Appointment of amici curiae and access to information

(a) Expansion of appointment authority (1) In general Section 103(i)(2) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1803(i)(2)) is amended— (A) in subparagraph (A)— (i) by striking clause (i) and inserting the following: (i) shall appoint one or more individuals who have been designated under paragraph (1) and who possesses expertise in privacy and civil liberties to serve as amicus curiae to assist such court in the consideration of any application or motion for an order or review, unless the court issues a written finding that such application neither presents nor involves— (I) a novel or significant interpretation of the law; (II) a significant concern related to constitutional rights; (III) a sensitive investigative matter; (IV) a request for approval of a new program, a new technology, or a new use of existing technology; (V) a request for reauthorization of programmatic surveillance; or (VI) any other privacy or civil liberties issue for which an appointment of an amicus curiae to assist the court in the consideration of the application would be appropriate;; (ii) in clause (ii), by striking; and and inserting a period; (iii) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iv) and moving such clause so as to appear after clause (iii); (iv) by inserting after clause (i) the following: (ii) shall appoint one or more individuals who have been designated under paragraph (1) and who possesses technical expertise to serve as amicus curiae to assist such court in the consideration of any application for an order or review, unless the court issues a written finding that such application neither presents nor involves— (I) a request for approval of a new program, a new technology, or a new use of existing technology; (II) a request for approval of a previously authorized program, technology, or use of existing technology for which no prior application for approval of such program, technology, or use was considered by the court with the assistance of an amicus curiae who possesses technical expertise; or (III) a technical issue material to any legal determination for which an appointment of an amicus curiae who possesses technical expertise to assist the court in the consideration of the application would be appropriate;; and (v) in clause (iii), by striking, unless the court issues a finding that such appointment is not appropriate or is likely to result in undue delay. and inserting; and; and (B) by striking subparagraph (B). (2) Definition of sensitive investigative matter Section 103(i) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1803(i)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (12) Definition of sensitive investigative matter In this subsection, the term sensitive investigative matter means— (A) an investigative matter involving the activities of— (i) a domestic public official or political candidate, or an individual serving on the staff of such an official or candidate; (ii) a domestic religious or political organization, or a known or suspected United States person prominent in such an organization; or (iii) the domestic news media; or (B) any other investigative matter involving a domestic entity or a known or suspected United States person that, in the judgment of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, is similarly as sensitive as an investigative matter described in subparagraph (A).. (3) Qualifications Section 103(i)(3)(A) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1803(i)(3)(A)) is amended— (A) by inserting cybersecurity, cryptography, after communications technology,; and (B) by adding at the end the following: Of such individuals, at least one shall possess legal expertise and at least one shall possess technical expertise.. (4) Notification Section 103(i) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1803(i)) is amended by striking paragraph (7) and inserting the following: (7) Notification The presiding judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review shall, not less frequently than quarterly, provide to the Attorney General and the appropriate committees of Congress— (A) a notification of each appointment of an individual to serve as amicus curiae under paragraph (2); and (B) a copy of each written finding issued under paragraph (2).. (5) Section 702 recertification schedule Section 702(j)(5)(A) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1881a(j)(5)(A)) is amended by striking at least 30 days prior to the expiration of such authorization and inserting such number of days, not less than 30 days, before the expiration of such authorization as the Court considers necessary to permit review by amici curiae appointed under section 103(i)(2)(A)(iii).. (b) Authority To seek review Section 103(i) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1803(i)), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended— (1) in paragraph (4)— (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting; authority after Duties; (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking shall; (C) in subparagraph (B)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting shall before provide; (ii) in clause (i), by striking of United States persons and inserting the following:, including legal arguments regarding any privacy or civil liberties interest of any United States person that would be significantly affected by the application or motion; and (iii) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and inserting; and; (D) by striking subparagraph (A); (E) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (A); and (F) by adding at the end the following: (B) may seek leave to raise any novel or significant privacy or civil liberties issue relevant to the application or motion or other issue directly affecting the legality of the proposed electronic surveillance with the court, regardless of whether the court has requested assistance on that issue.; (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (12) as paragraphs (8) through (13), respectively; and (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following: (7) Authority to seek review of decisions (A) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court decisions (i) Petition Following issuance of an order under this Act by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, an amicus curiae appointed under paragraph (2) may petition the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to certify for review to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review a question of law pursuant to subsection (j). (ii) Denials If the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court denies a petition described in clause (i), the court shall provide for the record a written statement of the reasons for such denial. (iii) Certification Upon certification of any question of law pursuant to this subparagraph, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review shall appoint the amicus curiae to assist the Court of Review in its consideration of the certified question, unless the Court of Review issues a finding that such appointment is not appropriate. (B) Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review decisions An amicus curiae appointed under paragraph (2) may petition the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review to certify for review to the Supreme Court of the United States any question of law pursuant to section 1254(2) of title 28, United States Code. (C) Declassification of referrals For purposes of section 602, a petition filed under subparagraph (A) or (B) of this paragraph and all of its content shall be considered a decision, order, or opinion issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review described in paragraph (2) of section 602(a).. (c) Access to information (1) Application and materials Section 103(i)(6) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1803(i)(6)) is amended— (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting the following: (i) shall have access to, to the extent such information is available to the Government— (I) the application, certification, petition, motion, and other information and supporting materials, including any information described in section 901, submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in connection with the matter in which the amicus curiae has been appointed, including access to any relevant legal precedent (including any such precedent that is cited by the Government, including in such an application); (II) any other information or materials that the court determines is relevant to the duties of the amicus curiae; and (III) an unredacted copy of each relevant decision made by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review in which the court decides a question of law, without regard to whether the decision is classified; and (ii) may make a submission to the court requesting access to any other particular materials or information (or category of materials or information) that the amicus curiae believes to be relevant to the duties of the amicus curiae.; (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (F); and (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following: (D) Supporting documentation regarding accuracy The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, upon the motion of an amicus curiae appointed under paragraph (2) or upon its own motion, may require the Government to make available the supporting documentation described in section 902.. (2) Clarification of access to certain information Section 103(i)(6) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1803(i)(6)) is amended— (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking The Attorney General may periodically and inserting Not less frequently than annually, the Attorney General shall; and (B) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the following: (C) Classified information An amicus curiae appointed by the court shall have access to, to the extent such information is available to the Government, unredacted copies of each opinion, order, transcript, pleading, or other document of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, including, if the individual is eligible for access to classified information, any classified documents, information, and other materials or proceedings.. (3) Consultation among amici curiae Section 103(i)(6) of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1803(i)(6)), as amended by paragraphs (1) and (2), is further amended— (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respectively; and (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following: (B) Consultation If the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review determines that it is relevant to the duties of an amicus curiae appointed under paragraph (2), the amicus curiae may consult with one or more of the other individuals designated to serve as amicus curiae under paragraph (1) regarding any of the information relevant to any assigned proceeding..