COPS on the Beat Grant Program Parity Act of 2023

II Calendar No. 89 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1530 To permit COPS grants to be used for the purpose of increasing the compensation and hiring of law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 10, 2023 Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Mr. TILLIS, Ms. ROSEN, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. COONS, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. HAWLEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JUNE 8, 2023 Reported by Mr. DURBIN, without amendment A BILL To permit COPS grants to be used for the purpose of in- creasing the compensation and hiring of law enforcement officers, 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 ‘‘COPS on the Beat 4 Grant Program Parity Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1530 RS SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The President’s Task Force on 21st Cen- 3 tury Policing highlighted the importance of hiring 4 law enforcement officers who reflect the diversity 5 and values of the community, and who have both the 6 mindset and the skills needed to engage with the 7 community. 8 (2) Diverse workforces can be more effective, 9 creative, and resilient than homogenous workforces, 10 and teams with broader perspectives result in better 11 decision making and problem-solving practices. Re- 12 cruiting a diverse pool of candidates includes quali- 13 fied individuals from different races, genders, 14 ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. 15 (3) Effective recruitment practices can help law 16 enforcement agencies engender trust, develop good 17 relations with their communities, and ensure that 18 the officers they hire can best serve those commu- 19 nities. Recruitment efforts should start in the com- 20 munity, and law enforcement agencies should con- 21 sider developing youth programs to attract younger 22 generations. This could include Explorer programs, 23 internships through local schools, cadet academies, 24 university partnerships, and youth mentorship pro- 25 grams that foster relationships between young adults 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1530 RS and departments. Not only do these programs de- 1 velop enthusiasm for a law enforcement career, but 2 they can also build relationships between law en- 3 forcement agencies and the communities they serve. 4 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 5 gress that the Office of Community Oriented Policing 6 Services (commonly known as the ‘‘COPS Office’’) of the 7 Department of Justice is uniquely suited to empower local 8 law enforcement agencies to fulfill recommendations re- 9 lated to law enforcement hiring practices, including agen- 10 cies being reflective of the communities they serve, both 11 demographically and in values and vision, and possessing 12 the mindset and skills needed to engage with the commu- 13 nity. 14 SEC. 3. RURAL COMMUNITY ACCESS TO COPS GRANTS. 15 (a) USES OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Section 1701(b) of 16 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 17 of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) is amended— 18 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 19 (23) as paragraphs (4) through (24), respectively; 20 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol- 21 lowing: 22 ‘‘(3) in the case of any State or unit of local 23 government that has a median household income of 24 less than 70 percent of the national median house- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1530 RS hold income and qualifies for a reduced contribution 1 under subsection (g)(2), to increase wages of career 2 law enforcement officers to not more than 80 per- 3 cent of the national median household income;’’; and 4 (3) in paragraph (23), as redesignated, by 5 striking ‘‘through (21)’’ and inserting ‘‘through 6 (22)’’. 7 (b) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—Section 8 1701(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 9 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(c)) is amended— 10 (1) by striking paragraph (1); and 11 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 12 paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively. 13 (c) COST SHARE.—Section 1701(g) of title I of the 14 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 15 U.S.C. 10381(g)) is amended to read as follows: 16 ‘‘(g) MATCHING FUNDS.— 17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- 18 graph (2), the portion of the costs of a program, 19 project, or activity provided by a grant under sub- 20 section (a) may not exceed 75 percent, unless the 21 Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the re- 22 quirement under this subsection of a non-Federal 23 contribution to the costs of a program, project, or 24 activity. In relation to a grant for a period exceeding 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1530 RS 1 year for hiring or rehiring or increasing the com- 1 pensation of career law enforcement officers, the 2 Federal share shall decrease from year to year for 3 up to 5 years, looking toward the continuation of the 4 increased hiring and compensation level using State 5 or local sources of funding following the conclusion 6 of Federal support, as provided in an approved plan 7 pursuant to section 1702(c)(8). 8 ‘‘(2) REDUCED NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBU- 9 TION.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The portion of the 11 costs of a program, project, or activity provided 12 by a grant under subsection (a), in any State 13 or unit of local government described in sub- 14 paragraph (B), may not exceed— 15 ‘‘(i) 90 percent for the first year of 16 the grant; 17 ‘‘(ii) 85 percent for the second year of 18 the grant; 19 ‘‘(iii) 80 percent for the third year of 20 the grant; or 21 ‘‘(iv) 75 percent for the fourth year of 22 the grant. 23 ‘‘(B) STATE OR UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERN- 24 MENT DESCRIBED.