II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2590 

To authorize previously appropriated resources for communities to address 

persistent or historical crime through collaborative cross-sector partnerships. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2018 

Mr. DONNELLY (for himself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize previously appropriated resources for communities to address persistent or historical crime through 

collaborative cross-sector partnerships. 

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 ‘‘Investing in Neighbor5 hood-focused, Vital, Evidence-based Strategies and Trust 

6 to Prevent Crime Act of 2018’’ or the ‘‘INVEST to Pre7 vent Crime Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 

3 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 

4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘PART NN—DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM 

6 ‘‘SEC. 3041. DEFINITIONS. 

7 ‘‘In this part— 

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘crime hot spot’ means a defined 

9 geographic area within a focus neighborhood where, 

10 for not less than 1 year, the occurrence of crime is 

11 so frequent that it is highly predictable; 

12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State, 

13 unit of local government, Indian tribe, tribal organi14 zation, non-profit organization, or institution of 

15 higher education that is a member of a community 

16 consortium, which includes not less than 1 partner 

17 law enforcement agency, that is committed to work18 ing with law enforcement agencies, community lead19 ers, and research partners to develop an evidence20 based or research-based, cross-sector strategy to re21 vitalize a focus neighborhood facing significant crime 

22 challenges; 

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘evidence-based practice’ means a 

24 program, strategy, or procedure that has been dem25 onstrated as effective by causal evidence, obtained 

26 through one or more outcome evaluations; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the term ‘focus neighborhood’ means a de2 fined geographic area that is the focus of a project 

3 funded by a grant awarded under this part; 

4 ‘‘(5) the terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organi5 zation’ have the meanings given those terms in sec6 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu7 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); 

8 ‘‘(6) the term ‘institution of higher education’ 

9 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 

10 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002); 

11 ‘‘(7) the term ‘research-based practice’ means a 

12 program, strategy, or procedure that is selected and 

13 implemented based on documented effectiveness, 

14 with activities adapted based on data about local 

15 conditions, as appropriate; 

16 ‘‘(8) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 

17 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

18 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

19 American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana 

20 Islands; and 

21 ‘‘(9) the term ‘unit of local government’ means 

22 a county, municipality, city, town, township, village, 

23 parish, borough, or other unit of general government 

24 below the State level. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3042. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may— 

3 ‘‘(1) make grants to eligible entities to prepare 

4 a comprehensive plan for and implement enhance5 ment of the capacity of local and tribal communities 

6 to effectively target and address significant crime 

7 issues through collaborative cross-sector approaches; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(2) provide training and technical assistance 

10 to eligible entities that receive grants under this 

11 part. 

12 ‘‘(b) PROJECT GOALS.—Projects funded under this 

13 section shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) identify a focus neighborhood facing sig15 nificant crime challenges; 

16 ‘‘(2) use evidence-based practices or research17 based practices; 

18 ‘‘(3) encourage active involvement and leader19 ship from neighborhood residents, business owners, 

20 organizations, and others who live, work, or conduct 

21 business in the focus neighborhood; and 

22 ‘‘(4) build cross-sector partnerships to address 

23 crime problems from multiple perspectives. 

24 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a planning grant 

26 or an implementation grant under this section, an 


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1 eligible entity shall submit an application to the At2 torney General in such form and containing such in3 formation as the Attorney General may reasonably 

4 require. 

5 ‘‘(2) COMBINED APPLICATION.—The Attorney 

6 General may develop a procedure under which an eli7 gible entity may apply at the same time and in a 

8 single application for a planning grant and an imple9 mentation grant under this section, with receipt of 

10 the implementation grant conditioned on the suc11 cessful completion of the activities funded by the 

12 planning grant. 

13 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH PARTNER.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for a 

15 grant under this section shall identify a re16 search partner, such as an institution of higher 

17 education, research center, or State or local 

18 agency, to— 

19 ‘‘(i) conduct a detailed analysis of 

20 crime drivers during the planning period 

21 described in subsection (d)(1)(A); and 

22 ‘‘(ii) assist the grant recipient to se23 lect the most appropriate evidence-based 

24 practices or research-based practices to 

25 apply based on the research findings. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONTINUED ASSISTANCE.—A re2 search partner described in subparagraph (A) 

3 shall remain engaged throughout the duration 

4 of the grant by continuing to provide and ana5 lyze data to help inform project implementation. 

