Homeland Security

Task Force Description

Mission Statement

The Homeland Security Task Force operates as a venue for state legislators and local elected officials to share best practices, learn from industry experts and academics, and discuss model policies.

The Task Force engages state leaders on a variety of topics, including:

Cybersecurity
School security
Emergency and disaster preparedness, such as preparing for hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, and other natural disasters
First and emergency responders
State security funding
Innovative technology solutions for state and local security issues
Border security (airports and ports of entry)
Critical infrastructure security

Draft Policies

All Model Policies

Act to Designate Human Smuggling as a State Crime Draft

An Act concerning crimes, punishment and criminal procedure; relating to crimes against persons; creating the crimes of human smuggling and aggravated human smuggling; providing criminal penalties, therefore. Be it enacted by the Legislature of this state: Sec 1. (a) (1) Human smuggling is intentionally transporting, harboring or concealing an individual into…
Statement of Principles on School Facility Safety and Security Draft

Therefore, consistent with these objectives, we have developed the following principles regarding school facility safety and security: (i) Schools are a vital part of our national critical infrastructure and need to be protected accordingly. Nationally, there are about 130,000 K-12 public schools, serving roughly 56 million students and over 6…
Statement of Principles on Securing and Protecting Public Utility Infrastructure Draft

(i) Public Utilities are a vital part of our national critical infrastructure. Public utilities play a fundamental role in providing essential services and are vital components of our nation’s energy grid, facilitating the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity to homes, businesses, and government assets. The security of these facilities…
Statement of Principles on Facial Recognition Policy Final

I. Policymakers should avoid one-size fits all frameworks. Any framework should identify actual harms to consumers and be designed to protect against those harms. Prescriptive legislation should be avoided as it prevents the private sector from innovatively addressing public concerns about the technology. To the extent possible, policymakers should avoid…
Emergency Power Limitation Act Final

Therefore, be it enacted: Section 1. Nothing in this act grants additional emergency powers to the governor or any other official. Section 2. State and local officials may issue nonbinding recommendations and guidelines, and they may help coordinate public and private action to prevent or respond to an emergency. Section…
Statement of Principles to Inform Emergency Management Acts Final

Section 1. Preamble: WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed flaws in and weaknesses of the emergency management policies in place in many states in the United States; and WHEREAS, one of the most significant flaws inherent in many state emergency management laws is a reduction of, to the point of…