FISA Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2023

This bill extends certain expiring authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) through December 31, 2035, restores some expired authorities, and adds reforms to protect civil liberties of U.S. persons. It amends FISA to impose new restrictions on how intelligence collected under Section 702 may be queried, requires additional compliance measures for the FBI, enhances reporting and oversight, and creates new penalties and procedures to improve accuracy and integrity in FISA applications and court proceedings.

Sec. 101, Extension of title VII of FISA: Extends the sunset date for FISA Title VII authorities from December 31, 2023 to December 31, 2035, and makes conforming amendments to related provisions.

Sec. 102, Expanded protections for United States person queries: Prohibits queries of Section 702-acquired information that are solely designed to find evidence of a crime, with exceptions for threats to life or serious bodily harm, and for litigation or criminal discovery obligations.

Sec. 103, Federal Bureau of Investigation compliance requirements: Requires the FBI to adopt procedures that include mandatory training for personnel before conducting queries, and that systems storing unminimized Section 702 data must require affirmative opt-in or other controls to prevent inadvertent queries.

Sec. 104, Additional reporting regarding the FBI's use of section 702 of FISA: Requires the FBI Director to submit an annual report to Congress on the number of U.S. person queries of Section 702 data, the number of approved batch job queries, and other related statistics.

Sec. 105, Increased oversight of activities involving Members of Congress: Requires the FBI to promptly notify specified congressional leaders and any Member who is the subject of a query if the FBI knowingly conducts queries using terms likely to identify a Member of Congress.

Sec. 106, Exception for consensual queries: Allows queries of Section 702 data if the subject of the query, or a third party authorized to consent on their behalf, has provided consent.

Sec. 107, Procedures to enable travel vetting of non-United States persons: Requires that procedures for Section 702 queries allow vetting of non-U.S. persons being processed for travel to the United States using terms that are not U.S. person query terms.

Sec. 201, Certifications regarding accuracy of FISA applications: Requires applicants for FISA orders to certify that the attorney for the Government and the Department of Justice have been informed of all information that might call into question the accuracy of the application or raise doubts about required findings.

Sec. 202, Submission of court transcripts to Congress: Requires that transcripts of hearings or oral arguments before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or Court of Review be provided to Congress within 45 days after the government receives the transcript or the matter is resolved, whichever is later.

Sec. 203, Enhanced authorities for amicus curiae: Expands the circumstances under which the FISA court must appoint amicus curiae, including for novel legal interpretations, First Amendment concerns, or when targeting a U.S. person in a sensitive investigation, unless the court finds such appointment inappropriate.

Sec. 204, Prohibition on use of politically derived information in applications for certain orders by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court: Prohibits using information solely produced by a political organization to gain advantage against an opposing candidate in FISA applications, unless the organization is identified, the information is corroborated, and the corroboration methods are identified.

Sec. 205, Investigations relating to Federal candidates and elected Federal officials: Requires written approval from the Attorney General before targeting an elected federal official or federal candidate in a FISA electronic surveillance or physical search application.

Sec. 206, Removal or suspension of Federal officers for misconduct before Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court: Authorizes adverse actions, including suspension without pay or removal, for federal employees, officers, or contractors who knowingly engage in misconduct in proceedings before the FISA courts.

Sec. 207, Additional penalties for offenses relating to FISA: Increases the maximum prison term for false declarations before the FISA courts to 10 years, raises the penalty for unauthorized use of FISA information from 5 to 10 years, and adds a new offense for intentional disclosure of FISA applications by federal employees, officers, or contractors.

Sec. 208, Contempts constituting crimes before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review: Amends the federal criminal code to include the FISA courts in the definition of courts where contempt can constitute a crime.

Sec. 209, Effective and independent advice for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review: Allows the FISA courts to jointly employ independent legal advisors to assist in considering matters before them, subject solely to the direction of the presiding judges.

Sec. 210, Enhancements to congressional oversight: Clarifies that nothing in FISA precludes the Senate and House Intelligence Committees from receiving, upon request, applications, orders, and related materials in a timely manner consistent with national security.

Sec. 211, Establishment of compliance officers: Requires the head of each agency that submits FISA applications to appoint a Compliance Officer responsible for overseeing the agency's compliance with FISA requirements.

Sec. 212, FISA Reform Commission: Establishes a commission called the FISA Reform Commission, composed of senior government officials and members appointed by congressional leaders, to consider ongoing reforms to FISA.