6 ‘‘(d) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2)— 

9 ‘‘(A) a planning grant awarded under this 

10 section shall be used by the recipient for a pe11 riod not to exceed 12 months; and 

12 ‘‘(B) an implementation grant awarded 

13 under this section shall be used by the recipient 

14 for a period not to exceed 36 months. 

15 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF PLANNING OR IMPLEMEN16 TATION.—Upon request of a grant recipient, the At17 torney General may allow the grant recipient to ex18 tend the planning period described in paragraph 

19 (1)(A) or the implementation period described in 

20 paragraph (1)(B) for a reasonable length of time, as 

21 determined by the Attorney General. 

22 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—If 

23 the Attorney General allows an extension under 

24 paragraph (2), the Attorney General may not award 

25 additional grant funds. 


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1 ‘‘(e) PLANNING GRANTS.—A grant awarded for the 

2 planning phase of a project may be used to— 

3 ‘‘(1) identify, verify, and prioritize crime hot 

4 spots within the focus neighborhood; 

5 ‘‘(2) build community partnerships and facili6 tate leadership to ensure residents are active partici7 pants in the strategy to address crime in the com8 munity; 

9 ‘‘(3) collaborate with local law enforcement 

10 agencies, research partners, and the community to 

11 analyze the drivers of crime and assess the needs of 

12 the community and the available resources to meet 

13 those needs; and 

14 ‘‘(4) work with community consortium partners 

15 to develop a comprehensive cross-sector strategic 

16 plan to reduce crime in the focus neighborhood that 

17 is based on the findings made under paragraph (3). 

18 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—Funds awarded 

19 for the implementation phase of a project may be used 

20 to— 

21 ‘‘(1) convene regular meetings of cross-sector 

22 partners and the project management team; 

23 ‘‘(2) continue work with research partners to 

24 assess project implementation; 


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1 ‘‘(3) modify strategies developed during project 

2 planning as appropriate; 

3 ‘‘(4) support personnel and program costs to 

4 implement strategies developed during project plan5 ning; 

6 ‘‘(5) pursue community engagement and leader7 ship development; and 

8 ‘‘(6) identify and develop a long-term sustain9 able strategy to continue to achieve the project’s 

10 goals after the conclusion of the implementation pe11 riod. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 3043. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

13 ‘‘At the end of the first grant year, and each year 

14 thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit a report to 

15 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

16 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa17 tives that provides an overall assessment of the out18 comes— 

19 ‘‘(1) achieved by the demonstration projects 

20 funded under this part; and 

21 ‘‘(2) achieved by any demonstration projects 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(A) received funding under the Byrne 

24 Criminal Justice Innovation program of the De25 partment of Justice or the Innovations in ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Apr 03, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2590.IS S2590

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1 munity Based Crime Reduction program of the 

2 Department of Justice during fiscal years 2013 

3 through 2018; and 

4 ‘‘(B) were carried out during the grant 

5 year to which the report pertains. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 3044. GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY. 

7 ‘‘(a) ACCOUNTABILITY.—All grants awarded by the 

8 Attorney General under this part shall be subject to the 

9 following accountability provisions: 

10 ‘‘(1) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

12 term ‘unresolved audit finding’ means a finding 

13 in the final audit report of the Inspector Gen14 eral of the Department of Justice that the au15 dited grantee has utilized grant funds for an 

16 unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallow17 able cost that is not closed or resolved within 

18 12 months from the date when the final audit 

19 report is issued. 

20 ‘‘(B) AUDITS.—Beginning in the first fis21 cal year beginning after the date of enactment 

22 of this subsection, and in each fiscal year there23 after, the Inspector General of the Department 

24 of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of 

25 grants under this part to prevent waste, fraud, 


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1 and abuse of funds by grantees. The Inspector 

2 General shall determine the appropriate number 

3 of grantees to be audited each year. 

4 ‘‘(C) MANDATORY EXCLUSION.—A recipi5 ent of grant funds under this part that is found 

6 to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be 

7 eligible to receive grant funds under this part 

8 during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after 

9 the end of the 12-month period described in 

10 subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

12 under this part, the Attorney General shall give 

13 priority to eligible applicants that did not have 

14 an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal 

15 years before submitting an application for a 

16 grant under this part. 

