[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 59 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 59

To provide for a reduction in the amount that may be awarded to a unit 
of local government under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) for 
a unit of local government that funds an amount that is greater than 18 
percent of its operating budget using revenue generated from collecting 
  fines and other fees related to violations of traffic laws, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 6, 2015

 Ms. Jackson Lee introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for a reduction in the amount that may be awarded to a unit 
of local government under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) for 
a unit of local government that funds an amount that is greater than 18 
percent of its operating budget using revenue generated from collecting 
  fines and other fees related to violations of traffic laws, 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 ``Building Bridges and Transforming 
Resentment and Unfairness to Support and Trust for Municipal Law 
Enforcement Act of 2015'' or the ``Build TRUST Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The growing trend of local units of government using 
        traffic fines and traffic court fees and costs as revenue 
        generators promotes unfair, excessive targeting of citizens by 
        law enforcement agents, infringes on civil liberties, and 
        promotes reliance on unpredictable revenue sources.
            (2) The growing trend of local units of government using 
        traffic fines and traffic court fees and costs as revenue 
        generators has the potential to breed public cynicism and 
        distrust of local law enforcement agencies, and to lessen 
        public confidence that the laws are being enforced impartially 
        and the criminal justice system is administered equally.

SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN GRANT FUNDING FOR UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

    (a) Collection of Fines for Violations of Traffic Laws.--Except as 
provided in subsection (b) or section 4, a unit of local government 
which, during the previous 3 fiscal years, funded an amount that, on 
average, was greater than 18 percent of its operating budget using 
revenue generated from collecting fines and other fees related to 
violations of traffic laws, shall, in the case of a unit of local 
government receiving grant funds under subpart 1 of part E of title I 
of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
3750 et seq.), receive only 25 percent of the grant award that would 
have otherwise been awarded to that unit of local government under such 
subpart.
    (b) Disproportionate Racial Composition of Law Enforcement 
Agencies.--In the case of a unit of local government described in 
subsection (a) for which, during the previous fiscal year, the 
percentage of individuals who identify as a race who were employees of 
the law enforcement agency for that unit of local government, and the 
percentage of individuals who identify as that race who live in the 
jurisdiction which that law enforcement agency serves, differs by 
greater than 30 percent, the unit of local government shall receive 
only 5 percent of the grant award that would have otherwise been 
awarded to that unit of local government under subpart 1 of part E of 
title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3750 et seq.).
    (c) Obligation of States.--A State that receives a grant award 
under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), which does not 
reduce a subgrant award made under such grant to a unit of local 
government in its jurisdiction in accordance with this section, shall, 
in the succeeding fiscal year, receive only 50 percent of the grant 
award that would have otherwise been awarded to that State under such 
subpart.
    (d) Reallocation.--Any funds withheld from a State or unit of local 
government from a direct grant award by the Attorney General shall be 
reallocated in accordance with subpart 1 of part E of title I of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et 
seq.).

SEC. 4. EXEMPTIONS.

    The provisions of section 3 shall not apply in the case of any unit 
of local government--
            (1) that serves a population of less than 15,000 people and 
        so certifies to the Attorney General; or
            (2) to which the Attorney General has granted a waiver 
        under section 5.

SEC. 5. WAIVERS.

    The Attorney General may, in his or her discretion, grant a waiver 
under this section to any unit of local government for good cause 
shown, and shall consider the following factors:
            (1) Whether, resulting from allegations of excessive uses 
        of force, false arrests, improper searches and seizures, 
        failures to discipline officers sufficiently, or failure to 
        supervise officers, the unit of local government is subject to 
        a consent decree or Memorandum of Understanding, or the subject 
        of an investigation by the Special Litigation Section of the 
        Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
            (2) Whether the unit of local government has taken 
        affirmative action to ensure that adequate practices and 
        procedures are in place to increase public trust and confidence 
        in the impartial and equitable administration of justice, 
        including--
                    (A) whether incidents of officer involved shootings 
                and uses of excessive force are investigated by a 
                Special Prosecutor appointed by the Governor, State 
                Attorney General, or Presiding Judge of the local court 
                of jurisdiction;
                    (B) whether incidents of officer involved shootings 
                and uses of excessive force are adjudicated in a public 
                proceeding rather than the grand jury process.
            (3) Whether the minority community is equitably represented 
        in the municipality's legislative body and executive 
        departments.
                                 <all>