6 U.S.C. § 1104 — Immunity for reports of suspected ter-

Page 441 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 1104 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘intercity rail passenger’’. 2 So in original. Probably should be followed by a comma. 3 So in original. Probably should be section ‘‘1992(d)(16)’’. any additional consortium colleges or univer- sities designated by the Secretary under this subsection are Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities. (d) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— (1) $18,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; (2) $18,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; (3) $18,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and (4) $18,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. (Pub. L. 110–53, title XII, § 1205, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 387.) § 1104. Immunity for reports of suspected ter- rorist activity or suspicious behavior and re- sponse (a) Immunity for reports of suspected terrorist activity or suspicious behavior (1) In general Any person who, in good faith and based on objectively reasonable suspicion, makes, or causes to be made, a voluntary report of cov- ered activity to an authorized official shall be immune from civil liability under Federal, State, and local law for such report. (2) False reports Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any report that the person knew to be false or was made with reckless disregard for the truth at the time that person made that report. (b) Immunity for response (1) In general Any authorized official who observes, or re- ceives a report of, covered activity and takes reasonable action in good faith to respond to such activity shall have qualified immunity from civil liability for such action, consistent with applicable law in the relevant jurisdic- tion. An authorized official as defined by sub- section (d)(1)(A) not entitled to assert the de- fense of qualified immunity shall nevertheless be immune from civil liability under Federal, State, and local law if such authorized official takes reasonable action, in good faith, to re- spond to the reported activity. (2) Savings clause Nothing in this subsection shall affect the ability of any authorized official to assert any defense, privilege, or immunity that would otherwise be available, and this subsection shall not be construed as affecting any such defense, privilege, or immunity. (c) Attorney fees and costs Any person or authorized official found to be immune from civil liability under this section shall be entitled to recover from the plaintiff all reasonable costs and attorney fees. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Authorized official The term ‘‘authorized official’’ means— (A) any employee or agent of a passenger transportation system or other person with responsibilities relating to the security of such systems; (B) any officer, employee, or agent of the Department of Homeland Security, the De- partment of Transportation, or the Depart- ment of Justice with responsibilities relat- ing to the security of passenger transpor- tation systems; or (C) any Federal, State, or local law en- forcement officer. (2) Covered activity The term ‘‘covered activity’’ means any sus- picious transaction, activity, or occurrence that involves, or is directed against, a pas- senger transportation system or vehicle or its passengers indicating that an individual may be engaging, or preparing to engage, in a vio- lation of law relating to— (A) a threat to a passenger transportation system or passenger safety or security; or (B) an act of terrorism (as that term is de- fined in section 3077 of title 18). (3) Passenger transportation The term ‘‘passenger transportation’’ means— (A) public transportation, as defined in section 5302 of title 49; (B) over-the-road bus transportation, as defined in subchapter IV, and school bus transportation; (C) intercity passenger rail 1 transpor- tation 2 as defined in section 24102 of title 49; (D) the transportation of passengers on- board a passenger vessel 2 as defined in sec- tion 2101 of title 46; (E) other regularly scheduled waterborne transportation service of passengers by ves- sel of at least 20 gross tons; and (F) air transportation, as defined in sec- tion 40102 of title 49, of passengers. (4) Passenger transportation system The term ‘‘passenger transportation sys- tem’’ means an entity or entities organized to provide passenger transportation using vehi- cles, including the infrastructure used to pro- vide such transportation. (5) Vehicle The term ‘‘vehicle’’ has the meaning given to that term in section 1992(16) 3 of title 18. (e) Effective date This section shall take effect on October 1, 2006, and shall apply to all activities and claims occurring on or after such date. (Pub. L. 110–53, title XII, § 1206, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 388.