[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4999 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. R. 4999
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 20, 2000
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To control crime by providing law enforcement block grants.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Local Government Law Enforcement
Block Grants Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Payment and Use.--
(1) Payment.--The Director of the Bureau of Justice
Assistance shall pay to each unit of local government which
qualifies for a payment under this Act an amount equal to the
sum of any amounts allocated to such unit under this Act for
each payment period. The Director shall pay such amount from
amounts appropriated to carry out this Act.
(2) Use.--Amounts paid to a unit of local government under
this section shall be used by the unit for reducing crime and
improving public safety, including but not limited to, one or
more of the following purposes:
(A)(i) Hiring, training, and employing on a
continuing basis new, additional law enforcement
officers and necessary support personnel.
(ii) Paying overtime to presently employed law
enforcement officers and necessary support personnel
for the purpose of increasing the number of hours
worked by such personnel.
(iii) Procuring equipment, technology, and other
material directly related to basic law enforcement
functions.
(B) Enhancing security measures--
(i) in and around schools; and
(ii) in and around any other facility or
location which is considered by the unit of
local government to have a special risk for
incidents of crime.
(C) Establishing crime prevention programs that
may, though not exclusively, involve law enforcement
officials and that are intended to discourage, disrupt,
or interfere with the commission of criminal activity,
including neighborhood watch and citizen patrol
programs, sexual assault and domestic violence
programs, and programs intended to prevent juvenile
crime.
(D) Establishing or supporting drug courts.
(E) Establishing early intervention and prevention
programs for juveniles to reduce or eliminate crime.
(F) Enhancing the adjudication process of cases
involving violent offenders, including the adjudication
process of cases involving violent juvenile offenders.
(G) Enhancing programs under subpart 1 of part E of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968.
(H) Establishing cooperative task forces between
adjoining units of local government to work
cooperatively to prevent and combat criminal activity,
particularly criminal activity that is exacerbated by
drug or gang-related involvement.
(I) Establishing a multijurisdictional task force,
particularly in rural areas, composed of law
enforcement officials representing units of local
government, that works with Federal law enforcement
officials to prevent and control crime.
(3) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
(A) the term ``violent offender'' means a person
charged with committing a part I violent crime; and
(B) the term ``drug courts'' means a program that
involves--
(i) continuing judicial supervision over
offenders with substance abuse problems who are
not violent offenders; and
(ii) the integrated administration of other
sanctions and services, which shall include--
(I) mandatory periodic testing for
the use of controlled substances or
other addictive substances during any
period of supervised release or
probation for each participant;
(II) substance abuse treatment for
each participant;
(III) probation, or other
supervised release involving the
possibility of prosecution,
confinement, or incarceration based on
noncompliance with program requirements
or failure to show satisfactory
progress; and
(IV) programmatic, offender
management, and aftercare services such
as relapse prevention, vocational job
training, job placement, and housing
placement.
(b) Prohibited Uses.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Act, a unit of local government may not expend any of the funds
provided under this Act to purchase, lease, rent, or otherwise
acquire--
(1) tanks or armored personnel carriers;
(2) fixed wing aircraft;
(3) limousines;
(4) real estate;
(5) yachts;
(6) consultants; or
(7) vehicles not primarily used for law enforcement,
unless the Attorney General certifies that extraordinary and exigent
circumstances exist that make the use of funds for such purposes
essential to the maintenance of public safety and good order in such
unit of local government.
(c) Timing of Payments.--The Director shall pay each unit of local
government that has submitted an application under this Act not later
than--
(1) 90 days after the date that the amount is available; or
(2) the first day of the payment period if the unit of
local government has provided the Director with the assurances
required by section 4(c),
whichever is later.
(d) Adjustments.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Director
shall adjust a payment under this Act to a unit of local
government to the extent that a prior payment to the unit of
local government was more or less than the amount required to
be paid.
(2) Considerations.--The Director may increase or decrease
under this subsection a payment to a unit of local government
only if the Director determines the need for the increase or
decrease, or if the unit requests the increase or decrease, not
later than 1 year after the end of the payment period for which
a payment was made.
