Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3931 To prevent the militarization of Federal, State, and local law enforcement by Federal excess property transfers and grant programs. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 10, 2020 Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To prevent the militarization of Federal, State, and local law enforcement by Federal excess property transfers and grant programs. 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 ‘‘Stop Militarizing Law 4 Enforcement Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3931 IS SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFER OF DE- 1 PARTMENT OF DEFENSE PERSONAL PROP- 2 ERTY TO FEDERAL AND STATE LAW EN- 3 FORCEMENT AGENCIES. 4 (a) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2576a of title 10, 6 United States Code, is amended— 7 (A) in subsection (a)— 8 (i) in paragraph (1)— 9 (I) in the matter preceding sub- 10 paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub- 11 section (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘the provi- 12 sions of this section’’; and 13 (II) in subparagraph (A), by 14 striking ‘‘, including counter-drug and 15 counterterrorism activities’’; and 16 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and 17 the Director of National Drug Control Pol- 18 icy’’; 19 (B) in subsection (b)— 20 (i) in paragraph (5), by striking 21 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 22 (ii) in paragraph (6), by striking the 23 period and inserting a semicolon; and 24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 25 lowing new paragraphs: 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3931 IS ‘‘(7) the recipient certifies to the Department of 1 Defense that it has the personnel and technical ca- 2 pacity, including training, to operate the property; 3 and 4 ‘‘(8) the recipient certifies to the Department of 5 Defense that if the recipient determines that the 6 property is surplus to the needs of the recipient, the 7 recipient will return the property to the Department 8 of Defense.’’; 9 (C) by striking subsections (d), (e), and 10 (f); and 11 (D) by adding at the end the following: 12 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFERS.—The Secretary 13 of Defense may not transfer under this section any prop- 14 erty as follows: 15 ‘‘(1) Weapons, weapon parts, and weapon com- 16 ponents, including camouflage and deception equip- 17 ment, and optical sights. 18 ‘‘(2) Weapon system specific vehicular acces- 19 sories. 20 ‘‘(3) Demolition materials. 21 ‘‘(4) Explosive ordinance. 22 ‘‘(5) Night vision equipment. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3931 IS ‘‘(6) Tactical clothing, including uniform cloth- 1 ing and footwear items, special purpose clothing 2 items, and specialized flight clothing and accessories. 3 ‘‘(7) Drones. 4 ‘‘(8) Combat, assault, and tactical vehicles, in- 5 cluding Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) 6 vehicles. 7 ‘‘(9) Training aids and devices. 8 ‘‘(10) Firearms of .50 caliber or higher, ammu- 9 nition of .50 caliber or higher, grenade launchers, 10 flash grenades, and bayonets. 11 ‘‘(e) APPROVAL BY LAW REQUIRED FOR TRANSFER 12 OF PROPERTY NOT PREVIOUSLY TRANSFERRABLE.—(1) 13 In the event the Secretary of Defense proposes to make 14 available for transfer under this section any property of 15 the Department of Defense not previously made available 16 for transfer under this section, the Secretary shall submit 17 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report setting 18 forth the following: 19 ‘‘(A) A description of the property proposed to 20 be made available for transfer. 21 ‘‘(B) A description of the conditions, if any, to 22 be imposed on use of the property after transfer. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3931 IS ‘‘(C) A certification that transfer of the prop- 1 erty would not violate a provision of this section or 2 any other provision of law. 3 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not transfer any property 4 covered by a report under this subsection unless author- 5 ized by a law enacted by Congress after the date of the 6 receipt of the report by Congress. 7 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION ACCOUNTING FOR 8 TRANSFERRED PROPERTY.