[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3960 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3960

To require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold certain amounts 
   from State and local governments that defund or otherwise reduce 
funding for certain law enforcement entities without a clear budgetary 
                    reason, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 15, 2020

 Mrs. Loeffler introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Secretary of Transportation to withhold certain amounts 
   from State and local governments that defund or otherwise reduce 
funding for certain law enforcement entities without a clear budgetary 
                    reason, 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 ``Promoting Public Safety and 
Supporting Law Enforcement Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) law enforcement officers provide a necessary public 
        service by enforcing the rule of law, preventing crime and 
        civil disorder, protecting communities and property, and 
        ensuring the safety and health of the people of the United 
        States, including by ensuring--
                    (A) the safe operation of motor vehicles;
                    (B) the safe use of public routes of 
                transportation, such as highways and other roadways, 
                pedestrian walkways, and sidewalks; and
                    (C) that parks remain safe, open, civil, and 
                available for public enjoyment;
            (2) police forces and other law enforcement entities 
        require full funding to ensure a sufficient presence of 
        officers to maintain the safe use of public roadways, highways, 
        walkways, sidewalks, and city blocks in every community across 
        the United States;
            (3) absent a fully funded police force, people using 
        roadways, community parks, city sidewalks, or other public 
        areas may be placed at increased risk from--
                    (A) the unsafe operation of motor vehicles, 
                including by themselves or others; and
                    (B) other dangers to public safety;
            (4) a fully funded police force is necessary to protect--
                    (A) the public safety of the general population of 
                a community; and
                    (B) law enforcement officers in the community, as 
                required by Executive Order 13774 (82 Fed. Reg. 10695; 
                relating to preventing violence against Federal, State, 
                Tribal, and local law enforcement officers);
            (5) defunding or otherwise reducing funding for State or 
        local law enforcement entities will result in a reduction in, 
        or the elimination of, the presence of law enforcement officers 
        in communities, resulting in a State being noncompliant with 
        the safety requirements of certain Federal programs, including 
        the requirements of--
                    (A) the highway safety programs under section 402 
                of title 23, United States Code; and
                    (B) the national priority safety programs under 
                section 405 of title 23, United States Code; and
            (6) it is necessary to ensure that State and local 
        governments do not defund or otherwise reduce funding for 
        police forces and other law enforcement entities absent a clear 
        budgetary need to do so.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide authority for 
the Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, to withhold 
certain funds from State and local governments that unnecessarily put 
the people subject to the jurisdiction of those governments at risk 
from a lack of sufficient law enforcement resources, including the 
presence of law enforcement officers, by defunding or otherwise 
reducing funding for police forces or other law enforcement entities 
absent a clear budgetary need to do so.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Clear budgetary need.--The term ``clear budgetary 
        need'', with respect to an action taken by a State or local 
        government to defund or otherwise reduce funding for a law 
        enforcement entity, means that the action was taken--
                    (A) in the course of a State or local government 
                annual budget process; and
                    (B) in consideration of the revenues and 
                expenditures of the State or local government.
            (2) Law enforcement entity.--The term ``law enforcement 
        entity'' means a State or local agency that engages in or 
        supervises the prevention, detection, or investigation of 
        violations of laws, including criminal or traffic laws.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Transportation.

SEC. 4. WITHHOLDING OF CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FUNDING 
              FROM STATE AND LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.