(e) Reservation for Adjustment.--The Director may reserve a
percentage of not more than 2 percent of the amount under this section
for a payment period for all units of local government in a State if
the Director considers the reserve is necessary to ensure the
availability of sufficient amounts to pay adjustments after the final
allocation of amounts among the units of local government in the State.
(f) Repayment of Unexpended Amounts.--
(1) Repayment required.--A unit of local government shall
repay to the Director, by not later than 27 months after
receipt of funds from the Director, any amount that is--
(A) paid to the unit from amounts appropriated
under the authority of this section; and
(B) not expended by the unit within 2 years after
receipt of such funds from the Director.
(2) Penalty for failure to repay.--If the amount required
to be repaid is not repaid, the Director shall reduce payment
in future payment periods accordingly.
(3) Deposit of amounts repaid.--Amounts received by the
Director as repayments under this subsection shall be deposited
in a designated fund for future payments to units of local
government. Any amounts remaining in such designated fund after
5 years following the enactment of the Local Government Law
Enforcement Block Grants Act of 2000 shall be applied to the
Federal deficit or, if there is no Federal deficit, to reducing
the Federal debt.
(g) Nonsupplanting Requirement.--Funds made available under this
Act to units of local government shall not be used to supplant State or
local funds, but shall be used to increase the amount of funds that
would, in the absence of funds made available under this Act, be made
available from State or local sources.
(h) Matching Funds.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
Federal share of a grant received under this Act may not exceed
90 percent of the costs of a program or proposal funded under
this Act.
(2) Exception for financial hardship.--The Director may
increase the Federal share under paragraph (1) up to 100
percent for a unit of local government upon a showing of
financial hardship by such unit.
SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act--
(1) $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
(2) $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
(3) $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;
(4) $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and
(5) $2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.
(b) Oversight Accountability and Administration.--Not more than 3
percent of the amount authorized to be appropriated under subsection
(a) for each of the fiscal years 2001 through 2005 shall be available
to the Attorney General for studying the overall effectiveness and
efficiency of the provisions of this Act, and assuring compliance with
the provisions of this Act and for administrative costs to carry out
the purposes of this Act. The Attorney General shall establish and
execute an oversight plan for monitoring the activities of grant
recipients. Such sums are to remain available until expended.
(c) Technology Assistance.--The Attorney General shall reserve 1
percent in each of fiscal years 2001 through 2003 of the amount
authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a) for use by the
National Institute of Justice in assisting local units to identify,
select, develop, modernize, and purchase new technologies for use by
law enforcement.
(d) Availability.--The amounts authorized to be appropriated under
subsection (a) shall remain available until expended.
SEC. 4. QUALIFICATION FOR PAYMENT.
(a) In General.--The Director shall issue regulations establishing
procedures under which a unit of local government is required to
provide notice to the Director regarding the proposed use of funds made
available under this Act.
(b) Program Review.--The Director shall establish a process for the
ongoing evaluation of projects developed with funds made available
under this Act.
