Driver and Officer Safety Education Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 169 To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a grant program for States that establish specific standards for education and training pro- grams concerning civilian and law enforcement encounters during traffic stops and other in-person encounters, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Mr. GREEN of Texas (for himself, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. MOORE, and Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruc- ture A BILL To amend title 23, United States Code, to establish a grant program for States that establish specific standards for education and training programs concerning civilian and law enforcement encounters during traffic stops and other in-person encounters, 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 ‘‘Driver and Officer 4 Safety Education Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H169.IH H169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 169 IH SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STATES MEETING MINIMUM 1 STANDARDS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND TRAIN- 2 ING PROGRAMS CONCERNING LAW ENFORCE- 3 MENT PRACTICES DURING TRAFFIC STOPS 4 AND OTHER IN-PERSON ENCOUNTERS. 5 (a) INCREASE IN AUTHORIZATION LEVELS.—Section 6 4001(a)(3) of the FAST Act is amended by— 7 (1) striking paragraphs (D) and (E); and 8 (2) inserting after paragraph (C) the following: 9 ‘‘(D) $288,660,000 for fiscal year 2019; and 10 ‘‘(E) $291,618,000 for fiscal year 2020.’’. 11 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 405 of title 23, 12 United States Code is amended— 13 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘13’’ and 14 inserting ‘‘12.74’’; 15 (2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘14.5’’ and 16 inserting ‘‘14.21’’; 17 (3) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘52.5’’ and 18 inserting ‘‘51.45’’; 19 (4) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ‘‘8.5’’ and 20 inserting ‘‘8.33’’; 21 (5) in subsection (a)(5), by striking ‘‘1.5’’ and 22 inserting ‘‘1.47’’; 23 (6) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ‘‘5’’ and in- 24 serting ‘‘4.9’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H169.IH H169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 169 IH (7) in subsection (a)(7), by striking ‘‘5’’ and in- 1 serting ‘‘4.9’’; 2 (8) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 3 (10) of subsection (a) as paragraphs (9) through 4 (11); 5 (9) by inserting after subsection (a)(7) the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(8) COMMUTER SAFETY EDUCATION.—In each 8 fiscal year, 2 percent of the funds provided under 9 this section shall be allocated among States that im- 10 plement commuter safety education programs (as 11 described in subsection (i)).’’; 12 (10) in subsection (a)(9), as so redesignated, 13 by— 14 (A) striking ‘‘through (7)’’ and inserting 15 ‘‘through (8)’’; and 16 (B) striking ‘‘through (h)’’ and inserting 17 ‘‘through (i)’’; and 18 (11) by inserting at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(i) COMMUTER SAFETY EDUCATION.— 20 ‘‘(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the re- 21 quirements under this subsection, the Secretary of 22 Transportation shall award grants to States that 23 enact a commuter safety education program. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H169.IH H169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 169 IH ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 1 the costs of activities funded using amounts from 2 grants awarded under this subsection may not ex- 3 ceed 80 percent for each fiscal year for which a 4 State receives a grant. 5 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 6 under this subsection, a State shall enact a law or 7 adopt a program that requires the following: 8 ‘‘(A) DRIVER EDUCATION AND DRIVING 9 SAFETY COURSES.—Inclusion, in driver edu- 10 cation and driving safety courses provided to in- 11 dividuals by educational and motor vehicle 12 agencies of the State, of instruction and testing 13 concerning law enforcement practices during 14 traffic stops and other in-person encounters, in- 15 cluding information on— 16 ‘‘(i) the role of law enforcement and 17 the duties and responsibilities of peace offi- 18 cers; 19 ‘‘(ii) an individual’s legal rights con- 20 cerning interactions with peace officers; 21 ‘‘(iii) best practices for civilians and 22 peace officers during such interactions; 23 ‘‘(iv) laws regarding questioning and 24 detention by peace officers, including any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H169.IH H169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 169 IH law requiring an individual to present 1 proof of identity to a peace officer; 2 ‘‘(v) the consequences for an individ- 3 ual’s or officer’s failure to comply with 4 those laws; and 5 ‘‘(vi) how and where to file a com- 6 plaint against or a compliment on behalf of 7 a peace officer. 8 ‘‘(B) PEACE OFFICER TRAINING PRO- 9 GRAMS.—Development and implementation of a 10 training program, including instruction and 11 testing materials, for peace officers and reserve 12 law enforcement officers (other than officers 13 who have received training in a civilian course 14 described in subparagraph (A)) pertaining to 15 proper interaction with civilians during traffic 16 stops and other in-person encounters. 17 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.—For each 18 fiscal year, funds made available to carry out this 19 subsection for such fiscal year shall be apportioned 20 to a covered State in an amount determined by mul- 21 tiplying— 22 ‘‘(A) the amount made available to carry 23 out this subsection for the fiscal year; by 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H169.IH H169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 169 IH ‘‘(B) the ratio that the amount of funds 1 apportioned to each such State under section 2 402 for such fiscal year bears to the total 3 amount of funds apportioned to all such States 4 under section 402 for such fiscal year. 5 ‘‘(5) COVERED STATE.—In this subsection, a 6 ‘covered State’ means— 7 ‘‘(A) a State that the Secretary determines 8 is enforcing and carrying out the law or pro- 9 gram described in paragraph (3); and 10 ‘‘(B) a State that qualifies pursuant to 11 paragraph (6)(A). 12 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN STATES.— 13 ‘‘(A) QUALIFYING STATE.—A State quali- 14 fies pursuant to this subparagraph if— 15 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines such 16 State has taken meaningful steps toward 17 the full implementation of a law or pro- 18 gram described in paragraph (3); 19 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines such 20 State has established a timetable for the 21 implementation of such law or program; 22 and 23 ‘‘(iii) subject to subparagraph (C), 24 such State has received a grant pursuant 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H169.IH H169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 169 IH to this subsection for a period of no more 1 than 2 years. 2 ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING.—With respect to a 3 State that qualifies pursuant to subparagraph 4 (A), the Secretary shall— 5 ‘‘(i) withhold 50 percent of the 6 amount that such State would otherwise 7 receive if such State were a State described 8 in paragraph (5)(A); and 9 ‘‘(ii) direct any such amounts for dis- 10 tribution among the States described in 11 paragraph (5)(A). 12 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—Upon the request of a 13 State, the Secretary may waive or modify the 2- 14 year period described in subparagraph (A)(iii) if 15 the Secretary determines that such a waiver 16 would be equitable due to exceptional or uncon- 17 trollable circumstances. 18 ‘‘(7) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grant funds 19 received pursuant to this subsection may be used— 20 ‘‘(A) for the production of educational ma- 21 terials and training of staff for driver education 22 and driving safety courses and peace officer 23 training described in paragraph (3); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H169.IH H169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 169 IH ‘‘(B) for the implementation of the law de- 1 scribed in paragraph (3).’’. 2 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 3 The amendments made by section 2(b) shall take ef- 4 fect on the first day of the fiscal year that begins after 5 the date of enactment of this Act. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:45 Jan 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H169.IH H169 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS