Ethan's Law This bill establishes a framework to regulate the storage of firearms on residential premises at the federal, state, and tribal levels. At the federal level, the bill establishes statutory requirements for firearms on residential premises to be safely stored if a minor is likely to gain access without permission or if a resident is ineligible to possess a firearm. An individual who violates the requirements is subject to criminal penalties. A firearm stored in violation of the requirements is subject to seizure and forfeiture. At the state and tribal levels, the bill requires the Department of Justice to award grants to implement functionally identical requirements for the safe storage of firearms.
Healthy Food Access for All Americans Act This bill allows tax credits and grants for activities that provide access to healthy food in food deserts, which are communities that have limited or no access to grocery stores and meet income requirements. For entities that are certified by the Department of the Treasury as special access food providers using specified criteria, the bill allows tax credits for operating a new grocery store or renovating an existing grocery store in a food desert. The bill also authorizes grants for a portion of (1) the construction costs of building a permanent food bank in a food desert, and (2) the annual operating costs of temporary access merchants (mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks). Treasury, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), must annually allocate the tax credits and grants to special access food providers. Grants authorized by this bill are not considered gross income for tax purposes. The bill also requires USDA to update the Food Access Research Atlas at least annually to account for food retailers that are placed in service during that year.
Disability Voting Rights Act This bill requires each state to allow individuals with disabilities to use absentee registration procedures and to vote by absentee ballot in federal elections. The bill requires each state to accept and process any otherwise valid voter registration and absentee ballot applications from individuals with disabilities if the applications are received within the deadline for the federal election; establish procedures for individuals with disabilities to request, and for the state to send, voter registration and absentee ballot applications by mail and through electronic means; create procedures for securely transmitting blank absentee ballots by mail and through electronic means to individuals with disabilities; designate a single office to provide information on voter registration and absentee ballot procedures for individuals with disabilities; and specify a means of electronic communication for individuals with disabilities to request, and for the state to send, voter registration and absentee ballot applications. Further, each state must transmit a validly requested absentee ballot to an individual with a disability within 45 days of an election. However, the bill establishes a procedure for a state to apply to the Department of Justice for a waiver of this requirement. The bill also permanently reauthorizes and expands a program under which the Department of Health and Human Services makes payments to eligible states and units of local government to assure voting access for individuals with disabilities.
Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act This bill requires the Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families to disseminate information through the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information about the incidence of cases of child abuse that involve abuse to animals.
Medical Debt Relief Act of 2021 This bill modifies requirements related to the reporting of medical debt. Specifically, a consumer reporting agency is prohibited from adding medical debt information to a consumer credit report if the debt was fully paid or settled, or is less than a year old. Additionally, a debt collector must notify the consumer prior to reporting medical debt to a consumer reporting agency.
Spotlight Act This bill renders null and void final Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations published on May 28, 2020, relating to the reporting requirements of tax-exempt organizations. The bill requires tax-exempt organizations that fall under sections 501(c)(4), 501(c)(5), and 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code (e.g., social welfare organizations, labor organizations, business leagues) to disclose the names and addresses of all substantial contributors (persons who contribute more than $5,000 per year to such organizations) on their information returns. The bill also eliminates the authority of the IRS to provide exceptions to the disclosure requirements for tax-exempt organizations. This provision does not apply to determinations made by the IRS before July 16, 2018.
Keep Our Promise to America's Children and Teachers Act or the Keep Our PACT Act This bill provides funding through FY2031 for grant programs operated by local educational agencies to provide supplementary educational and related services to low-achieving students and other students who attend elementary and secondary schools with relatively high concentrations of students from low-income families. Additionally, the bill permanently reauthorizes the grant program to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities.
Dropbox Access Act This bill requires each state to provide in each county secured drop boxes at which individuals may drop off their completed absentee ballots for federal elections. Specifically, the bill requires these drop boxes to be (1) available beginning 45 days before the election; (2) accessible to individuals with disabilities and individuals with limited proficiency in the English language; (3) accessible by public transit; (4) available during all hours of the day; and (5) located in all communities within the county, including rural communities and on tribal lands. States must also post the requirements for absentee ballots to be counted and tabulated in the election. Further, the bill outlines additional requirements that a state must meet in determining the number and location of drop boxes.
Unconscionable Pricing Act This bill makes it unlawful for any person to sell, rent, or lease an emergency supply at an unconscionable price during a federally-declared emergency. A price is unconscionable if (1) it exceeds 10% of the average price for the same or similar emergency supply during the 30 days before the emergency was declared, and (2) such price increase is not related to the reasonable costs incurred to sell or rent the supply. The bill provides authority for the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to enforce the requirements of this bill.
Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment Act or the TREAT Act This bill temporarily authorizes the interstate provision of in-person and telehealth services. This authorization applies during, and for at least 180 days after, the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. Specifically, subject to scope of practice and other requirements, a health care professional may provide health services in any U.S. jurisdiction based on that individual's authorization to practice in any one state or territory. The bill also provides certain related powers to health care professional regulatory bodies, such as medical boards. Specifically, a regulatory body may investigate and take disciplinary actions against a professional who provides services pursuant to this bill to a patient in that body's jurisdiction.
COVID-19 Testing, Reaching, And Contacting Everyone (TRACE) Act This bill authorizes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants for testing, contact tracing, monitoring, and other activities to address COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). Entities eligible for these grants include certain clinics and hospitals, nonprofits, and schools.
This resolution designates January 24-January 30, 2021, as National School Choice Week.