(c) General Requirements for Qualification.--A unit of local
government qualifies for a payment under this Act for a payment period
only if the unit of local government submits an application to the
Director and establishes, to the satisfaction of the Director, that--
(1) the unit of local government has established a local
advisory board that--
(A) includes, but is not limited to, a
representative from--
(i) the local police department or local
sheriff's department;
(ii) the local prosecutor's office;
(iii) the local court system;
(iv) the local public school system; and
(v) a local nonprofit, educational,
religious, or community group active in crime
prevention or drug use prevention or treatment;
(B) has reviewed the application; and
(C) is designated to make nonbinding
recommendations to the unit of local government for the
use of funds received under this Act;
(2) the chief executive officer of the State has had not
less than 20 days to review and comment on the application
prior to submission to the Director;
(3)(A) the unit of local government will establish a trust
fund in which the government will deposit all payments received
under this Act; and
(B) the unit of local government will use amounts in the
trust fund (including interest) during a period not to exceed 2
years from the date the first grant payment is made to the unit
of local government;
(4) the unit of local government will expend the payments
received in accordance with the laws and procedures that are
applicable to the expenditure of revenues of the unit of local
government;
(5) the unit of local government will use accounting,
audit, and fiscal procedures that conform to guidelines which
shall be prescribed by the Director after consultation with the
Comptroller General and as applicable, amounts received under
this Act shall be audited in compliance with the Single Audit
Act of 1984;
(6) after reasonable notice from the Director or the
Comptroller General to the unit of local government, the unit
of local government will make available to the Director and the
Comptroller General, with the right to inspect, records that
the Director reasonably requires to review compliance with this
Act or that the Comptroller General reasonably requires to
review compliance and operation;
(7) a designated official of the unit of local government
shall make reports the Director reasonably requires, in
addition to the annual reports required under this Act;
(8) the unit of local government will spend the funds made
available under this Act only for the purposes set forth in
section 2(a)(2);
(9) the unit of local government will achieve a net gain in
the number of law enforcement officers who perform
nonadministrative public safety service if such unit uses funds
received under this Act to increase the number of law
enforcement officers as described under subparagraph (A) of
section 2(a)(2);
(10) the unit of local government--
(A) has an adequate process to assess the impact of
any enhancement of a school security measure that is
undertaken under subparagraph (B) of section 2(a)(2),
or any crime prevention programs that are established
under subparagraphs (C) and (E) of section 2(a)(2), on
the incidence of crime in the geographic area where the
enhancement is undertaken or the program is
established;
(B) will conduct such an assessment with respect to
each such enhancement or program; and
(C) will submit an annual written assessment report
to the Director; and
(11) the unit of local government has established
procedures to give members of the Armed Forces who, on or after
October 1, 1990, were or are selected for involuntary
separation (as described in section 1141 of title 10, United
States Code), approved for separation under section 1174a or
1175 of such title, or retired pursuant to the authority
provided under section 4403 of the Defense Conversion,
Reinvestment, and Transition Assistance Act of 1992 (division D
of Public Law 102-484; 10 U.S.C. 1293 note), a suitable
preference in the employment of persons as additional law
enforcement officers or support personnel using funds made
available under this Act. The nature and extent of such
employment preference shall be jointly established by the
Attorney General and the Secretary of Defense. To the extent
practicable, the Director shall endeavor to inform members who
were separated between October 1, 1990, and the date of the
enactment of this section of their eligibility for the
employment preference;
(d) Sanctions for Noncompliance.--
(1) In general.--If the Director determines that a unit of
local government has not complied substantially with the
requirements or regulations prescribed under subsections (a)
and (c), the Director shall notify the unit of local government
that if the unit of local government does not take corrective
action within 60 days of such notice, the Director will
withhold additional payments to the unit of local government
for the current and future payment periods until the Director
is satisfied that the unit of local government--
(A) has taken the appropriate corrective action;
and
(B) will comply with the requirements and
regulations prescribed under subsections (a) and (c).
(2) Notice.--Before giving notice under paragraph (1), the
Director shall give the chief executive officer of the unit of
local government reasonable notice and an opportunity for
comment.
(e) Maintenance of Effort Requirement.--A unit of local government
qualifies for a payment under this Act for a payment period only if the
unit's expenditures on law enforcement services (as reported by the
Bureau of the Census) for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in
which the payment period occurs were not less than 90 percent of the
unit's expenditures on such services for the second fiscal year
preceding the fiscal year in which the payment period occurs.
SEC. 5. ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.
(a) State Set-Aside.--
(1) In general.--Of the total amounts appropriated for this
Act for each payment period, the Director shall allocate for
units of local government in each State an amount that bears
the same ratio to such total as the average annual number of
part 1 violent crimes reported by such State to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation for the 3 most recent calendar years
for which such data is available, bears to the number of part 1
violent crimes reported by all States to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for such years.
(2) Minimum requirement.--Each State shall receive not less
than .25 percent of the total amounts appropriated under
section 3 under this subsection for each payment period.