—(1) The Secretary of Defense 9 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 10 each year a certification in writing that each recipient to 11 which the Secretary has transferred property under this 12 section during the preceding fiscal year— 13 ‘‘(A) has provided to the Secretary documenta- 14 tion accounting for all property the Secretary has 15 previously transferred to such recipient under this 16 section; and 17 ‘‘(B) has complied with paragraphs (7) and (8) 18 of subsection (b) with respect to the property so 19 transferred during such fiscal year. 20 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary cannot provide a certification 21 under paragraph (1) for a recipient, the Secretary may 22 not transfer additional property to such recipient under 23 this section, effective as of the date on which the Secretary 24 would otherwise make the certification under this sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3931 IS section, and such recipient shall be suspended or termi- 1 nated from further receipt of property under this section. 2 ‘‘(g) CONDITIONS FOR EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.— 3 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, amounts au- 4 thorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available 5 for any fiscal year may not be obligated or expended to 6 carry out this section unless the Secretary submits to the 7 appropriate committees of Congress a certification that for 8 the preceding fiscal year that— 9 ‘‘(1) each recipient agency that has received 10 property under this section has— 11 ‘‘(A) demonstrated 100 percent account- 12 ability for all such property, in accordance with 13 paragraph (2) or (3), as applicable; or 14 ‘‘(B) been suspended or terminated from 15 the program pursuant to paragraph (4); 16 ‘‘(2) with respect to each non-Federal agency 17 that has received property under this section, the 18 State Coordinator responsible for each such agency 19 has verified that the State Coordinator or an agent 20 of the State Coordinator has conducted an in-person 21 inventory of the property transferred to the agency 22 and that 100 percent of such property was ac- 23 counted for during the inventory or that the agency 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3931 IS has been suspended or terminated from the program 1 pursuant to paragraph (4); 2 ‘‘(3) with respect to each Federal agency that 3 has received property under this section, the Sec- 4 retary of Defense or an agent of the Secretary has 5 conducted an in-person inventory of the property 6 transferred to the agency and that 100 percent of 7 such property was accounted for during the inven- 8 tory or that the agency has been suspended or ter- 9 minated from the program pursuant to paragraph 10 (4); 11 ‘‘(4) the eligibility of any agency that has re- 12 ceived property under this section for which 100 per- 13 cent of the equipment was not accounted for during 14 an inventory described in paragraph (2) or (3), as 15 applicable, to receive property transferred under this 16 section has been suspended or terminated; 17 ‘‘(5) each State Coordinator has certified, for 18 each non-Federal agency located in the State for 19 which the State Coordinator is responsible that— 20 ‘‘(A) the agency has complied with all re- 21 quirements under this section; or 22 ‘‘(B) the eligibility of the agency to receive 23 property transferred under this section has been 24 suspended or terminated; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3931 IS ‘‘(6) the Secretary of Defense has certified, for 1 each Federal agency that has received property 2 under this section that— 3 ‘‘(A) the agency has complied with all re- 4 quirements under this section; or 5 ‘‘(B) the eligibility of the agency to receive 6 property transferred under this section has been 7 suspended or terminated. 8 ‘‘(h) WEBSITE.—The Defense Logistics Agency shall 9 maintain, and update on a quarterly basis, an internet 10 website on which the following information shall be made 11 publicly available in a searchable format: 12 ‘‘(1) A description of each transfer made under 13 this section, including transfers made before the 14 date of the enactment of the Stop Militarizing Law 15 Enforcement Act, set forth by State, county, and re- 16 cipient agency, and including item name, item type, 17 item model, and quantity. 18 ‘‘(2) A list of all property transferred under 19 this section that is not accounted for by the Defense 20 Logistics Agency, including— 21 ‘‘(A) the name of the State, county, and 22 recipient agency; 23 ‘‘(B) the item name, item type, and item 24 model; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3931 IS ‘‘(C) the date on which such property be- 1 came unaccounted for by the Defense Logistics 2 Agency; and 3 ‘‘(D) the current status of such item. 4 ‘‘(3) A list of each agency suspended or termi- 5 nated from further receipt of property under this 6 section, including State, county, and agency, and the 7 reason for and duration of such suspension or termi- 8 nation. 