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Subchapter IV, referred to in subsec. (d)(3)(B), was in the original ‘‘title XV of this Act’’, meaning title XV of Pub. L. 110–53, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 422, which is classified principally to subchapter IV (§ 1151 et seq.) of this chapter. For complete classification of title XV to Page 442 TITLE 6—DOMESTIC SECURITY § 1111 the Code, see References in Text note set out under sec- tion 1151 of this title and Tables. SUBCHAPTER II—TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ENHANCEMENTS § 1111. Definitions For purposes of this subchapter, the following terms apply: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- mittees’’ means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- ture of the House of Representatives. (2) Department The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart- ment of Homeland Security. (3) Secretary The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Homeland Security. (4) State The term ‘‘State’’ means any one of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Is- lands, Guam, American Samoa, and any other territory or possession of the United States. (5) Terrorism The term ‘‘terrorism’’ has the meaning that term has in section 101 of this title. (6) United States The term ‘‘United States’’ means the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Is- lands, Guam, American Samoa, and any other territory or possession of the United States. (Pub. L. 110–53, title XIII, § 1301, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 389.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This subchapter, referred to in text, was in the origi- nal ‘‘this title’’, meaning title XIII of Pub. L. 110–53, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 389, which enacted this sub- chapter and amended section 70105 of Title 46, Shipping, and sections 114 and 46301 of Title 49, Transportation. For complete classification of title XIII to the Code, see Tables. § 1112. Authorization of Visible Intermodal Pre- vention and Response teams (a) In general The Secretary, acting through the Adminis- trator of the Transportation Security Adminis- tration, may develop Visible Intermodal Preven- tion and Response (referred to in this section as ‘‘VIPR’’) teams to augment the security of any mode of transportation at any location within the United States. In forming a VIPR team, the Secretary— (1) may use any asset of the Department, in- cluding Federal air marshals, surface trans- portation security inspectors, canine detec- tion teams, and advanced screening tech- nology; (2) may determine when a VIPR team shall be deployed, as well as the duration of the de- ployment; (3) shall, prior to and during the deployment, consult with local security and law enforce- ment officials in the jurisdiction where the VIPR team is or will be deployed, to develop and agree upon the appropriate operational protocols and provide relevant information about the mission of the VIPR team, as appro- priate; (4) shall, prior to and during the deployment, consult with all transportation entities di- rectly affected by the deployment of a VIPR team as to specific locations and times within the facilities of such entities at which VIPR teams are to be deployed to maximize the ef- fectiveness of such deployment, as appro- priate, including railroad carriers, air carriers, airport owners, over-the-road bus operators and terminal owners and operators, motor car- riers, public transportation agencies, owners or operators of highways, port operators and facility owners, vessel owners and operators and pipeline operators; and (5) shall require, as appropriate based on risk, in the case of a VIPR team deployed to an airport, that the VIPR team conduct oper- ations— (A) in the sterile area and any other areas to which only individuals issued security credentials have unescorted access; and (B) in nonsterile areas. (b) Performance measures Not later than 1 year after October 5, 2018, the Administrator shall develop and implement a system of qualitative performance measures and objectives by which to assess the roles, activi- ties, and effectiveness of VIPR team operations on an ongoing basis, including a mechanism through which the transportation entities re- ferred to in subsection (a)(4) may submit feed- back on VIPR team operations involving their systems or facilities. (c) Plan Not later than 1 year after October 5, 2018, the Administrator shall develop and implement a plan for ensuring the interoperability of commu- nications among VIPR team participants and between VIPR teams and any transportation en- tities with systems or facilities that are in- volved in VIPR team operations. Such plan shall include an analysis of the costs and resources required to carry out such plan. (Pub. L. 110–53, title XIII, § 1303, Aug. 3, 2007, 121 Stat. 392; Pub. L. 114–190, title III, § 3601, July 15, 2016, 130 Stat. 664; Pub. L. 115–254, div. K, title I, §§ 1930(b), 1968(b), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3569, 3608.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 115–254, § 1968(b)(1), sub- stituted ‘‘team as to specific locations and times with- in the facilities of such entities at which VIPR teams are to be deployed to maximize the effectiveness of such deployment,’’ for ‘‘team,’’.