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Bill

S 659

Relates to the general civil penalty of the environmental conservation law

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Joe Addabbo and 8 co-sponsors

GRACIE Act would require nationwide recording of all child protective interviews, reshaping CPS workflows and raising privacy, storage, and access safeguards.

REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
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Bill Summary · S 659

Summary of S. 659 — GRACIE Act of 2025

Overview

S. 659, introduced in the U.S. Senate as the GRACIE Act of 2025, is formally titled the Generate Recordings of All Child protective Interviews Everywhere Act. The bill’s name indicates a goal of generating recordings of child protective interviews conducted nationwide. The text provided at introduction only includes the citation and title; no substantive provisions are included in the available material.

Purpose and Intent

  • The Act is intended to be cited as the GRACIE Act of 2025.
  • Based on the title, the bill aims to require or authorize the generation and retention (i.e., recordings) of all child protective interviews conducted across jurisdictions.
  • Specific aims, such as scope, standards for recording, retention periods, privacy protections, consent, access, and enforcement mechanisms, are not disclosed in the introduction.

Key Provisions (as publicly available)

  • No detailed statutory text or provisions are provided beyond the bill’s title in the introduction.
  • Therefore, the exact requirements (who must record, what must be recorded, how recordings are stored, who may access recordings, exemptions, funding, penalties, and timelines) are not specified in the available material.

Sponsorship and Legislative History

  • Primary Sponsor: Marsha Blackburn
  • Cosponsor: Jon Ossoff
  • Introduced: February 20, 2025
  • Committee Referral: Read twice and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
  • Status: Introduced in the Senate (no further actions listed in the provided material)

Potential Impacts (conceptual, given the title)

  • Affects: Child protective services practices, case management workflows, and data/recordkeeping requirements.
  • Stakeholders likely to be impacted: Children and families involved in protective investigations, CPS workers, law enforcement, legal advocates, and privacy/safeguards communities.
  • Privacy and civil liberties considerations: Any nationwide requirement to record interviews would necessitate robust privacy protections, data security standards, access controls, consent regimes, and procedures to handle sensitive information.
  • Resource implications: Potential costs for equipment, storage, transcription, redaction capabilities, and training.

Procedural Timeline and Next Steps

  • If the bill moves forward, typical steps would include committee hearings and markup in the Judiciary Committee, potential amendments, floor debate and voting in the Senate, possible House consideration if companion legislation exists, and conference if needed.
  • Timelines depend on committee schedules and legislative priorities.

Note

This summary reflects only information publicly available in the introduction: the bill’s title, sponsor information, introductive date, and committee referral. No substantive provisions or fiscal details are included in the provided material.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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