—A State or unit of local 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1530 RS government described in this subparagraph is 1 any State or unit of local government— 2 ‘‘(i) with a median household income 3 that is not more than 80 percent of the na- 4 tional median household income; 5 ‘‘(ii) that does not provide a single 6 employee with compensation that is more 7 than double the national median household 8 income; and 9 ‘‘(iii) that is a rural State, rural com- 10 munity, or rural area as such terms are 11 defined in section 40002(a) of the Violent 12 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 13 of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)).’’. 14 (d) LIMITATION ON HIRING AND REHIRING.—Sec- 15 tion 1704(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 16 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10384(c)) is amended 17 to read as follows: 18 ‘‘(c) HIRING AND COMPENSATION COST.— 19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funding provided under 20 this part for hiring or rehiring a career law enforce- 21 ment officer may not exceed $75,000, unless the At- 22 torney General grants a waiver from this limitation. 23 ‘‘(2) REDUCED CONTRIBUTION.—In the case of 24 a jurisdiction that has a median household income of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1530 RS less than 70 percent of the national median house- 1 hold income and qualifies for a reduced contribution 2 under section 1701(g)(2), a career law enforcement 3 officer who is hired or rehired or whose compensa- 4 tion is increased under this part may not receive 5 from any funding provided under this part com- 6 pensation exceeding 80 percent of the national me- 7 dian household income for work performed as an on- 8 duty law enforcement officer.’’. 9 (e) ALLOCATION OF COPS GRANT PROGRAM 10 FUNDS.—Section 1001(a)(11)(B) of title I of the Omni- 11 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 12 U.S.C. 10261(a)(11)(B)) is amended by inserting after 13 the second sentence the following: ‘‘If funds remain avail- 14 able for obligation under this subparagraph in a fiscal year 15 after all eligible and qualified grantees have been funded 16 from the 50 percent of funding allocated for grants pursu- 17 ant to applications submitted by units of local government 18 or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over areas 19 with populations exceeding 150,000 or by public and pri- 20 vate entities that serve areas with populations exceeding 21 150,000, the remaining funds may be used for grants pur- 22 suant to applications submitted by units of local govern- 23 ment or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over 24 areas with populations 150,000 or less or by public and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1530 RS private entities that serve areas with populations 150,000 1 or less.’’. 2 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1709 of title I of the Om- 3 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 4 U.S.C. 10389) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘(8) ‘Attorney General’ means the Attorney 7 General, acting through the Director of the Office of 8 Community Oriented Policing Services.’’. 9 SEC. 4. COPS OFFICE. 10 Section 1701(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con- 11 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(a)) 12 is amended to read as follows: 13 ‘‘(a) OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING 14 SERVICES.— 15 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is 16 within the Department of Justice, under the general 17 authority of the Attorney General, a separate and 18 distinct office to be known as the Office of Commu- 19 nity Oriented Policing Services (referred to in this 20 subsection as the ‘COPS Office’). 21 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The COPS Office shall be 22 headed by a Director who shall— 23 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Attorney Gen- 24 eral; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1530 RS ‘‘(B) have final authority over grants 1 under this part and any other grants, coopera- 2 tive agreements, and contracts awarded by the 3 COPS Office. 4 ‘‘(3) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney 5 General, acting through the Director, shall make 6 grants to States, units of local government, Indian 7 tribal governments, other public and private entities, 8 and multi-jurisdictional or regional consortia for the 9 purposes described in subsection (b).’’. 10 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—In fiscal year 2027 and fiscal year 12 2032, the Comptroller General of the United States, after 13 consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit to 14 Congress and make publicly available a report that pro- 15 vides the information described in subsection (b) using a 16 broad cross-section of law enforcement agencies— 17 (1) from various regions of the United States; 18 (2) of different sizes; and 19 (3) from rural, suburban, and urban jurisdic- 20 tions. 21 (b) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The information re- 22 ferred to in subsection (a) is— 23 (1) a measure of how representative law en- 24 forcement officers are of the communities they serve 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1530 RS based on demographics, including, at a minimum, 1 gender and race; 2 (2) the percentage of law enforcement officers 3 who live in the jurisdiction in which they are em- 4 ployed; 5 (3) a measure of average law enforcement offi- 6 cer pay compared to cost of living in the jurisdiction 7 in which the law enforcement officers are employed; 8 and 9 (4) legislative and administrative recommenda- 10 tions for improving— 11 (A) the diversity of law enforcement agen- 12 cies, including officers, specifically in relation to 13 the communities they serve; and 14 (B) the number of officers who live in the 15 jurisdiction in which they are employed. 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS Calendar No. 89 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1530 A BILL To permit COPS grants to be used for the purpose of increasing the compensation and hiring of law enforcement officers, and for other purposes. JUNE 8, 2023 Reported without amendment VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6651 Sfmt 6651 E:\BILLS\S1530.RS S1530 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS