[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 863 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 863

    To establish or expand existing community prosecution programs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 27, 1997

 Mr. Blagojevich introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To establish or expand existing community prosecution programs.

    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 ``Community Prosecutor Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. GRANT AUTHORIZATION.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General may make grants to State 
attorneys general, prosecutors, units of local government, and Indian 
tribal prosecutors to establish or expand existing community 
prosecution programs, including hiring and training prosecutors for 
such programs.
    (b) Equitable Distribution.--The Attorney General should ensure, to 
the extent possible, that grants awarded under this Act are distributed 
equitably between urban and rural communities.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) In General.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act, 
State attorneys general, prosecutors, units of local government and 
Indian tribal prosecutors may apply for an award to establish or 
continue existing community-oriented prosecution programs.
    (b) Application.--To apply for a grant, an interested eligible 
entity shall submit an application to the Attorney General in such form 
as the Attorney General shall prescribe by regulations or guidelines.
    (c) Contents.--Each application shall include the following:
            (1) The objectives, and need, including public safety, for 
        a grant award.
            (2) A long-term strategy and detailed implementation plan.
            (3) Certification of coordination and specific commitments 
        by the community to be served by the grant to participate in a 
        program described under paragraph (2).
            (4) A description of the geographical area to be served.
            (5) Identification of related initiatives which will 
        complement or be coordinated with a program funded under this 
        Act.
            (6) An assurance that funds received under this Act will be 
        used to supplement not supplant other Federal funds.

SEC. 4. USES OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--Funds provided under this Act may be used to hire 
staff, procure equipment, technology, and support systems or pay 
overtime in the establishment of community-oriented prosecution 
programs if the eligible entity can demonstrate to the satisfaction of 
the Attorney General that the expenditures would result in a successful 
reduction in crime.
    (b) Local Match.--The Federal share of a grant made under this Act 
may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs of the program described 
in the application submitted pursuant to section 3(b). The Attorney 
General may waive, in whole or in part, the requirement of a matching 
contribution and may consider in-kind contributions, fairly valued, in 
lieu of the local matching requirement.

SEC. 5. EVALUATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Each program or project funded under this Act 
shall contain a monitoring component developed pursuant to guidelines 
established by the Attorney General, including the identification and 
collection of data regarding the activities and accomplishments of the 
program over the life of the grant award. The Attorney General may 
require grant recipients to submit written reports which describe the 
monitoring process and evaluation results.
    (b) Information Access.--The Attorney General shall have access to 
any pertinent documents or records relating to the program for the 
purposes of evaluation and audit.
    (c) Revocation or Suspension.--If the Attorney General determines, 
as a result of the reviews described in this section, that a grant 
recipient is not in substantial compliance with the terms and 
requirements described in this Act, or with the regulations issued by 
the Attorney General, the Attorney General may revoke or suspend grant 
funding, in whole or in part after opportunity for a hearing.

SEC. 6. STUDY.

    Not more than one percent of the funds appropriated to carry out 
this Act shall be directed to the Attorney General to finance a study 
evaluating grants made under this Act. At a minimum, this study shall 
include the following:
            (1) The number of grant awards made and the amount of each 
        grant.
            (2) The recipients of grants, including the communities in 
        which they are based.
            (3) The purposes for which the grants were awarded and 
        used.
            (4) An evaluation of the achievement of each recipient's 
        stated goals and objectives.
            (5) An assessment of the effect the program had in 
        encouraging and supporting coordinated community action against 
        crime.
            (6) Specific recommendations for further funding for each 
        grant recipient.
            (7) Specific recommendations for future operations of the 
        grant program and its guidelines.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$10,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and such sums as may be necessary for 
each of fiscal years 1999 through 2002.
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