9 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate committees of Con- 11 gress’ means— 12 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Armed Services 13 and the Committee on Homeland Security and 14 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 15 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Armed Services 16 and the Committee on Oversight and Govern- 17 ment Reform of the House of Representatives. 18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘agent of a State Coordinator’ 19 means any individual to whom a State Coordinator 20 formally delegates responsibilities for the duties of 21 the State Coordinator to conduct inventories de- 22 scribed in subsection (g)(2). 23 ‘‘(3) The term ‘controlled property’ means any 24 item assigned a demilitarization code of B, C, D, E, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3931 IS G, or Q under Department of Defense Manual 1 4160.21–M, ‘Defense Materiel Disposition Manual’, 2 or any successor document. 3 ‘‘(4) The term ‘State Coordinator’, with respect 4 to a State, means the individual appointed by the 5 governor of the State to maintain property account- 6 ability records and oversee property use by the 7 State.’’. 8 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 9 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the 10 enactment of this Act. 11 (b) RETURN OF PROPERTY TO DEPARTMENT OF DE- 12 FENSE.—Not later than one year after the date of the en- 13 actment of this Act, each Federal or State agency to which 14 property described by subsection (d) of section 2576a of 15 title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection 16 (a)(1) of this section), was transferred before the date of 17 the enactment of this Act shall return such property to 18 the Defense Logistics Agency on behalf of the Department 19 of Defense. 20 SEC. 3. USE OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 21 PREPAREDNESS GRANT FUNDS. 22 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 23 (1) the term ‘‘Agency’’ means the Federal 24 Emergency Management Agency; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3931 IS (2) the term ‘‘preparedness grant program’’ in- 1 cludes— 2 (A) the Urban Area Security Initiative au- 3 thorized under section 2003 of the Homeland 4 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 604); 5 (B) the State Homeland Security Grant 6 Program authorized under section 2004 of the 7 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 605); 8 (C) the Port Security Grant Program au- 9 thorized under section 70107 of title 46, United 10 States Code; and 11 (D) any other non-disaster preparedness 12 grant program of the Agency. 13 (b) LIMITATION.—The Agency may not permit 14 awards under a preparedness grant program to be used 15 to buy, maintain, or alter— 16 (1) explosive entry equipment; 17 (2) canines (other than bomb-sniffing canines 18 for agencies with certified bomb technicians or for 19 use in search and rescue operations); 20 (3) tactical or armored vehicles; 21 (4) long-range hailing and warning devices; 22 (5) tactical entry equipment (other than for use 23 by specialized teams such as Accredited Bomb 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3931 IS Squads, Tactical Entry, or Special Weapons and 1 Tactics (SWAT) Teams); or 2 (6) firearms of .50 caliber or higher, ammuni- 3 tion of .50 caliber or higher, grenade launchers, 4 flash grenades, or bayonets. 5 (c) REVIEW OF PRIOR RECEIPT OF PROPERTY BE- 6 FORE AWARD.—In making an award under a prepared- 7 ness grant program, the Agency shall— 8 (1) determine whether the awardee has already 9 received, and still retains, property from the Depart- 10 ment of Defense pursuant to section 2576a of title 11 10, United States Code, including through review of 12 the website maintained by the Defense Logistics 13 Agency pursuant to subsection (h) of such section 14 (as added by section 2(a)(1) of this Act); 15 (2) require that the award may not be used by 16 the awardee to procure or obtain property deter- 17 mined to be retained by the awardee pursuant to 18 paragraph (1); and 19 (3) require that the award only be used to pro- 20 cure or obtain property in accordance with use re- 21 strictions contained within the Agency’s State and 22 Local Preparedness Grant Programs’ Authorized 23 Equipment List. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:49 Jun 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3931.IS S3931 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 3931 I [Text truncated for display. 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