[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3577 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3577
To provide funding to State and local law enforcement agencies to
combat auto theft and stolen automobile trafficking, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 18, 2025
Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Moreno, and Ms. Rosen) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide funding to State and local law enforcement agencies to
combat auto theft and stolen automobile trafficking, 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 ``Auto Theft Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the
Department of Justice.
(2) Grant year.--The term ``grant year'' means the year
during which the applicable grant is to be disbursed under the
Program.
(3) Local law enforcement agency.--The term ``local law
enforcement agency'' means any entity administered by a
locality that exists primarily to prevent and detect crime and
enforce criminal laws.
(4) Locality.--The term ``locality'' means any city,
county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other
general purpose political subdivision of a State.
(5) Program.--The term ``Program'' means the auto theft
prevention grant program established under section 3(a).
(6) Recipient state.--The term ``recipient State'' means a
State that is awarded a grant under the Program.
(7) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(8) State law enforcement agency.--The term ``State law
enforcement agency'' means any State entity that exists
primarily to prevent and detect crime and enforce criminal
laws.
SEC. 3. AUTO THEFT PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Director shall establish an auto theft
prevention grant program to provide funding to State law enforcement
agencies and local law enforcement agencies to combat auto theft and
stolen vehicle trafficking.
(b) Application.--A State desiring a grant under the Program shall
submit to the Director an application that includes--
(1) evidentiary or other materials, including, as
appropriate, State-specific police reports, budget documents,
plans, or other documents, demonstrating that the State needs
Federal assistance to combat auto theft;
(2) documentation of the actions taken by the State during
the year before the grant year, based on the information in
such evidentiary or other materials, to reduce the instances of
auto theft in the State; and
(3) a plan indicating how the State will--
(A) use amounts received under the Program to
implement auto theft prevention activities in
accordance with subsections (d) and (e); and
(B) evaluate the success of the activities carried
out using amounts received under the Program.
(c) Awards.--
(1) In general.--The Director may make a grant under the
Program to the Attorney General of any State which has
submitted an application that complies with the requirements
under subsection (b).
(2) Considerations.--In determining whether to make a grant
to a State under the Program and the amount of a grant under
the Program, the Director shall--
(A) consider the information provided in the
application of the State; and
(B) endeavor to prioritize States with a higher
overall level of auto thefts during the year before the
grant year.
(d) Distribution of Funds.--
(1) Local law enforcement agencies.--The Attorney General
of a recipient State shall make not less than 50 percent of the
amount of a grant awarded under the Program available as
competitive subgrants to local law enforcement agencies within
the recipient State to combat auto theft, with the amount
awarded determined by prioritizing localities with a higher
overall level of auto thefts during the year before the grant
year.
(2) State law enforcement agencies.--The Attorney General
of a recipient State shall make not less than 25 percent of the
amount of a grant awarded under the Program available to State
law enforcement agencies of the recipient State to combat auto
theft.
(3) Other amounts.--
(A) In general.--The Attorney General of a
recipient State shall make any amounts received under a
grant under the Program that are not allocated under
paragraph (1) or (2) available as competitive subgrants
to local law enforcement agencies or to State law
enforcement agencies of the recipient State.
(B) Prioritization for localities.--The amount of
any subgrant made under this paragraph to a local law
enforcement agency shall follow the prioritization
under paragraph (1).
(e) Eligible Activities.--Amounts received under a grant under the
Program may only be used for the purpose of combating auto theft and
combating stolen automobile trafficking, including--
(1) purchasing equipment used to combat auto theft, such as
law enforcement vehicles and license plate readers;
(2) funding costs associated with equipment described in
paragraph (1), such as subscription fees and data storage fees
for license plate readers;
(3) hiring additional law enforcement officers and support
staff to combat auto theft;
(4) funding overtime costs and additional compensation for
law enforcement officers and support staff involved in
combating auto theft;
(5) providing training for law enforcement officers and
support staff to combat auto theft;
(6) providing resources for joint task forces established
to combat auto theft;
(7) funding law enforcement data collection, data storage,
or research activities related to combating auto theft; and
(8) funding for the administrative costs of applying for
and implementing the grant, which shall not exceed 5 percent of
the grant amount.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to
carry out the Program.
SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USES OF COPS GRANT PROGRAM FUNDS.
Section 1701(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (23) and (24) as paragraphs
(24) and (25), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (22), the following:
``(23) to combat auto thefts and stolen automobile
trafficking by purchasing equipment, hiring law enforcement
officers and support staff, funding overtime and officer
compensation costs, expanding access to training initiatives,
funding joint task forces, and funding law enforcement data
collection or research activities related to auto thefts;'';
and
(3) in paragraph (24), as so redesignated, by striking
``(22)'' and inserting ``(23)''.
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