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Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 4
State and Local Byrne Grant Conditionality
Strips state and local governments of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program funding if they use biometric surveillance without a local law substantially mirroring the federal prohibition, effective the first fiscal year after enactment.
- Population Scope High Reaches all state governments and units of local government that receive Byrne JAG funding — a nationwide class of thousands of jurisdictions whose law enforcement operations the grant program supports.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Conditions an existing federal funding stream — Byrne JAG, which distributes several hundred million dollars annually — on compliance, creating a meaningful fiscal threat to non-compliant jurisdictions without appropriating new funds.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Imposes a new statutory eligibility condition on an existing grant program, effectively mandating that thousands of state and local governments change substantive law or policy as a precondition to federal funding.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Eligibility loss is automatic upon non-compliance with no agency waiver authority or case-by-case flexibility specified.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Requires existing Byrne grant administrators to assess compliance with a new 'substantially similar' standard for each applicant jurisdiction — recurring eligibility determinations without new enforcement infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment High Operates indefinitely from the first fiscal year after enactment, with no sunset or reauthorization requirement, persisting until Congress acts to remove the condition.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism Top 4
Federal Biometric Surveillance Ban
Bans federal agencies and employees from acquiring or using biometric surveillance systems — including facial recognition and voice recognition — unless Congress passes a specific law authorizing it with detailed safeguards covering accuracy, privacy, and equity. Creates a private right to sue the federal government for biometric surveillance violations, allows state attorneys general to sue on behalf of residents, excludes illegally obtained biometric data from use as evidence, and authorizes penalties against offending federal officials.
- Population Scope Medium Directly binds all federal agencies and officials — a broad institutional class — while the private right of action and exclusionary rule extend to any individual subjected to illegal biometric surveillance, a non-trivial but indeterminate share of the public.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No funds are authorized or appropriated; the provision restricts activity rather than directing spending, so budgetary impact is limited to compliance and litigation costs.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Creates a new statutory prohibition binding all federal actors, a newly enforceable private right of action against the federal government, a state-attorney-general parens patriae cause of action, and an exclusionary rule — collectively a substantive restructuring of legal rights and obligations.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Mandatory 'shall be unlawful' language leaves federal agencies and officials no discretion; the exception requires an affirmative, particularized Act of Congress, not agency rulemaking.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden High Stands up private litigation and state-attorney-general enforcement channels against the federal government, requires courts to adjudicate actual and punitive damages, and creates an internal administrative penalty track for offending officials — sustained case-by-case adjudication infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment High Binds federal actors indefinitely with no sunset or reauthorization trigger, persisting until Congress affirmatively acts to repeal or modify it.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations Top 4
Federal Funding Prohibition on Biometric Systems
Bars federal law enforcement agencies from spending any federal funds — including unallocated appropriations — to buy or use biometric surveillance systems, adding a spending restriction on top of the general-use prohibition.
- Population Scope Low Directly binds federal law enforcement agencies and the subset of federal agencies with unallocated appropriations — a narrow institutional population entirely within the federal government.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Forecloses federal law enforcement and agency spending on biometric systems across the entire federal government's appropriations, but the absolute dollar amount is indeterminate and no new funds are authorized.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Adds a statutory spending restriction on top of the general-use prohibition — a constraint on how existing appropriations may be obligated, which is a procedural-financial constraint rather than a new substantive mandate.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Uses 'may not' language with no waiver mechanism, leaving agencies no discretion to obligate funds for prohibited purposes.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Requires ongoing appropriations monitoring and compliance review within agencies, but relies on existing fiscal oversight mechanisms rather than standing up new enforcement infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment High Operates indefinitely from enactment with no expiry or reauthorization requirement, remaining in force until Congress affirmatively removes it.
No signal yet
Carve-outs, Exemptions, Eligibility Top 4
Exception
The prohibition set forth in subsection (a) does not apply to activities explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress that describes, with particularity— the entities permitted to use the biometric surveillance system, the specific type of biometric authorized, the purposes for such use, and any…
- Population Scope Low Defines the sole pathway by which the federal prohibition may be lifted but does not independently affect any population; impact is derivative of the main prohibition.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No funds are authorized, appropriated, or restricted by this provision; budgetary effect, if any, flows from future authorizing legislation.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Low Sets criteria future authorizing statutes must meet but does not itself change substantive law — legal depth is contingent on legislation yet to be enacted.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Constrains rather than grants discretion by requiring any future authorization to meet a detailed particularity standard, leaving no agency flexibility.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Creates no independent enforcement mechanism; compliance obligations arise only if a future authorizing statute is enacted under this framework.
- Temporal Commitment High As a structural constraint on future congressional action embedded in statute, it persists indefinitely unless Congress repeals or modifies it.
No signal yet
No possible riders have been surfaced for this bill.
Summary
This bill would ban federal agencies and employees from buying or using facial recognition and other biometric surveillance tools unless Congress passes a separate law specifically allowing it with detailed safeguards. It would also cut federal public safety grant funding — through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program — to any state or local government that uses such technology without a similar law in place. People harmed by illegal use could sue the federal government for damages.
AI-generated summary, pending human review.
| Version | Event | Date | User support | Your vote | Roll calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original |
Initial publication
Sep 24, 2026
|
Sep 24, 2026 | No votes yet | — | — |
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Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 4
State and Local Byrne Grant Conditionality
Strips state and local governments of Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program funding if they use biometric surveillance without a local law substantially mirroring the federal prohibition, effective the first fiscal year after enactment.
