I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6973 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 11, 2024 

Mr. LALOTA (for himself, Ms. SPANBERGER, Mrs. KIM of California, and Ms. 

PEREZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

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. 

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 ‘‘COPS on the Beat 

5 Grant Program Reauthorization and Parity Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The President’s Task Force on 21st Cen9 tury Policing highlighted the importance of hiring 


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1 law enforcement officers who reflect the diversity 

2 and values of the community, and who have both the 

3 mindset and the skills needed to engage with the 

4 community. 

5 (2) Diverse workforces can be more effective, 

6 creative, and resilient than homogenous workforces, 

7 and teams with broader perspectives result in better 

8 decision-making and problem-solving practices. Re9 cruiting a diverse pool of candidates includes quali10 fied individuals from different races, genders, 

11 ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds. 

12 (3) Effective law enforcement recruitment prac13 tices can help engender trust, develop good relations 

14 with their communities, and ensure that the officers 

15 they hire can best serve those communities. Recruit16 ment efforts should start in the community, and law 

17 enforcement agencies should consider developing 

18 youth programs to attract younger generations. This 

19 could include Explorer programs, internships 

20 through local schools, cadet academies, university 

21 partnerships, and youth mentorship programs that 

22 foster relationships between young adults and de23 partments. Not only do these programs develop en24 thusiasm for a law enforcement career, they can also 


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1 build relationships between law enforcement agencies 

2 and the communities they serve. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the COPS Office is uniquely suited to empower 

5 local law enforcement agencies to fulfill recommendations 

6 related to law enforcement hiring practices, including 

7 agencies being reflective of the communities they serve, 

8 both demographically and in values and vision, and pos9 sessing the mindset and skills needed to engage with the 

10 community. 

11 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF COPS ON THE BEAT GRANT 

12 PROGRAMS. 

13 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF COPS ON THE BEAT

14 GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 1001(a)(11)(A) of title I of 

15 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

16 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)(11)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘for 

17 each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2034’’. 

19 SEC. 4. RURAL COMMUNITY ACCESS TO COPS GRANTS. 

20 (a) USES OF GRANT AMOUNTS.—Section 1701(b) of 

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

22 of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

24 (23) as paragraphs (4) through (24), respectively; 


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1 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(3) in the case of any State or unit of local 

4 government that has a median household income of 

5 less than 70 percent of the national median house6 hold income and qualifies for a reduced contribution 

7 under subsection (g)(2), to increase wages of career 

8 law enforcement officers to not more than 80 per9 cent of the national median household income;’’; and 

10 (3) in paragraph (23), as redesignated, by 

11 striking ‘‘through (21)’’ and inserting ‘‘through 

12 (22)’’. 

13 (b) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—Section 

14 1701(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

15 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(c)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking paragraph (1); and 

17 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

18 paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively. 

19 (c) COST SHARE.—Section 1701(g) of title I of the 

20 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

21 U.S.C. 10381(g)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(g) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the portion of the costs of a program, 

25 project, or activity provided by a grant under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jan 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6973.IH H6973

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1 section (a) may not exceed 75 percent, unless the 

2 Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the re3 quirement under this subsection of a non-Federal 

4 contribution to the costs of a program, project, or 

5 activity. In relation to a grant for a period exceeding 

6 1 year for hiring or rehiring or increasing the com7 pensation of career law enforcement officers, the 

8 Federal share shall decrease from year to year for 

9 up to 5 years, looking toward the continuation of the 

10 increased hiring and compensation level using State 

11 or local sources of funding following the conclusion 

12 of Federal support, as provided in an approved plan 

13 pursuant to section 1702(c)(8). 

14 ‘‘(2) REDUCED NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBU15 TION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The portion of the 

17 costs of a program, project, or activity provided 

18 by a grant under subsection (a), in any State 

19 or unit of local government described in sub20 paragraph (B), may not exceed— 

21 ‘‘(i) 90 percent for the first year of 

22 the grant; 

23 ‘‘(ii) 85 percent for the second year of 

24 the grant; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) 80 percent for the third year of 

2 the grant; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) 75 percent for the fourth year of 

4 the grant. 

