§ 1928. THIRD PARTY DOMESTIC CANINES.
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In General .— Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [ Oct. 5, 2018 ], to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of transportation security by increasing the supply of canine teams for use by the TSA [Transportation Security Administration] and transportation stakeholders, the Administrator [of the Transportation Security Administration] shall develop and issue behavioral standards, medical standards, and technical standards, based on the recommendations of the working group under section 1927, that a third party explosives detection canine must satisfy to be certified for the screening of individuals and property, including detection of explosive vapors among individuals and articles of property, in public areas of an airport under section 44901 of title 49 , United States Code.
Augmenting Public Area Security.— In general .— The Administrator shall develop guidance on the coordination of development and deployment of explosives detection canine teams for use by transportation stakeholders to enhance public area security at transportation hubs, including airports. Consultation .— In developing the guidance under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall consult with— the working group established under section 1927; the officials responsible for carrying out section 1941 [amending this section]; and such transportation stakeholders, canine providers, law enforcement, privacy groups, and transportation security providers as the Administrator considers relevant.
Agreement .— Subject to subsections (d), (e), and (f), not later than 270 days after the issuance of standards under subsection (a), the Administrator shall, to the extent possible, enter into an agreement with at least 1 third party to test and certify the capabilities of canines in accordance with the standards under subsection (a). Expedited Deployment .— In entering into an agreement under subsection (c), the Administrator shall use— the other transaction authority under section 114(m) of title 49 , United States Code; or such other authority of the Administrator as the Administrator considers appropriate to expedite the deployment of additional canine teams.
Process .— Before entering into an agreement under subsection (c), the Administrator shall— evaluate and verify the third party’s ability to effectively evaluate the capabilities of canines; designate key elements required for appropriate evaluation venues where third parties may conduct testing; and periodically assess the program at evaluation centers to ensure the proficiency of the canines beyond the initial testing and certification by the third party. Consultation .— To determine best practices for the use of third parties to test and certify the capabilities of canines, the Administrator shall consult with the following persons before entering into an agreement under subsection (c):
The Secretary of State. The Secretary of Defense. Non-profit organizations that train, certify, and provide the services of canines for various purposes. Institutions of higher education with research programs related to use of canines for the screening of individuals and property, including detection of explosive vapors among individuals and articles of property. Third Party Explosives Detection Canine Provider List.— In general .— Not later than 90 days after the date the Administrator enters into an agreement under subsection (c), the Administrator shall develop and maintain a list of the names of each third party from which the TSA procures explosive detection canines, including for each such third party the relevant contractual period of performance.
Distribution .— The Administrator shall make the list under paragraph
(1)available to appropriate transportation stakeholders in such form and manner as the Administrator prescribes. Oversight .— The Administrator shall establish a process to ensure appropriate oversight of the certification program and compliance with the standards under subsection (a), including periodic audits of participating third parties. Authorization.— TSA .— The Administrator shall develop and implement a process for the TSA to procure third party explosives detection canines certified under this section. Aviation stakeholders.— In general .— The Administrator shall authorize an aviation stakeholder, under the oversight of and in coordination with the Federal Security Director at an applicable airport, to contract with, procure or purchase, and deploy one or more third party explosives detection canines certified under this section to augment public area security at that airport. Applicable large hub airports.— In general .— Except as provided under subparagraph [clause] (ii), notwithstanding any law to the contrary, and subject to the other provisions of this paragraph, an applicable large hub airport may provide a certified canine described in subparagraph
(A)on an in-kind basis to the TSA to be deployed as a passenger screening canine at that airport unless the applicable large hub airport consents to the use of that certified canine elsewhere. Exception .— The Administrator may, on a case-by-case basis, deploy a certified canine described in subparagraph
(A)to a transportation facility other than the applicable large hub airport described in clause
(i)for not more than 90 days per year if the Administrator— determines that such deployment is necessary to meet operational or security needs; and notifies the applicable large hub airport described in clause (i). Nondeployable canines .— Any certified canine provided to the TSA under clause
(i)that does not complete training for deployment under that clause shall be the responsibility of the large hub airport unless the TSA agrees to a different outcome. Handlers .— Not later than 30 days before a canine begins training to become a certified canine under subparagraph (B), the airport shall notify the TSA of such training and the Administrator shall assign a TSA canine handler to participate in the training with that canine, as appropriate. Limitation .— The Administrator may not reduce the staffing allocation model for an applicable large hub airport based on that airport’s provision of a certified canine under this paragraph. Definitions .— In this section: Applicable large hub airport .— The term ‘applicable large hub airport’ means a large hub airport (as defined in section 40102 of title 49 , United States Code) that has less than 100 percent of the allocated passenger screening canine teams staffed by the TSA. Aviation stakeholder .— The term ‘aviation stakeholder’ includes an airport, airport operator, and air carrier.