I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7284 

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve the relationship 

between the police and the communities they serve, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2020 

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (for herself and Mr. HASTINGS) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to improve 

the relationship between the police and the communities 

they serve, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Police Accountability 

5 and Community Engagement Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘PAC 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General, acting 

9 through the Director of the Office of Community Oriented 

10 Policing Services, is authorized to make grants to nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7284.IH H7284

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1 profit organizations, institutions of higher education, com2 munity groups, and faith-based organizations to facilitate 

3 organized dialogues that bring together community mem4 bers and law enforcement officers in order to build trust, 

5 increase accountability, and reduce tension in relation6 ships between the community and the police. 

7 (b) USES OF FUNDS.—A recipient of a grant under 

8 this section shall use such funds for the following: 

9 (1) Community dialogues, led by a third-party 

10 facilitator, that bring together a diverse group of 

11 community members, local elected officials, law en12 forcement leaders and officers, business leaders, and 

13 community members to assess the state of police and 

14 community relations in the area, which focus on tak15 ing a proactive approach and developing concrete ac16 tion items that will help improve the relationship be17 tween the police and the community and further the 

18 goal of collective safety. 

19 (2) Community dialogues that are specifically 

20 designed to bring together teenagers with law en21 forcement officers, which aim to help police and 

22 young people honestly discuss their interaction and 

23 find common ground, which— 


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1 (A) are led by a third-party facilitator and 

2 held in a neutral space outside of a police sta3 tion; 

4 (B) provide equal participation for local 

5 law enforcement officers and youth; 

6 (C) include law enforcement officers with a 

7 variety of levels of experience; 

8 (D) meet at minimum on a monthly basis 

9 to engage in these group dialogues; 

10 (E) include participants who reflect the de11 mographics of the young people in the commu12 nity; 

13 (F) use facilitators with the appropriate 

14 language skills, if the local population includes 

15 young people for whom English is not their pri16 mary language; and 

17 (G) include the development of actionable 

18 next steps in order to ensure accountability and 

19 a formal action plan. 

20 (3) Documenting results of the dialogues de21 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2), including any 

22 practice that changes as a result of the dialogue. 

23 (c) APPLICATION.—An entity seeking a grant under 

24 this section shall submit to the Attorney General an appli25 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 


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1 information as the Attorney General may reasonably re2 quire, except that no application shall be considered unless 

3 plans for community dialogue include, but not be limited 

4 to, a discussion concerning racism and its effects on po5 lice-community relations. 

6 (d) REPORT.—A recipient of a grant under this sec7 tion shall submit to the Attorney General on a biannual 

8 basis the results of the dialogues conducted pursuant to 

9 a grant under this section, including any changes that 

10 were made to policing practices, the reason for the 

11 changes, and the results of the changes. 

12 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

13 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 

14 this section. 

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