- Population Scope High Reaches all state governments and units of local government that receive Byrne JAG funding — a nationwide class of thousands of jurisdictions whose law enforcement operations the grant program supports.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Conditions an existing federal funding stream — Byrne JAG, which distributes several hundred million dollars annually — on compliance, creating a meaningful fiscal threat to non-compliant jurisdictions without appropriating new funds.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Imposes a new statutory eligibility condition on an existing grant program, effectively mandating that thousands of state and local governments change substantive law or policy as a precondition to federal funding.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Eligibility loss is automatic upon non-compliance with no agency waiver authority or case-by-case flexibility specified.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Requires existing Byrne grant administrators to assess compliance with a new 'substantially similar' standard for each applicant jurisdiction — recurring eligibility determinations without new enforcement infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment High Operates indefinitely from the first fiscal year after enactment, with no sunset or reauthorization requirement, persisting until Congress acts to remove the condition.
No signal yet
Regulatory or Legal Changes
State and Local Byrne Grant Conditionality
Core Policy Mechanism Top 4
Federal Biometric Surveillance Ban
Bans federal agencies and employees from acquiring or using biometric surveillance systems — including facial recognition and voice recognition — unless Congress passes a specific law authorizing it with detailed safeguards covering accuracy, privacy, and equity. Creates a private right to sue the federal government for biometric surveillance violations, allows state attorneys general to sue on behalf of residents, excludes illegally obtained biometric data from use as evidence, and authorizes penalties against offending federal officials.
- Population Scope Medium Directly binds all federal agencies and officials — a broad institutional class — while the private right of action and exclusionary rule extend to any individual subjected to illegal biometric surveillance, a non-trivial but indeterminate share of the public.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No funds are authorized or appropriated; the provision restricts activity rather than directing spending, so budgetary impact is limited to compliance and litigation costs.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth High Creates a new statutory prohibition binding all federal actors, a newly enforceable private right of action against the federal government, a state-attorney-general parens patriae cause of action, and an exclusionary rule — collectively a substantive restructuring of legal rights and obligations.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Mandatory 'shall be unlawful' language leaves federal agencies and officials no discretion; the exception requires an affirmative, particularized Act of Congress, not agency rulemaking.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden High Stands up private litigation and state-attorney-general enforcement channels against the federal government, requires courts to adjudicate actual and punitive damages, and creates an internal administrative penalty track for offending officials — sustained case-by-case adjudication infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment High Binds federal actors indefinitely with no sunset or reauthorization trigger, persisting until Congress affirmatively acts to repeal or modify it.
No signal yet
Core Policy Mechanism
Federal Biometric Surveillance Ban
Funding / Appropriations Top 4
Federal Funding Prohibition on Biometric Systems
Bars federal law enforcement agencies from spending any federal funds — including unallocated appropriations — to buy or use biometric surveillance systems, adding a spending restriction on top of the general-use prohibition.
- Population Scope Low Directly binds federal law enforcement agencies and the subset of federal agencies with unallocated appropriations — a narrow institutional population entirely within the federal government.
- Budgetary Magnitude Medium Forecloses federal law enforcement and agency spending on biometric systems across the entire federal government's appropriations, but the absolute dollar amount is indeterminate and no new funds are authorized.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Medium Adds a statutory spending restriction on top of the general-use prohibition — a constraint on how existing appropriations may be obligated, which is a procedural-financial constraint rather than a new substantive mandate.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Uses 'may not' language with no waiver mechanism, leaving agencies no discretion to obligate funds for prohibited purposes.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Requires ongoing appropriations monitoring and compliance review within agencies, but relies on existing fiscal oversight mechanisms rather than standing up new enforcement infrastructure.
- Temporal Commitment High Operates indefinitely from enactment with no expiry or reauthorization requirement, remaining in force until Congress affirmatively removes it.
No signal yet
Funding / Appropriations
Federal Funding Prohibition on Biometric Systems
Carve-outs, Exemptions, Eligibility Top 4
Exception
The prohibition set forth in subsection (a) does not apply to activities explicitly authorized by an Act of Congress that describes, with particularity— the entities permitted to use the biometric surveillance system, the specific type of biometric authorized, the purposes for such use, and any…
- Population Scope Low Defines the sole pathway by which the federal prohibition may be lifted but does not independently affect any population; impact is derivative of the main prohibition.
- Budgetary Magnitude Low No funds are authorized, appropriated, or restricted by this provision; budgetary effect, if any, flows from future authorizing legislation.
- Legal / Regulatory Depth Low Sets criteria future authorizing statutes must meet but does not itself change substantive law — legal depth is contingent on legislation yet to be enacted.
- Degree of Discretion Granted Low Constrains rather than grants discretion by requiring any future authorization to meet a detailed particularity standard, leaving no agency flexibility.
- Implementation & Enforcement Burden Low Creates no independent enforcement mechanism; compliance obligations arise only if a future authorizing statute is enacted under this framework.
- Temporal Commitment High As a structural constraint on future congressional action embedded in statute, it persists indefinitely unless Congress repeals or modifies it.
No signal yet
Carve-outs, Exemptions, Eligibility
Exception
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