[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S994-S995]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KAINE:
  S. 540. A bill to require Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
agencies to report information related to allegations of misconduct of 
law enforcement officers to the Attorney General, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

[[Page S995]]

  

  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Cost of 
Police Misconduct Act. This legislation strives to increase 
transparency and accountability, saving taxpayer dollars and 
potentially lives by requiring Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement agencies to report police misconduct allegations and 
related judgments or settlements to the Department of Justice.
  Last year, the horrific murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and 
Ahmaud Arbery made it clear that systemic reform in policing is needed 
now more than ever. On top of having to bear the loss of friends and 
loved ones, these very communities who suffer from this misconduct have 
to foot its bill, yet they are often in the dark on the full size of 
that bill. Citizens deserve to know what they are paying for unjust 
policing practices.
  In the last 10 years, 31 of 50 cities in the Nation with the highest 
police-to-civilian ratio spent more than $3 billion to settle police 
misconduct lawsuits. These large judgments and settlements paid by 
State and local governments are typically paid from liability 
insurance, from a general or dedicated municipal fund, or from issuing 
bonds. In particular, municipal bonds have become increasingly more 
commonplace to cover the cost of large judgments and settlements that 
exceed insurer liability coverage or the capacity of dedicated 
municipal funds. This often results in passing costs to taxpayers, who 
must pay nearly double the cost of the judgment or settlement because 
the city or county must pay fees to financial institutions and interest 
to investors. This is unacceptable.
  Specifically, the Cost of Police Misconduct Act seeks to remedy this 
costly and pervasive issue by ensuring the Department of Justice 
maintains a comprehensive public database of misconduct data and trends 
that have gone largely unreported by Federal, State, and local law 
enforcement agencies. Furthermore, this legislation makes certain 
important data--such as the type of alleged misconduct, the total 
amount of the settlement, and the source of funds used to cover the 
cost of any one judgment or settlement--is properly preserved in an 
easily accessible manner. Additionally, this legislation directs the 
Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of the information 
reported to determine the leading cause of judgments and settlements 
related to allegations of misconduct and what interventions are 
necessary to prevent them.
  Police misconduct takes lives, erodes trust, and sparks fear. I am 
hopeful the Senate will act upon my legislation this year to shine a 
light on the price of police misconduct, ending the secrecy and 
hopefully spurring agencies to put a stop to it.

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