A bill to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve in precincts of law enforcement agencies in their communities.

117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2151 AN ACT To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve in precincts of law enforcement agencies in their commu- nities. 2 † S 2151 ES Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. STRONG COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. 3 Section 1701 of Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 4 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended— 5 (1) by redesignating subsection (m) as sub- 6 section (n); and 7 (2) by inserting after subsection (l) the fol- 8 lowing: 9 ‘‘(m) COPS STRONG COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.— 10 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 11 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi- 12 ble entity’ means— 13 ‘‘(i) an institution of higher education, 14 as defined in section 101 of the Higher 15 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), 16 that, in coordination or through an agree- 17 ment with a local law enforcement agency, 18 offers a law enforcement training program; 19 or 20 ‘‘(ii) a local law enforcement agency 21 that offers a law enforcement training pro- 22 gram. 23 ‘‘(B) LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGEN- 24 CY.—The term ‘local law enforcement agency’ 25 3 † S 2151 ES means an agency of a State, unit of local gov- 1 ernment, or Indian Tribe that is authorized by 2 law or by a government agency to engage in or 3 supervise the prevention, detection, investiga- 4 tion, or prosecution of any violation of criminal 5 law. 6 ‘‘(2) GRANTS.—The Attorney General may use 7 amounts otherwise appropriated to carry out this 8 section for a fiscal year (beginning with fiscal year 9 2020) to make competitive grants to local law en- 10 forcement agencies to be used for officers and re- 11 cruits to attend law enforcement training programs 12 at eligible entities if the officers and recruits agree 13 to serve in law enforcement agencies in their com- 14 munities. 15 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 16 under this subsection, each officer or recruit de- 17 scribed in paragraph (2) shall— 18 ‘‘(A) serve as a full-time law enforcement 19 officer for a total of not fewer than 4 years dur- 20 ing the 8-year period beginning on the date on 21 which the officer or recruit completes a law en- 22 forcement training program for which the offi- 23 cer or recruit received benefits; 24 4 † S 2151 ES ‘‘(B) complete the service described in sub- 1 paragraph (A) in a local law enforcement agen- 2 cy located within— 3 ‘‘(i) 7 miles of the residence of the of- 4 ficer or recruit where the officer or recruit 5 has resided for not fewer than 5 years; or 6 ‘‘(ii) if the officer or recruit resides in 7 a county with fewer than 150,000 resi- 8 dents, within 20 miles of the residence of 9 the officer or recruit where the officer or 10 recruit has resided for not fewer than 5 11 years; and 12 ‘‘(C) submit to the eligible entity evidence 13 of employment of the officer or recruit in the 14 form of a certification by the chief administra- 15 tive officer of the local law enforcement agency 16 where the officer or recruit is employed. 17 ‘‘(4) REPAYMENT.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an officer or recruit 19 does not complete the service described in para- 20 graph (3), the officer or recruit shall submit to 21 the local law enforcement agency an amount 22 equal to any benefits the officer or recruit re- 23 ceived under this subsection. 24 5 † S 2151 ES ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The Attorney Gen- 1 eral shall promulgate regulations that establish 2 categories of extenuating circumstances under 3 which an officer or recruit may be excused from 4 repayment under subparagraph (A).’’. 5 Passed the Senate August 1, 2022. Attest: Secretary. 117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 2151 AN ACT To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement re- cruits to attend schools or academies if the re- cruits agree to serve in precincts of law enforce- ment agencies in their communities.