[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1546 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1546

     To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage a law 
enforcement presence in our schools by allowing full-time, off-duty law 
 enforcement officials an exclusion from income for wages received for 
     performing services in an elementary or secondary school as a 
                          substitute teacher.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 12, 2013

 Mr. Tiberi (for himself and Mr. Kind) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage a law 
enforcement presence in our schools by allowing full-time, off-duty law 
 enforcement officials an exclusion from income for wages received for 
     performing services in an elementary or secondary school as a 
                          substitute teacher.

    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 ``Better Protecting Children in 
Schools Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Off-duty law enforcement officials work in a number of 
        part-time employment capacities where they can earn a higher 
        level of income than they would by substitute teaching at an 
        elementary or secondary school.
            (2) Law enforcement officials act as deterrents to criminal 
        behavior as well as first responders in the case of criminal 
        activity.
            (3) Past Congresses have worked to increase the number of 
        law enforcement officials in elementary and secondary schools 
        to protect students from possible violent attacks through 
        programs such as grants for school resource officers.
            (4) Providing full-time, on-duty law enforcement officials 
        has proven to be costly to school districts.
            (5) On any given day in the United States, more than 
        270,000 classes are taught by substitute teachers and many 
        States have reported a shortage of substitute teachers, 
        including the State of Ohio.
            (6) Substitute teaching requirements vary by State and by 
        school district.
    (b) Purposes.--It is the purpose of this Act to--
            (1) incentivize off-duty law enforcement officials to 
        choose to substitute teach in elementary and secondary schools 
        (within the confines of State and local substitute teaching 
        requirements) by reducing the difference between the 
        compensation a law enforcement official earns from other part-
        time employment and the compensation a law enforcement official 
        earns from substitute teaching;
            (2) create a deterrent for criminal behavior in schools as 
        well as a first response to assist school administrators and 
        teachers in an instance where criminal activity occurs at a 
        school;
            (3) build on the work of past Congresses to increase the 
        number of law enforcement officials in elementary and secondary 
        schools to protect students from possible violent attacks;
            (4) provide school districts with an additional cost-
        effective tool, which is not a mandate, to have more law 
        enforcement officials in their schools;
            (5) provide an additional source of substitute teachers 
        which may assist with the shortage that many States are facing; 
        and
            (6) only allow law enforcement officials who meet State and 
        local substitute teaching requirements to substitute teach.

SEC. 3. EXCLUSION FOR SUBSTITUTE TEACHING WAGES RECEIVED BY FULL-TIME, 
              OFF-DUTY STATE OR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.

    (a) In General.--Part III of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to items specifically excluded 
from gross income) is amended by inserting after section 139D the 
following new section:

``SEC. 139E. SUBSTITUTE TEACHING WAGES RECEIVED BY FULL-TIME, OFF-DUTY 
              STATE OR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS.

    ``(a) General Rule.--In the case of a full-time, off-duty State or 
local law enforcement official, gross income shall not include wages 
received by such official for providing services as a substitute 
teacher in an elementary or secondary school.
    ``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            ``(1) Full-time, off-duty state or local law enforcement 
        official.--The term `full-time, off-duty State or local law 
        enforcement official' means any police officer (including a 
        highway patrolman, sheriff, or sheriff's deputy) employed by a 
        State (or the District of Columbia), or a political subdivision 
        thereof, on a full-time basis with the power to arrest and who 
        is not acting within their official employment by the State or 
        political subdivision.
            ``(2) Elementary or secondary school.--The term `elementary 
        or secondary school' means any school which provides elementary 
        education or secondary education (kindergarten through grade 
        12), as determined under State law.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such part III is 
amended by inserting after the item relating to section 139D the 
following new item:

``Sec. 139E. Substitute teaching wages received by full-time, off-duty 
                            State or local law enforcement 
                            officials.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall 
apply to wages received after the date of the enactment of this Act in 
taxable years ending after such date.
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