Protecting Families from Fertility Fraud Act of 2022 This bill establishes a new federal criminal offense for knowingly misrepresenting the nature or source of DNA used in assisted reproductive technology or assisted insemination. The term assisted reproductive technology includes any treatment or procedure that involves the handling of human oocytes or embryos, such as in vitro fertilization, gamete intrafallopian transfer, and zygote intrafallopian transfer. The term assisted insemination includes any procedure that involves the handling of sperm including intrauterine insemination. A violation is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to 10 years, or both. Additionally, the bill makes the violation a predicate offense (i.e., an underlying offense) for prosecutions under the federal racketeering statute.
No IDs for Illegals Act This bill prohibits using federal funds to establish or otherwise support the Secure Docket Card Program of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
HR 8563, the Sunset Act of 2022, requires most federal agency rules to automatically expire 10 years after issuance unless Congress passes a specific extension. Agencies must submit reports to Congress 180 days before expiration and identify rules for annual review, with 10% of rules reviewed each year for 9 years. Congress can extend rules only through a joint resolution introduced within 3 days of receiving the agency report, requiring bipartisan leadership sponsorship. This law directly affects federal agencies (who create rules) and Congress (who must vote on extensions), changing how long regulations remain in effect without renewal.
This bill establishes a process for courts to expunge marijuana-related misdemeanor records from official criminal justice systems. It applies to individuals with qualifying marijuana misdemeanor arrests, charges, or convictions that occurred at least one year ago and meet specific criteria (such as not involving violence or ongoing legal proceedings). Courts will remove these records, seal or redact related records, and notify affected individuals and agencies. The bill also requires a demographic study of those affected and specifies that expungement does not apply to felony or non-marijuana-related misdemeanor records. The law will take effect 180 days after enactment.
Stop the Cartels Act This bill addresses various issues including matters relating to immigration, law enforcement cooperation with Mexico, and drug cartels. The bill bars federal financial assistance for state or local jurisdictions that (1) restrict compliance with immigration detainers issued by the Department of Homeland Security, or (2) have any law or policy that violates immigration laws. Furthermore, under this bill, the detention of alien minors must be governed by specified sections of the Immigration and Nationality Act and not any judicial decree or settlement. (A 1997 settlement agreement imposes requirements related to the treatment of such minors, including limits on how long they may be detained under certain conditions.) The bill also makes various changes to asylum applications, including by (1) increasing the burden that an asylum applicant must meet to establish a credible fear of persecution, and (2) establishing refugee application and processing centers in Central America. In addition, certain Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development assistance may not be made available to Mexico's government until the State Department certifies that Mexico has removed certain barriers to law enforcement cooperation and intelligence sharing between the United States and Mexico. The bill also establishes the foreign Special Transnational Criminal Organization designation and establishes penalties related to designated organizations, such as making it a crime to knowingly provide material support to such an organization. The State Department must designate specified organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, with the designation, and may designate other organizations that fit criteria established in this bill.
American Confidence in Elections Act or the ACE Act This bill addresses election administration and security, campaign finance, and other related provisions. Among other provisions, the bill reduces certain election assistance payments for states and local jurisdictions that allow noncitizens to vote in state and local elections, establishes certain requirements related to election and political mail, prohibits foreign nationals from making contributions or donations in connection with state or local ballot initiatives or referenda, repeals certain limits on coordinated party expenditures and aggregate contributions by individuals, terminates the Presidential Election Campaign Fund and requires remaining funds to be transferred to the 10-Year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund, and prohibits the use of federal funds to establish a Disinformation Governance Board.
Protecting Our Second Amendment Data Act This bill places conditions on certain grants by requiring certifications related to the disclosure of personally identifiable information of individuals involved in certain firearms transactions.
Backlog Justice Act of 2022 This bill requires certain actions to address the backlog of untested sexual assault kits. For example, the bill (1) directs the Bureau of Justice Assistance to establish a publicly accessible online database regarding untested kits, and (2) requires the Department of Justice to provide an increased amount of certain grant funding for states that have in place electronic evidence tracking systems for these kits.
Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act This bill requires registered lobbyists to disclose any foreign countries or political parties that are involved in the direction, planning, supervision, or control of the lobbyist's activities.
HR 8196, the "Protecting Mothers and Babies from Terrorism Act," designates the groups Jane’s Revenge and Ruth Sent Us as domestic terrorists under existing law (18 U.S.C. §2331), based on their claimed responsibility for vandalism and arson targeting pregnancy centers and related facilities in 2022. The bill does not create new protections for mothers or babies but formally classifies the conduct described in its findings as domestic terrorism. It directly affects the legal status of these groups under federal terrorism statutes. The bill’s sole action is this designation, using current definitions without introducing new policy changes.
Ensuring Safer Schools Act of 2022 This bill allows funds under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program to be used to hire and train veterans and retired law enforcement officers as school resource officers. It also directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to coordinate with COPS grant recipients to connect veterans seeking to serve as school resource officers with local law enforcement agencies participating in school-based partnerships.
Protect Minors from Medical Malpractice Act of 2022 This bill makes a medical practitioner who performs a gender-transition procedure on an individual who is less than 18 years of age liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological harms from the procedure for 30 years after the individual turns 18. Additionally, if a state requires medical practitioners to perform gender-transition procedures, that state shall be ineligible for federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services. Gender-transition procedures generally include certain surgeries or hormone therapies that change the body of an individual to correspond to a sex that is discordant with the individual's biological sex. They exclude, however, interventions to treat (1) individuals who either have ambiguous external biological sex characteristics or lack a normal sex chromosome structure, sex steroid hormone production, or sex steroid hormone action; (2) infections, injuries, diseases, or disorders caused by a gender-transition procedure; or (3) a physical disorder, injury, or illness that places an individual in imminent danger of death or impairment of a major bodily function.
