ABC Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3248 To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a body-worn camera partnership grant program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 14, 2021 Mr. GUEST introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a body-worn camera partnership grant program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Body-worn 4 Camera Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘ABC Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3248 IH SEC. 2. BODY-WORN CAMERA PARTNERSHIP GRANT PRO- 1 GRAM. 2 Subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime 3 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 509. BODY-WORN CAMERA PARTNERSHIP GRANT 6 PROGRAM. 7 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘covered government’ means a 9 State or unit of local government; and 10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 11 the Bureau of Justice Assistance. 12 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.—The Director 13 may make grants to eligible covered governments for use 14 by the covered government for— 15 ‘‘(1) the purchase of body-worn cameras or 16 other audio-video technology that is utilized to 17 record interactions between law enforcement and the 18 public; 19 ‘‘(2) necessary initial supportive technological 20 infrastructure for body-worn cameras or other tech- 21 nologies for law enforcement officers in the jurisdic- 22 tion of the grantee; 23 ‘‘(3) the development of policies and procedures 24 relating to the use of body-worn cameras or other 25 technologies; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3248 IH ‘‘(4) training on the use of body-worn cameras 1 or other technologies; and 2 ‘‘(5) the storage, retention, viewing, auditing, 3 and release of footage from body-worn cameras or 4 other technologies. 5 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.— 6 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION.—For a covered government 7 to be eligible to receive a grant under this section, 8 the chief executive officer of the covered government 9 shall submit to the Director an application in such 10 form and containing such information as the Direc- 11 tor may require. 12 ‘‘(2) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ASSUR- 13 ANCES.—The application under paragraph (1) shall, 14 as required by the Director, provide assurances that 15 the covered government will establish policies and 16 procedures in accordance with subsection (d). 17 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A covered government re- 19 ceiving a grant under this section shall develop poli- 20 cies and procedures related to the use of body-worn 21 cameras or other technologies that— 22 ‘‘(A) are developed with input from law en- 23 forcement officers who are not supervisors, or 24 the representatives of such officers; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3248 IH ‘‘(B) are developed with community input, 1 including from prosecutors and organizations 2 representing crime victims, in accordance with 3 recognized best practices; 4 ‘‘(C) require that a body-worn camera or 5 other technologies be activated when a law en- 6 forcement officer arrests or detains any person 7 in the course of the official duties of the officer, 8 with consideration to sensitive cases; 9 ‘‘(D) apply discipline to any law enforce- 10 ment officer who intentionally fails to ensure 11 that a body-worn camera or other technology is 12 engaged, functional, and properly secured at all 13 times during which the camera is required to be 14 worn; 15 ‘‘(E) require training for— 16 ‘‘(i) the proper use of body-worn cam- 17 eras or other technologies; and 18 ‘‘(ii) the handling and use of the ob- 19 tained video and audio recordings; 20 ‘‘(F) provide clear standards for privacy, 21 data retention, and use for evidentiary purposes 22 in a criminal proceeding, including in the case 23 of an assault on a law enforcement officer; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3248 IH ‘‘(G) make footage available to the public 1 in response to a valid request under an applica- 2 ble freedom of information law if the footage 3 can be made available— 4 ‘‘(i) without compromising an ongoing 5 investigation or revealing the identity of 6 third parties, including victims, inform- 7 ants, or witnesses; and 8 ‘‘(ii) with consideration given to the 9 rights of victims and surviving family 10 members. 11 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—A covered government re- 12 ceiving a grant under this section shall make all 13 policies and procedures regarding body-worn cam- 14 eras or other technologies available on a public 15 website. 16 ‘‘(3) GUIDANCE.—The Director shall issue 17 guidance to covered governments related to the re- 18 quirements under paragraph (1). 19 ‘‘(e) GRANT AMOUNTS.— 20 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM AMOUNT.— 21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, un- 22 less the Director has awarded a fully funded 23 grant for each eligible application submitted by 24 a State and any units of local government with- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3248 IH in the State under this section for the fiscal 1 year, the Director shall allocate to the State 2 and units of local government within the State 3 for grants under this section an aggregate 4 amount that is not less than 0.5 percent of the 5 total amount appropriated for the fiscal year 6 for grants under this section. 7 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN TERRITORIES.—For pur- 8 poses of the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, 9 Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, sub- 10 paragraph (A) shall be applied by substituting 11 ‘0.25 percent’ for ‘0.5 percent’. 12 ‘‘(2) AGGREGATE AMOUNT PER STATE.—A 13 State and each covered government within the State 14 may not receive grants under this section for a fiscal 15 year in an aggregate amount that is more than 10 16 percent of the total amount appropriated for grants 17 under this section for the fiscal year. 18 ‘‘(3) ALLOCATION.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 20 subparagraph (B), of funds available in any fis- 21 cal year— 22 ‘‘(i) not more than 40 percent shall be 23 allocated for grants pursuant to applica- 24 tions submitted by a covered government 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3248 IH having jurisdiction over areas with popu- 1 lations exceeding 150,000; 2 ‘‘(ii) not more than 30 percent shall 3 be allocated for grants pursuant to applica- 4 tions submitted by a covered government 5 having jurisdiction over areas with popu- 6 lations of 150,000 or less, but exceeding 7 50,000; and 8 ‘‘(iii) not more than 30 percent shall 9 be allocated for grants pursuant to applica- 10 tions submitted by a covered government 11 having jurisdiction over areas with popu- 12 lations of 50,000 or less. 13 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—In the case that all eli- 14 gible grant applications have been funded for a 15 fiscal in an allocation category under clauses (i) 16 through (iii) of subparagraph (A) and there are 17 funds remaining under that allocation category, 18 the Director may make such funds available to 19 applicants described in the remaining allocation 20 categories. 21 ‘‘(f) MATCHING FUNDS.—The portion of the costs of 22 a body-worn camera program provided by a grant under 23 this section may not exceed 75 percent. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3248 IH ‘‘(g) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds made 1 available under this section shall not be used to supplant 2 covered government funds, but shall be used to increase 3 the amount of funds that would, in the absence of Federal 4 funds, be made available from covered government sources 5 for the purposes of this section. 6 ‘‘(h) REPORTS TO THE DIRECTOR.—A covered gov- 7 ernment that receives a grant under this section shall sub- 8 mit to the Director, for each year in which funds from 9 a grant received under this section are expended, a report 10 at such time and in such manner as the Director may rea- 11 sonably require, that contains— 12 ‘‘(1) a summary of the activities carried out 13 under the grant and an assessment of whether the 14 activities are meeting the needs identified in the 15 grant application; and 16 ‘‘(2) such other information as the Director 17 may require. 18 ‘‘(i) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 19 days after the end of a fiscal year for which grants are 20 made under this section, the Director shall submit to Con- 21 gress a report that includes— 22 ‘‘(1) the aggregate amount of grants made 23 under this section to each covered government for 24 the fiscal year; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3248 IH ‘‘(2) a summary of the information provided by 1 covered governments receiving grants under this sec- 2 tion; and 3 ‘‘(3) a description of the priorities and plan for 4 awarding grants among eligible covered govern- 5 ments, and how the plan will ensure the effective use 6 of body-worn cameras to protect public safety. 7 ‘‘(j) DIRECT APPROPRIATIONS.—For the purpose of 8 making grants under this section there is authorized to 9 be appropriated, and there is appropriated, out of amounts 10 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to remain 11 available until expended— 12 ‘‘(1) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; 13 ‘‘(2) $45,0000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 14 ‘‘(3) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 15 ‘‘(4) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; and 16 ‘‘(5) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2026.’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:11 Jun 26, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3248.IH H3248 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS