[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 568 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 568
To provide funding to State and local law enforcement agencies to
combat auto theft and stolen automobile trafficking, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 20, 2025
Ms. Sherrill (for herself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide funding to State and local law enforcement agencies to
combat auto theft and stolen automobile trafficking, and for other
purposes.
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 ``Auto Theft Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. AUTO THEFT PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services of the Department of Justice shall establish an auto
theft prevention grant program (in this Act referred to as the
``Program'') to provide funding to State law enforcement agencies and
local law enforcement agencies to combat auto theft and stolen vehicle
trafficking.
(b) Eligible Recipient.--The Director shall make grants under the
Program to the Attorney General of each State, with the amount awarded
proportional to the overall level of auto thefts within each State in
the year prior to the date of the disbursement of the grant.
(c) Distribution of Funds.--
(1) Local law enforcement agencies.--The Attorney General
of a State shall make at least 50 percent of a grant awarded
under the Program available as competitive subgrants to local
law enforcement agencies to combat auto theft, with the amount
awarded determined by prioritizing localities with a higher
overall level of auto thefts in the year prior to the date of
the disbursement of the grant.
(2) State law enforcement agencies.--The Attorney General
of a State shall make at least 25 percent of a grant awarded
under the Program available to State law enforcement agencies
to combat auto theft.
(3) Other amounts.--The Attorney General of a State shall
make any proportion of the grant awarded under the Program not
allocated under paragraph (1) or (2) available as competitive
subgrants to local law enforcement agencies or to State law
enforcement agencies. Any subgrant made under this paragraph to
a local law enforcement agency shall follow the prioritization
under paragraph (1).
(d) Eligible Activities.--Amounts from a grant awarded under the
Program may only be used for the purpose of combating auto theft and
combating stolen automobile trafficking, including--
(1) purchasing equipment used to combat auto theft, such as
law enforcement vehicles and license plate readers, and funding
costs associated with that equipment, such as subscription fees
and data storage fees for license plate readers;
(2) hiring additional law enforcement officers and support
staff to combat auto theft;
(3) funding overtime costs and additional compensation for
law enforcement officers and support staff involved in
combating auto theft;
(4) providing training for law enforcement officers and
support staff to combat auto theft;
(5) providing resources for joint task forces established
to combat auto theft;
(6) funding law enforcement data collection, data storage,
and research activities related to combating auto theft; and
(7) funding for the administrative costs of applying for
and implementing the grant, up to a maximum of 5 percent of the
grant amount.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to
carry out the Program.
SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USES OF COPS GRANT PROGRAM FUNDS.
Section 1701(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraph (24) as paragraph (25);
(2) in paragraph (23)--
(A) by striking ``(22)'' and inserting ``(23)'';
and
(B) by redesignating paragraph (23) as paragraph
(24); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (22), the following:
``(23) to combat auto thefts and stolen automobile
trafficking by purchasing equipment, hiring law enforcement
officers and support staff, covering overtime and officer
compensation costs, expanding access to training initiatives,
funding joint task forces, and funding law enforcement data
collection and research activities related to auto thefts;''.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Local law enforcement agency.--The term ``local law
enforcement agency'' means any entity administered by a
locality that exists primarily to prevent and detect crime and
enforce criminal laws.
(2) Locality.--The term ``locality'' means any city,
county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other
general purpose political subdivision of a State.
(3) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(4) State law enforcement agency.--The term ``State law
enforcement agency'' means any State entity that exists
primarily to prevent and detect crime and enforce criminal
laws.
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