(3) Proportional reduction.--If amounts available to carry
out paragraph (2) for any payment period are insufficient to
pay in full the total payment that any State is otherwise
eligible to receive under paragraph (1) for such period, then
the Director shall reduce payments under paragraph (1) for such
payment period to the extent of such insufficiency. Reductions
under the preceding sentence shall be allocated among the
States (other than States whose payment is determined under
paragraph (2)) in the same proportions as amounts would be
allocated under paragraph (1) without regard to paragraph (2).
(b) Local Distribution.--
(1) In general.--From the amount reserved for each State
under subsection (a), the Director shall allocate--
(A) among reporting units of local government the
reporting units' share of such reserved amount; and
(B) among nonreporting units of local government
the nonreporting units' share of the reserved amount.
(2) Amounts.--
(A) The reporting units' share of the reserved
amount is the amount equal to the product of such
reserved amount multiplied by the percentage which the
population living in reporting units of local
government in the State bears to the population of all
units of local government in the State.
(B) The nonreporting units' share of the reserved
amount is the reserved amount reduced by the reporting
units' share of the reserved amount.
(3) Allocation to each reporting unit.--From the reporting
units' share of the reserved amount for each State under
subsection (a), the Director shall allocate to each reporting
unit of local government an amount which bears the same ratio
to such share as the average annual number of part 1 violent
crimes reported by such unit to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for the 3 most recent calendar years for which
such data is available bears to the number of part 1 violent
crimes reported by all units of local government in the State
in which the unit is located to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for such years.
(4) Allocation to each nonreporting unit.--From the
nonreporting units' share of the reserved amount for each State
under subsection (a), the Director shall allocate to each
nonreporting unit of local government an amount which bears the
same ratio to such share as the average number of part 1
violent crimes of like governmental units in the same
population class as such unit bears to the average annual
imputed number of part 1 violent crimes of all nonreporting
units in the State for the 3 most recent calendar years.
(5) Limitation on allocations.--A unit of local government
shall not receive an allocation which exceeds 100 percent of
such unit's expenditures on law enforcement services as
reported by the Bureau of the Census for the most recent fiscal
year. Any amount in excess of 100 percent of such unit's
expenditures on law enforcement services shall be distributed
proportionally among units of local government whose allocation
does not exceed 100 percent of expenditures on law enforcement
services.
(6) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
(A) The term ``reporting unit of local government''
means any unit of local government that reported part 1
violent crimes to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
for the 3 most recent calendar years for which such
data is available.
(B) The term ``nonreporting unit of local
government'' means any unit of local government which
is not a reporting unit of local government.
(C)(i) The term ``like governmental units'' means
any like unit of local government as defined by the
Secretary of Commerce for general statistical purposes,
and means--
(I) all counties are treated as like
governmental units;
(II) all cities are treated as like
governmental units;
(III) all townships are treated as like
governmental units.
(ii) Similar rules shall apply to other types of
governmental units.
(D) The term ``same population class'' means a like
unit within the same population category as another
like unit with the categories determined as follows:
(i) 0 through 9,999.
(ii) 10,000 through 49,999.
(iii) 50,000 through 149,999.
(iv) 150,000 through 299,999.
(v) 300,000 or more.
(7) Local governments with allocations of less than
$10,000.--If under paragraph (3) or (4) a unit of local
government is allotted less than $10,000 for the payment
period, the amount allotted shall be transferred to the chief
executive officer of the State who shall distribute such funds
among State police departments that provide law enforcement
services to units of local government and units of local
government whose allotment is less than such amount in a manner
which reduces crime and improves public safety.
(8) Special rules.--
(A) If a unit of local government in a State that
has been incorporated since the date of the collection
of the data used by the Director in making allocations
pursuant to this section, such unit shall be treated as
a nonreporting unit of local government for purposes of
this subsection.
(B) If a unit of local government in the State has
been annexed since the date of the collection of the
data used by the Director in making allocations
pursuant to this section, the Director shall pay the
amount that would have been allocated to such unit of
local government to the unit of local government that
annexed it.