17 ‘‘(E) REIMBURSEMENT.—If an entity is 

18 awarded grant funds under this part during the 

19 2-fiscal-year period during which the entity is 

20 barred from receiving grants under subpara21 graph (C), the Attorney General shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) deposit an amount equal to the 

23 amount of the grant funds that were im24 properly awarded to the grantee into the 

25 General Fund of the Treasury; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the 

2 repayment to the fund from the grant re3 cipient that was erroneously awarded grant 

4 funds. 

5 ‘‘(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION REQUIRE6 MENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

8 paragraph and the grant programs under this 

9 part, the term ‘nonprofit organization’ means 

10 an organization that is described in section 

11 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

12 and is exempt from taxation under section 

13 501(a) of such Code. 

14 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—The Attorney Gen15 eral may not award a grant under this part to 

16 a nonprofit organization that holds money in 

17 offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding 

18 paying the tax described in section 511(a) of 

19 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

20 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—Each nonprofit orga21 nization that is awarded a grant under this part 

22 and uses the procedures prescribed in regula23 tions to create a rebuttable presumption of rea24 sonableness for the compensation of its officers, 

25 directors, trustees, and key employees, shall disVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:17 Apr 03, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2590.IS S2590

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1 close to the Attorney General, in the application 

2 for the grant, the process for determining such 

3 compensation, including the independent per4 sons involved in reviewing and approving such 

5 compensation, the comparability data used, and 

6 contemporaneous substantiation of the delibera7 tion and decision. Upon request, the Attorney 

8 General shall make the information disclosed 

9 under this subparagraph available for public in10 spection. 

11 ‘‘(3) CONFERENCE EXPENDITURES.— 

12 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—No amounts made 

13 available to the Department of Justice under 

14 this part may be used by the Attorney General, 

15 or by any individual or entity awarded discre16 tionary funds through a cooperative agreement 

17 under this part, to host or support any expendi18 ture for conferences that uses more than 

19 $20,000 in funds made available by the Depart20 ment of Justice, unless the head of the relevant 

21 agency or department, provides prior written 

22 authorization that the funds may be expended 

23 to host the conference. 

24 ‘‘(B) WRITTEN APPROVAL.—Written ap25 proval under subparagraph (A) shall include a 


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1 written estimate of all costs associated with the 

2 conference, including the cost of all food, bev3 erages, audio-visual equipment, honoraria for 

4 speakers, and entertainment. 

5 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—The Deputy Attorney Gen6 eral shall submit an annual report to the Com7 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

8 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

9 Representatives on all conference expenditures 

10 approved under this paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—Beginning in 

12 the first fiscal year beginning after the date of en13 actment of this subsection, the Attorney General 

14 shall submit, to the Committee on the Judiciary and 

15 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and 

16 the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee 

17 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 

18 an annual certification— 

19 ‘‘(A) indicating whether— 

20 ‘‘(i) all audits issued by the Office of 

21 the Inspector General under paragraph (1) 

22 have been completed and reviewed by the 

23 appropriate Assistant Attorney General or 

24 Director; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) all mandatory exclusions required 

2 under paragraph (1)(C) have been issued; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(iii) all reimbursements required 

5 under paragraph (1)(E) have been made; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) that includes a list of any grant re8 cipients excluded under paragraph (1) from the 

9 previous year. 

10 ‘‘(b) PREVENTING DUPLICATIVE GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before the Attorney Gen12 eral awards a grant to an applicant under this part, 

13 the Attorney General shall compare potential grant 

14 awards with other grants awarded under this part to 

15 determine if duplicate grant awards are awarded for 

16 the same purpose. 

17 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—If the Attorney General awards 

18 duplicate grants to the same applicant for the same 

19 purpose the Attorney General shall submit to the 

20 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

21 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep22 resentatives a report that includes— 

23 ‘‘(A) a list of all duplicate grants awarded, 

24 including the total dollar amount of any dupli25 cate grants awarded; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the reason the Attorney General 

2 awarded the duplicate grants.’’. 

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

4 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

5 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(28) For activities under part NN, there are author8 ized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 

9 years 2019 through 2023.’’. 

10 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that amounts appropriated to carry out part NN of 

12 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 

13 of 1968, as added by subsection (a), may not be offset 

14 by a decrease in the amounts appropriated for— 

15 (1) the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assist16 ance Grant program under subpart 1 of part E of 

17 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

18 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.); or 

19 (2) the Cops on the Beat grant program under 

20 part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

21 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381 et seq.). 

Æ 


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