[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6973 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6973

  To permit COPS grants to be used for the purpose of increasing the 
  compensation and hiring of law enforcement officers, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 11, 2024

 Mr. LaLota (for himself, Ms. Spanberger, Mrs. Kim of California, and 
  Ms. Perez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To permit COPS grants to be used for the purpose of increasing the 
  compensation and hiring of law enforcement officers, 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 ``COPS on the Beat Grant Program 
Reauthorization and Parity Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing 
        highlighted the importance of hiring law enforcement officers 
        who reflect the diversity and values of the community, and who 
        have both the mindset and the skills needed to engage with the 
        community.
            (2) Diverse workforces can be more effective, creative, and 
        resilient than homogenous workforces, and teams with broader 
        perspectives result in better decision making and problem-
        solving practices. Recruiting a diverse pool of candidates 
        includes qualified individuals from different races, genders, 
        ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds.
            (3) Effective law enforcement recruitment practices can 
        help engender trust, develop good relations with their 
        communities, and ensure that the officers they hire can best 
        serve those communities. Recruitment efforts should start in 
        the community, and law enforcement agencies should consider 
        developing youth programs to attract younger generations. This 
        could include Explorer programs, internships through local 
        schools, cadet academies, university partnerships, and youth 
        mentorship programs that foster relationships between young 
        adults and departments. Not only do these programs develop 
        enthusiasm for a law enforcement career, they can also build 
        relationships between law enforcement agencies and the 
        communities they serve.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the COPS 
Office is uniquely suited to empower local law enforcement agencies to 
fulfill recommendations related to law enforcement hiring practices, 
including agencies being reflective of the communities they serve, both 
demographically and in values and vision, and possessing the mindset 
and skills needed to engage with the community.

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF COPS ON THE BEAT GRANT PROGRAMS.

    (a) Reauthorization of COPS on the Beat Grant Program.--Section 
1001(a)(11)(A) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 
Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)(11)(A)) is amended by striking ``for 
each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009'' and inserting ``for each of 
fiscal years 2025 through 2034''.

SEC. 4. RURAL COMMUNITY ACCESS TO COPS GRANTS.

    (a) Uses of Grant Amounts.--Section 1701(b) of title I of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (23) as 
        paragraphs (4) through (24), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) in the case of any State or unit of local government 
        that has a median household income of less than 70 percent of 
        the national median household income and qualifies for a 
        reduced contribution under subsection (g)(2), to increase wages 
        of career law enforcement officers to not more than 80 percent 
        of the national median household income;''; and
            (3) in paragraph (23), as redesignated, by striking 
        ``through (21)'' and inserting ``through (22)''.
    (b) Preferential Consideration.--Section 1701(c) of title I of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(c)) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (1); and
            (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs 
        (1) and (2), respectively.
    (c) Cost Share.--Section 1701(g) of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(g)) is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(g) Matching Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        portion of the costs of a program, project, or activity 
        provided by a grant under subsection (a) may not exceed 75 
        percent, unless the Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, 
        the requirement under this subsection of a non-Federal 
        contribution to the costs of a program, project, or activity. 
        In relation to a grant for a period exceeding 1 year for hiring 
        or rehiring or increasing the compensation of career law 
        enforcement officers, the Federal share shall decrease from 
        year to year for up to 5 years, looking toward the continuation 
        of the increased hiring and compensation level using State or 
        local sources of funding following the conclusion of Federal 
        support, as provided in an approved plan pursuant to section 
        1702(c)(8).
            ``(2) Reduced non-federal contribution.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The portion of the costs of a 
                program, project, or activity provided by a grant under 
                subsection (a), in any State or unit of local 
                government described in subparagraph (B), may not 
                exceed--
                            ``(i) 90 percent for the first year of the 
                        grant;
                            ``(ii) 85 percent for the second year of 
                        the grant;
                            ``(iii) 80 percent for the third year of 
                        the grant; and
                            ``(iv) 75 percent for the fourth year of 
                        the grant.
                    ``(B) State or unit of local government 
                described.--A State or unit of local government 
                described in this subparagraph is any State or unit of 
                local government--
                            ``(i) with a median household income that 
                        is not more than 80 percent of the national 
                        median household income;
                            ``(ii) that does not provide a single 
                        employee with compensation that is more than 
                        double the national median household income; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) that is a rural State, rural 
                        community, or rural area as such terms are 
                        defined in section 40002(a) of the Violent 
                        Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 
                        (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(26)(A)) is amended.''.
    (d) Limitation on Hiring and Rehiring.--Section 1704(c) of title I 
of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10384(c)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Hiring and Compensation Cost.--
            ``(1) In general.--Funding provided under this part for 
        hiring or rehiring a career law enforcement officer may not 
        exceed $75,000, unless the Attorney General grants a waiver 
        from this limitation.
            ``(2) Reduced contribution.--In the case of a jurisdiction 
        that qualifies for a reduced contribution under section 
        1701(g)(2), a career law enforcement officer who is hired or 
        rehired or whose compensation is increased under this part may 
        not receive from any funding provided under this part 
        compensation exceeding 80 percent of the national median 
        household income for work performed as an on-duty law 
        enforcement officer.''.
    (e) Allocation of COPS Grant Program Funds.--Section 1001(a)(11)(B) 
of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10261(a)(11)(B)) is amended by inserting after the second 
sentence the following: ``If funds remain available for obligation 
under this subparagraph in a fiscal year after all eligible and 
qualified grantees have been funded from the 50 percent of funding 
allocated for grants pursuant to applications submitted by units of 
local government or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over 
areas with populations exceeding 150,000 or by public and private 
entities that serve areas with populations exceeding 150,000, the 
remaining funds may be used for grants pursuant to applications 
submitted by units of local government or law enforcement agencies 
having jurisdiction over areas with populations 150,000 or less or by 
public and private entities that serve areas with populations 150,000 
or less.''.
    (f) Definitions.--Section 1709 of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) `Attorney General' means the Attorney General, acting 
        through the COPS Director.''.

SEC. 5. COPS OFFICE.

    Section 1701(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is within the Department of 
        Justice, under the general authority of the Attorney General, a 
        separate and distinct office to be known as the Office of 
        Community Oriented Policing Services (referred to in this 
        subsection as the `COPS Office').
            ``(2) Director.--The COPS Office shall be headed by a 
        Director who shall--
                    ``(A) be appointed by the Attorney General; and
                    ``(B) have final authority over grants under this 
                part and any other grants, cooperative agreements, and 
                contracts awarded by the COPS Office.''.

SEC. 6. GAO REPORT.

    In fiscal year 2029 and fiscal year 2034, the Comptroller General 
of the United States, after consultation with the Attorney General, 
shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a report that 
provides national averages and averages for department characteristic 
subgroups including at least size of police and sheriff departments and 
urban or rural designations by jurisdiction detailing--
            (1) a measure of how representative the existing workforce 
        of the average police and sheriff departments is to the 
        community served based on demographics which include at least 
        gender and race;
            (2) the percentage of those employed by the average police 
        and sheriff departments that live in the jurisdiction in which 
        they are currently employed;
            (3) a measure of average officer pay in police and sheriff 
        departments compared to cost of living in the jurisdiction in 
        which they are currently employed; and
            (4) legislative and administrative recommendations for 
        improving the percentage of officers that live in the 
        jurisdiction in which they are employed and how representative 
        the law enforcement agency is of the community it serves.
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