(9) Resolution of disparate allocations.--(A)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if--
(i) the attorney general of a State certifies that
a unit of local government under the jurisdiction of
the State bears more than 50 percent of the costs of
prosecution or incarceration that arise with respect to
part 1 violent crimes reported by a specified
geographically constituent unit of local government;
and
(ii) but for this paragraph, the amount of funds
allocated under this section to--
(I) any one such specified geographically
constituent unit of local government exceeds
200 percent of the amount allocated to the unit
of local government certified pursuant to
clause (i); or
(II) more than one such specified
geographically constituent unit of local
government (excluding units of local government
referred to subclause I and in paragraph (7)),
exceeds 400 percent of the amount allocated to
the unit of local government certified pursuant
to clause (i) and the attorney general of the
State determines that such allocation is likely
to threaten the efficient administration of
justice,
then in order to qualify for payment under this Act, the unit
of local government certified pursuant to clause (i), together
with any such specified geographically constituent units of
local government described in clause (ii), shall submit to the
Director a joint application for the aggregate of funds
allocated to such units of local government. Such application
shall specify the amount of such funds that are to be
distributed to each of the units of local government and the
purposes for which such funds are to be used. The units of
local government involved may establish a joint local advisory
board for the purposes of carrying out this paragraph.
(B) In this paragraph, the term ``geographically
constituent unit of local government'' means a unit of local
government that has jurisdiction over areas located within the
boundaries of an area over which a unit of local government
certified pursuant to clause (i) has jurisdiction.
(c) Unavailability and Inaccuracy of Information.--
(1) Data for states.--For purposes of this section, if data
regarding part 1 violent crimes in any State for the 3 most
recent calendar years is unavailable or substantially
inaccurate, the Director shall utilize the best available
comparable data regarding the number of violent crimes for such
years for such State for the purposes of allocation of any
funds under this Act.
(2) Possible inaccuracy of data for units of local
government.--In addition to the provisions of paragraph (1), if
the Director believes that the reported rate of part 1 violent
crimes for a unit of local government is inaccurate, the
Director shall--
(A) investigate the methodology used by such unit
to determine the accuracy of the submitted data; and
(B) when necessary, use the best available
comparable data regarding the number of violent crimes
for such years for such unit of local government.
SEC. 6. UTILIZATION OF PRIVATE SECTOR.
Funds or a portion of funds allocated under this Act may be
utilized to contract with private, nonprofit entities or community-
based organizations to carry out the purposes specified under section
2(a)(2).
SEC. 7. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
(a) In General.--A unit of local government expending payments
under this Act shall hold not less than 1 public hearing on the
proposed use of the payment from the Director in relation to its entire
budget.
(b) Views.--At the hearing, persons shall be given an opportunity
to provide written and oral views to the unit of local government
authority responsible for enacting the budget and to ask questions
about the entire budget and the relation of the payment from the
Director to the entire budget.
(c) Time and Place.--The unit of local government shall hold the
hearing at a time and place that allows and encourages public
attendance and participation.
SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.
The administrative provisions of part H of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, shall apply to this Act and for
purposes of this section any reference in such provisions to title I of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 shall be deemed
to be a reference to this Act.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) The term ``unit of local government'' means--
(A) a county, township, city, or political
subdivision of a county, township, or city, that is a
unit of local government as determined by the Secretary
of Commerce for general statistical purposes; and
(B) the District of Columbia and the recognized
governing body of an Indian tribe or Alaskan Native
village that carries out substantial governmental
duties and powers.
(2) The term ``payment period'' means each 1-year period
beginning on October 1 of any year in which a grant under this
Act is awarded.
(3) The term ``State'' means any State of the United
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the
Northern Mariana Islands.
(4) The term ``juvenile'' means an individual who is 17
years of age or younger.
(5) The term ``part 1 violent crimes'' means murder and
nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and
aggravated assault as reported to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for purposes of the Uniform Crime Reports.
(6) The term ``Director'' means the Director of the Bureau
of Justice Assistance.
Passed the House of Representatives September 19, 2000.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.