Police Training and Accountability Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7136 To require the creation and adoption of national minimum training requirements for law enforcement personnel. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 8, 2020 Mr. POCAN (for himself and Mrs. HAYES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require the creation and adoption of national minimum training requirements for law enforcement personnel. 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 ‘‘Police Training and 4 Accountability Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING REQUIREMENT AND 6 STANDARDS. 7 (a) TRAINING REQUIREMENT.—The Civilian Com- 8 mission on Modern Law Enforcement Training shall es- 9 tablish a single national training requirement every law 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7136.IH H7136 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7136 IH enforcement officer in America should, at minimum, meet 1 before being permitted to perform the duties of a law en- 2 forcement officer. 3 (b) TRAINING STANDARDS.—The training require- 4 ment established pursuant to this section shall be uniform 5 and include, at minimum, standards pertaining to— 6 (1) a minimum level of education attainment 7 (while not prohibiting high school graduates from 8 employment consideration for entry-level positions); 9 (2) a minimum number of training hours; 10 (3) use of force; 11 (4) use of lethal force; 12 (5) implicit bias; 13 (6) conflict resolution, mediation, and de-esca- 14 lation practices; 15 (7) pursuit; 16 (8) video technology; 17 (9) stop and search procedures; and 18 (10) intervention programs. 19 SEC. 3. ADOPTION OF TRAINING STANDARDS REQUIRED. 20 Any employer of a law enforcement officer who has 21 not completed training satisfying the requirements of sec- 22 tion 2 of this Act shall be ineligible for any Federal funds 23 made available by the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 24 Assistance Grant Program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7136.IH H7136 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7136 IH SEC. 4. CIVILIAN-LAW ENFORCEMENT BILL OF RIGHTS. 1 The Civilian Commission on Modern Law Enforce- 2 ment Training established by this Act shall issue a Civil- 3 ian-Law Enforcement Bill of Rights describing the rights 4 every person has when interacting with law enforcement. 5 This Bill of Rights shall be adhered to by every recipient 6 of an Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 7 Program award. 8 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 9 In this Act: 10 (a) The term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means any 11 officer, agent, or employee of the Federal Government, a 12 State, a unit of local government, or an Indian tribe au- 13 thorized by law or by a government agency to engage in 14 or supervise the prevention, detection, or investigation of 15 any violation of criminal law, or authorized by law to su- 16 pervise sentenced criminal offenders. 17 (b) The term ‘‘Civilian Commission on Modern Law 18 Enforcement Training’’ means an independent commis- 19 sion established pursuant to this Act within the Depart- 20 ment of Justice that consists of persons without a history 21 of military or law enforcement employment. Members of 22 the Commission shall be equally appointed by the Speaker 23 of the U.S. House of Representatives and the majority 24 leader of the U.S. Senate. 25 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Jun 29, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7136.IH H7136 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS