I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7281 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 12, 2018 

Mr. AL GREEN of Texas (for himself, Ms. MOORE, Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. BASS, Mrs. BEATTY, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE

JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. CLAY, Mr. CLEAVER, 

Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. EVANS, Ms. FUDGE, 

Ms. NORTON, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. JEFFRIES, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE, Mr. LEWIS

of Georgia, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. RICHMOND, 

Mr. RUSH, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Mr. CARSON of Indiana) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Driver and Officer 

3 Safety Education Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR STATES MEETING MINIMUM 

5 STANDARDS FOR EDUCATIONAL AND TRAIN6 ING PROGRAMS CONCERNING LAW ENFORCE7 MENT PRACTICES DURING TRAFFIC STOPS 

8 AND OTHER IN-PERSON ENCOUNTERS. 

9 Section 405 of title 23, United States Code is amend10 ed— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘14.5 per12 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘13 percent’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 

14 (10) of subsection (a) as paragraphs (9) through 

15 (11); 

16 (3) in subsection (a)(9), as so redesignated, 

17 by— 

18 (A) striking ‘‘through (7)’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘through (8)’’; and 

20 (B) striking ‘‘through (h)’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘through (i)’’; 

22 (4) by inserting after subsection (a)(7) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(8) COMMUTER SAFETY EDUCATION.—In each 

25 fiscal year, 1.5 percent of the funds provided under 

26 this section shall be allocated among States that imVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:31 Dec 15, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281

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1 plement commuter safety education programs (as 

2 described in subsection (i))’’; and 

3 (5) by inserting at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(i) COMMUTER SAFETY EDUCATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—Subject to the re6 quirements under this subsection, the Secretary of 

7 Transportation shall award grants to States that 

8 enact a commuter safety education program. 

9 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

10 the costs of activities funded using amounts from 

11 grants awarded under this subsection may not ex12 ceed 80 percent for each fiscal year for which a 

13 State receives a grant. 

14 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant 

15 under this subsection, a State shall enact a law or 

16 adopt a program that requires the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) DRIVER EDUCATION AND DRIVING

18 SAFETY COURSES.—Inclusion, in driver edu19 cation and driving safety courses provided to in20 dividuals by educational and motor vehicle 

21 agencies of the State, of instruction and testing 

22 concerning law enforcement practices during 

23 traffic stops and other in-person encounters, in24 cluding information on— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the role of law enforcement and 

2 the duties and responsibilities of peace offi3 cers; 

4 ‘‘(ii) an individual’s legal rights con5 cerning interactions with peace officers; 

6 ‘‘(iii) best practices for civilians and 

7 peace officers during such interactions; 

8 ‘‘(iv) laws regarding questioning and 

9 detention by peace officers, including any 

10 law requiring an individual to present 

11 proof of identity to a peace officer; 

12 ‘‘(v) the consequences for an individ13 ual’s or officer’s failure to comply with 

14 those laws; and 

15 ‘‘(vi) how and where to file a com16 plaint against or a compliment on behalf of 

17 a peace officer. 

18 ‘‘(B) PEACE OFFICER TRAINING PRO19 GRAMS.—Development and implementation of a 

20 training program, including instruction and 

21 testing materials, for peace officers and reserve 

22 law enforcement officers (other than officers 

23 who have received training in a civilian course 

24 described in subparagraph (A)) pertaining to 


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1 proper interaction with civilians during traffic 

2 stops and other in-person encounters. 

3 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF GRANT FUNDS.—For each 

4 fiscal year, funds made available to carry out this 

5 subsection for such fiscal year shall be apportioned 

6 to a covered State in an amount determined by mul7 tiplying— 

8 ‘‘(A) the amount made available to carry 

9 out this subsection for the fiscal year; by 

10 ‘‘(B) the ratio that the amount of funds 

11 apportioned to each such State under section 

12 402 for such fiscal year bears to the total 

13 amount of funds apportioned to all such States 

14 under section 402 for such fiscal year. 

15 ‘‘(5) COVERED STATE.—In this subsection, a 

16 ‘covered State’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a State that the Secretary determines 

18 is enforcing and carrying out the law or pro19 gram described in paragraph (3); and 

20 ‘‘(B) a State that qualifies pursuant to 

21 paragraph (6)(A). 

22 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN STATES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) QUALIFYING STATE.—A State quali24 fies pursuant to this subparagraph if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines such 

2 State has taken meaningful steps toward 

3 the full implementation of a law or pro4 gram described in paragraph (3); 

5 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines such 

6 State has established a timetable for the 

7 implementation of such law or program; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(iii) subject to subparagraph (C), 

10 such State has received a grant pursuant 

11 to this subsection for a period of no more 

12 than 2 years. 

13 ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING.—With respect to a 

14 State that qualifies pursuant to subparagraph 

15 (A), the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) withhold 50 percent of the 

17 amount that such State would otherwise 

18 receive if such State were a State described 

19 in paragraph (5)(A); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) direct any such amounts for dis21 tribution among the States described in 

22 paragraph (5)(A). 

23 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—Upon the request of a 

24 State, the Secretary may waive or modify the 2- 

25 year period described in subparagraph (A)(iii) if 


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1 the Secretary determines that such a waiver 

2 would be equitable due to exceptional or uncon3 trollable circumstances. 

4 ‘‘(7) USE OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grant funds 

5 received pursuant to this subsection may be used— 

6 ‘‘(A) for the production of educational ma7 terials and training of staff for driver education 

8 and driving safety courses and peace officer 

9 training described in paragraph (3); and 

10 ‘‘(B) for the implementation of the law de11 scribed in paragraph (3).’’. 

12 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

13 The amendments made by section 2 shall take effect 

14 on the first day of the fiscal year that begins after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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