frost ,  Mr. Moskowitz ,  Mr. Johnson of Georgia ,  Mrs. McBath , and  Ms. Schakowsky ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to award grants for providing legal resources for petitioners seeking extreme risk protection orders, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Fair Legal Access Grants Act  .
2.
Legal resources for extreme risk protection order petitioners
Subpart I of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq. ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating section 509 as section 510; and
(2)
by inserting after section 508 the following:
509.
Legal resources for extreme risk protection order petitioners
(a)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Covered petitioner
The term  covered petitioner  means an individual who is eligible to seek an extreme risk protection order from an applicable State or Tribal court.
(2)
Extreme risk protection order
The term  extreme risk protection order  means a written order or warrant, issued by a State or Tribal court or signed by a magistrate or other comparable judicial officer, the primary purpose of which is to reduce the risk of firearm-related death or injury by—
(A)
prohibiting a named individual from owning, purchasing, possessing, receiving, or having under the custody or control of the individual a firearm; or
(B)
having a firearm removed or requiring the surrender of a firearm from a named individual.
(3)
Firearm
The term  firearm  has the meaning given the term in section 921 of title 18, United States Code.
(b)
Authority
(1)
In general
The Attorney General shall award grants to States, local governments, and Tribal Governments for the purpose of providing legal representation and resources to covered petitioners.
(2)
Use of funds
A State, local government, or Tribal Government that receives a grant under paragraph (1) may use amounts from the grant to—
(A)
ensure covered petitioners have access to counsel and interpretation and translation services;
(B)
establish legal resources centers—
(i)
for publishing and distributing information and responding to inquiries relating to the extreme risk protection order legal process of the applicable State or Tribal Government; and
(ii)
that focus on expanding resources in multiple languages other than English;
(C)
hire personnel to—
(i)
process and represent covered petitioners, such as personnel in local district attorney offices and law enforcement agencies; or
(ii)
serve as legal resource coordinators;
(D)
award subgrants to nonprofit organizations that provide community legal aid; and
(E)
train legal service providers, law enforcement officers, prosecutors, court personnel, and other individuals on the differences between an extreme risk protection order and a domestic violence protection order to ensure that victims of domestic violence seek the form of protection order that best addresses their safety needs.
(c)
Authorization of appropriations
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2028 through 2034.
 .
3.
Jurisdiction of Federal courts
(a)
Definition
In this section, the term  covered petitioner  has the meaning given the term in section 509(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as added by section 2 of this Act.
(b)
No jurisdiction
No Federal court may exercise jurisdiction over a Federal, State, Tribal, or local cause of action in response to a covered petitioner filing a petition for an extreme risk protection order if the covered petitioner did not file a false or intentionally harassing petition.