I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8386 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 

provide for the eligibility of rural community response pilot programs 

for funding under the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 

Mr. LAMB (for himself and Mr. WEBER of Texas) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act of 1968 to provide for the eligibility of rural community response pilot programs for funding under the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program, 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 ‘‘Grants for Rural Ef5 forts to Address Treatment and Ensure Recovery in Com6 munities Act of 2020’’ or as the ‘‘GREATER Commu7 nities Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF RURAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE 

2 PILOT PROGRAMS FOR FUNDING UNDER THE 

3 COMPREHENSIVE OPIOID ABUSE GRANT PRO4 GRAM. 

5 Section 3021 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

6 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10701) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 

12 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(H) a pilot program for rural areas to im15 plement community response programs that 

16 focus on presenting alternatives to incarceration 

17 and reducing opioid overdose deaths, as de18 scribed in subsection (f).’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(f) RURAL PILOT PROGRAM.—The pilot program 

21 described under this subsection shall make grants to rural 

22 areas to implement community response programs to re23 duce opioid overdose deaths. Grants issued under this sub24 section shall be jointly operated by local law enforcement 

25 and public health agencies or public safety, public health, 

26 and behavioral health collaborations. A community reVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:43 Oct 21, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8386.IH H8386

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1 sponse program under this subsection shall identify gaps 

2 in community prevention, treatment, and recovery services 

3 for individuals who encounter the criminal justice system 

4 and shall establish treatment protocols to address identi5 fied shortcomings. The Attorney General, through the Of6 fice of Justice Programs, shall increase the amount pro7 vided as a grant under this section for a pilot program 

8 by no more than five percent for each of the two years 

9 following certification by the Attorney General of the sub10 mission of data by the rural area on the prescribing of 

11 schedules II, III, and IV controlled substances to a pre12 scription drug monitoring program, or any other central13 ized database administered by an authorized State agency, 

14 which includes tracking the dispensation of such sub15 stances, and providing for interoperability and data shar16 ing with each other such program (including an electronic 

17 health records system) in each other State, and with any 

18 interstate entity that shares information between such 

19 programs.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. PROVISION REGARDING CERTAIN FUNDING LEVEL 

21 FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES. 

22 Section 3024 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

23 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10704) is amend24 ed— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (2)(C) by striking the period 

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(3) provides that no less than 10 percent of 

7 grants issued pursuant to this part shall be awarded 

8 to rural areas.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. DEFINITION. 

10 Section 3025 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

11 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10705) is amend12 ed by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(9) The term ‘rural area’ have the meanings 

14 given such terms in section 343(a)(13)(A) of the 

15 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

16 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)).’’. 

Æ 


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