    (a) In General.--Subject to subsections (c) and (d), the Secretary 
shall withhold from a State described in subsection (b) 5 percent of--
            (1) the amount required to be apportioned to the State 
        under section 402 of title 23, United States Code, on the first 
        day of each fiscal year after the fiscal year in which the 
        Secretary determines that the State is a State described in 
        subsection (b); and
            (2) the amount made available to the State under section 
        405 of title 23, United States Code, for each fiscal year after 
        the fiscal year in which the Secretary determines that the 
        State is a State described in subsection (b).
    (b) States Described.--A State referred to in subsection (a) is a 
State in which the State or a local government within that State 
defunds or otherwise reduces funding for a law enforcement entity 
absent a clear budgetary need for doing so.
    (c) Effect of Withholding of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and 
        (3) and subsection (d), no amounts withheld from a State under 
        subsection (a) shall be apportioned or made available to that 
        State.
            (2) Restricted use of funds.--In the case of a State that 
        the Secretary determines is a State described in subsection (b) 
        because a local government within that State has defunded or 
        otherwise reduced funding for a law enforcement entity as 
        described in that subsection, the Secretary may apportion or 
        make available to the State, as applicable, the amounts 
        described in subsection (a) if the State agrees--
                    (A) not to make those amounts available for use by 
                that local government; and
                    (B) to the maximum extent practicable, not to 
                expend those amounts in any community or location 
                subject to the jurisdiction of that local government.
            (3) Restoration of law enforcement funding.--
                    (A) In general.--Any amounts withheld from a State 
                under subsection (a) or local government under 
                paragraph (2) during the fiscal year in which the 
                Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, 
                makes a determination under subparagraph (B) that 
                funding has been restored to the applicable law 
                enforcement entity at the level described in that 
                subparagraph shall be apportioned or made available, as 
                applicable, to that State or local government.
                    (B) Determination of funding level.--Amounts may be 
                apportioned or made available to a State or local 
                government under subparagraph (A) for the fiscal year 
                described in that subparagraph if the Secretary, in 
                consultation with the Attorney General, determines that 
                funding has been restored to the applicable law 
                enforcement agency at the lesser of--
                            (i) the level at which the law enforcement 
                        entity was funded prior to the defunding or 
                        reduction in funding that caused the Secretary 
                        to determine that the State is a State 
                        described in subsection (b); and
                            (ii) the level at which the Secretary, in 
                        consultation with the Attorney General, 
                        determines is minimally necessary to ensure the 
                        public safety.
                    (C) Limitation.--The Secretary may not apportion or 
                make available under this paragraph any amounts 
                withheld from a State or local government during any 
                fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which the 
                Secretary, in consultation with the Attorney General, 
                makes the determination described in subparagraph (B).
                    (D) Effect of determination on future funding.--
                Beginning on the date on which the Secretary, in 
                consultation with the Attorney General, makes the 
                determination described in subparagraph (B), the 
                applicable State or local government shall not be 
                subject to the withholding described in subsection (a) 
                or paragraph (2), as applicable, with respect to the 
                defunding of, or reduction in funding for, a law 
                enforcement entity that caused the Secretary to 
                determine that the State was a State described in 
                subsection (b).
    (d) Request for Review.--
            (1) In general.--On the request of a State from which 
        amounts have been or will be withheld under subsection (a) or a 
        local government from which amounts have been or will be 
        withheld under subsection (c)(2), the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Attorney General--
                    (A) shall review any documentation or other 
                evidence submitted by the State or local government; 
                and
                    (B) based on that review, may determine that the 
                defunding of, or other reduction in funding for, a law 
                enforcement entity that caused the Secretary to 
                determine that the State is a State described in 
                subsection (b) was carried out for a clear budgetary 
                need.
            (2) Considerations.--In determining whether the applicable 
        defunding of, or reduction in funding for, a law enforcement 
        entity was carried out for a clear budgetary need under 
        paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary, in consultation with Attorney 
        General, may consider--
                    (A) any actual or anticipated reduction in State or 
                local government revenue;
                    (B) any determination by the State or local 
                government that a general reduction in spending is 
                required across all budget categories;
                    (C) in the case of a State or local government with 
                multiple law enforcement entities of overlapping 
                jurisdiction, whether a determination was made to 
                consolidate those entities into a single entity; and
                    (D) any other evidence presented by the State or 
                local government supporting an assertion that the 
                applicable defunding of, or reduction in funding for, a 
                law enforcement entity was carried out for a clear 
                budgetary need.
            (3) Effect of determination.--If the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Attorney General, determines under 
        paragraph (1)(B) that the applicable defunding of, or reduction 
        in funding for, a law enforcement entity was carried out for a 
        clear budgetary need--
                    (A) the applicable State or local government shall 
                not be subject to the applicable withholding described 
                in subsection (a) or subsection (c)(2) beginning on the 
                date on which that determination is made; and
                    (B) any amounts withheld from the State or local 
                government under subsection (a) or subsection (c)(2), 
                as applicable, during the fiscal year in which that 
                determination is made shall be apportioned or made 
                available, as applicable, to that State or local 
                government.
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