5 ‘‘(B) STATE OR UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERN6 MENT DESCRIBED.—A State or unit of local 

7 government described in this subparagraph is 

8 any State or unit of local government— 

9 ‘‘(i) with a median household income 

10 that is not more than 80 percent of the na11 tional median household income; 

12 ‘‘(ii) that does not provide a single 

13 employee with compensation that is more 

14 than double the national median household 

15 income; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) that is a rural State, rural com17 munity, or rural area as such terms are 

18 defined in section 40002(a) of the Violent 

19 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 

20 of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)(26)(A)) is 

21 amended.’’. 

22 (d) LIMITATION ON HIRING AND REHIRING.—Sec23 tion 1704(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

24 Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10384(c)) is amended 

25 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(c) HIRING AND COMPENSATION COST.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funding provided under 

3 this part for hiring or rehiring a career law enforce4 ment officer may not exceed $75,000, unless the At5 torney General grants a waiver from this limitation. 

6 ‘‘(2) REDUCED CONTRIBUTION.—In the case of 

7 a jurisdiction that qualifies for a reduced contribu8 tion under section 1701(g)(2), a career law enforce9 ment officer who is hired or rehired or whose com10 pensation is increased under this part may not re11 ceive from any funding provided under this part 

12 compensation exceeding 80 percent of the national 

13 median household income for work performed as an 

14 on-duty law enforcement officer.’’. 

15 (e) ALLOCATION OF COPS GRANT PROGRAM

16 FUNDS.—Section 1001(a)(11)(B) of title I of the Omni17 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

18 U.S.C. 10261(a)(11)(B)) is amended by inserting after 

19 the second sentence the following: ‘‘If funds remain avail20 able for obligation under this subparagraph in a fiscal year 

21 after all eligible and qualified grantees have been funded 

22 from the 50 percent of funding allocated for grants pursu23 ant to applications submitted by units of local government 

24 or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over areas 

25 with populations exceeding 150,000 or by public and priVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:59 Jan 18, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6973.IH H6973

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1 vate entities that serve areas with populations exceeding 

2 150,000, the remaining funds may be used for grants pur3 suant to applications submitted by units of local govern4 ment or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over 

5 areas with populations 150,000 or less or by public and 

6 private entities that serve areas with populations 150,000 

7 or less.’’. 

8 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1709 of title I of the Om9 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

10 U.S.C. 10389) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(8) ‘Attorney General’ means the Attorney 

13 General, acting through the COPS Director.’’. 

14 SEC. 5. COPS OFFICE. 

15 Section 1701(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con16 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(a)) 

17 is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(a) THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLIC19 ING SERVICES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is within the Depart21 ment of Justice, under the general authority of the 

22 Attorney General, a separate and distinct office to 

23 be known as the Office of Community Oriented Po24 licing Services (referred to in this subsection as the 

25 ‘COPS Office’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The COPS Office shall be 

2 headed by a Director who shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Attorney Gen4 eral; and 

5 ‘‘(B) have final authority over grants 

6 under this part and any other grants, coopera7 tive agreements, and contracts awarded by the 

8 COPS Office.’’. 

9 SEC. 6. GAO REPORT. 

10 In fiscal year 2029 and fiscal year 2034, the Comp11 troller General of the United States, after consultation 

12 with the Attorney General, shall submit to Congress and 

13 make publicly available a report that provides national 

14 averages and averages for department characteristic sub15 groups including at least size of police and sheriff depart16 ments and urban or rural designations by jurisdiction de17 tailing— 

18 (1) a measure of how representative the exist19 ing workforce of the average police and sheriff de20 partments is to the community served based on de21 mographics which include at least gender and race; 

22 (2) the percentage of those employed by the av23 erage police and sheriff departments that live in the 

24 jurisdiction in which they are currently employed; 


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1 (3) a measure of average officer pay in police 

2 and sheriff departments compared to cost of living 

3 in the jurisdiction in which they are currently em4 ployed; and 

5 (4) legislative and administrative recommenda6 tions for improving the percentage of officers that 

7 live in the jurisdiction in which they are employed 

8 and how representative the law enforcement agency 

9 is of the community it serves. 

Æ 


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