Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000

Summary: Directs that: (1) funds available be awarded, without regard to specified "preferential consideration" provisions, to each qualifying unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents; and (2) any remaining funds available be awarded to other qualifying applicants.Provides that if an application is submitted in conjunction with a transaction for the purchase of armor vests, grant amounts may not be used to fund any portion of that purchase unless, before the application is submitted, the applicant: (1) receives clear and conspicuous notice that receipt of the grant amounts requested in the application is uncertain; and (2) expressly assumes the obligation to carry out the transaction regardless of whether such amounts are received.Redefines "armor vest" to include body armor which has been tested through a specified voluntary compliance testing program and found to meet or exceed the requirements of NIJ Standard 0115.00, or any subsequent revision of such standard.  Directs that, until the date on which such standard is first fully approved and implemented, such term shall also include body armor which has been found to meet or exceed the requirements for protection against stabbing established by the State in which the grantee is located.Authorizes appropriations.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant 
Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the number of law enforcement officers who are killed 
        in the line of duty would significantly decrease if every law 
        enforcement officer in the United States had the protection of 
        an armor vest;
            (2) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, 709 law 
        enforcement officers in the United States were feloniously 
        killed in the line of duty;
            (3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the 
        risk of fatality to law enforcement officers while not wearing 
        an armor vest is 14 times higher than for officers wearing an 
        armor vest;
            (4) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, bullet-
        resistant materials helped save the lives of more than 2,000 
        law enforcement officers in the United States; and
            (5) the Executive Committee for Indian Country Law 
        Enforcement Improvements reports that violent crime in Indian 
        country has risen sharply, despite a decrease in the national 
        crime rate, and has concluded that there is a ``public safety 
        crisis in Indian country''.

SEC. 3. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR VESTS.

    (a) Matching Funds.--Section 2501(f) (42 U.S.C. 3796ll(f)) of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended--
            (1) by striking ``The portion'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) The portion'';
            (2) by striking ``subsection (a)'' and all that follows 
        through the period at the end of the first sentence and 
        inserting ``subsection (a)--
                    ``(A) may not exceed 50 percent; and
                    ``(B) shall equal 50 percent, if--
                            ``(i) such grant is to a unit of local 
                        government with fewer than 100,000 residents;
                            ``(ii) the Director of the Bureau of 
                        Justice Assistance determines that the quantity 
                        of vests to be purchased with such grant is 
                        reasonable; and
                            ``(iii) such portion does not cause such 
                        grant to violate the requirements of subsection 
                        (e).''; and
            (3) by striking ``Any funds'' and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Any funds''.
    (b) Allocation of Funds.--Section 2501(g) (42 U.S.C. 3796ll(g)) of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended to 
read as follows:
    ``(g) Allocation of Funds.--Funds available under this part shall 
be awarded, without regard to subsection (c), to each qualifying unit 
of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents. Any remaining 
funds available under this part shall be awarded to other qualifying 
applicants.''.
    (c) Applications.--Section 2502 (42 U.S.C. 3796ll-1) of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended by inserting 
after subsection (c) the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Applications in Conjunction With Purchases.--If an 
application under this section is submitted in conjunction with a 
transaction for the purchase of armor vests, grant amounts under this 
section may not be used to fund any portion of that purchase unless, 
before the application is submitted, the applicant--
            ``(1) receives clear and conspicuous notice that receipt of 
        the grant amounts requested in the application is uncertain; 
        and
            ``(2) expressly assumes the obligation to carry out the 
        transaction regardless of whether such amounts are received.''.
    (d) Definition of Armor Vest.--Paragraph (1) of section 2503 (42 
U.S.C. 3796ll-2) of such Act is amended--
            (1) by striking ``means body armor'' and inserting the 
        following: ``means--
                    ``(A) body armor''; and
            (2) by inserting after the semicolon at the end the 
        following: ``or
                    ``(B) body armor which has been tested through such 
                voluntary compliance testing program, and found to meet 
                or exceed the requirements of NIJ Standard 0115.00, or 
                any subsequent revision of such standard;''.
    (e) Interim Definition of Armor Vest.--For purposes of part Y of 
title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as 
amended by this Act, the meaning of the term ``armor vest'' (as defined 
in section 2503 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 37966ll-2)) shall, until the 
date on which a final NIJ Standard 0115.00 is first fully approved and 
implemented, also include body armor which has been found to meet or 
exceed the requirements for protection against stabbing established by 
the State in which the grantee is located.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a)(23) of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
3793(a)(23)) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 
the following: ``, and $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 
through 2004.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 26, 2000.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.