Fair Legal Access Grants Act

“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 2027 through 2031.”