I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5858 

To provide for a reduction in the amount that may be awarded to a unit 

of local government under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus 

Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) 

for a unit of local government that funds an amount that is greater 

than 18 percent of its operating budget using revenue generated from 

collecting fines and other fees related to violations of traffic laws, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 11, 2014 

Ms. JACKSON LEE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for a reduction in the amount that may be 

awarded to a unit of local government under subpart 

1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) 

for a unit of local government that funds an amount 

that is greater than 18 percent of its operating budget 

using revenue generated from collecting fines and other 

fees related to violations of traffic laws, 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, 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5858 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Building Bridges and 

3 Transforming Resentment and Unfairness to Support and 

4 Trust for Municipal Law Enforcement Act of 2014’’ or 

5 the ‘‘Build TRUST Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The growing trend of local units of govern9 ment using traffic fines and traffic court fees and 

10 costs as revenue generators promotes unfair, exces11 sive targeting of citizens by law enforcement agents, 

12 infringes on civil liberties, and promotes reliance on 

13 unpredictable revenue sources. 

14 (2) The growing trend of local units of govern15 ment using traffic fines and traffic court fees and 

16 costs as revenue generators has the potential to 

17 breed public cynicism and distrust of local law en18 forcement agencies, and to lessen public confidence 

19 that the laws are being enforced impartially and the 

20 criminal justice system is administered equally. 

21 SEC. 3. REDUCTION IN GRANT FUNDING FOR UNITS OF 

22 LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 

23 (a) COLLECTION OF FINES FOR VIOLATIONS OF

24 TRAFFIC LAWS.—Except as provided in subsection (b) or 

25 section 4, a unit of local government which, during the 

26 previous 3 fiscal years, funded an amount that, on averVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Dec 20, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5858.IH H5858

SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5858 IH

1 age, was greater than 18 percent of its operating budget 

2 using revenue generated from collecting fines and other 

3 fees related to violations of traffic laws, shall, in the case 

4 of a unit of local government receiving grant funds under 

5 subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con6 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et 

7 seq.), receive only 25 percent of the grant award that 

8 would have otherwise been awarded to that unit of local 

9 government under such subpart. 

10 (b) DISPROPORTIONATE RACIAL COMPOSITION OF

11 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.—In the case of a unit of 

12 local government described in subsection (a) for which, 

13 during the previous fiscal year, the percentage of individ14 uals who identify as a race who were employees of the 

15 law enforcement agency for that unit of local government, 

16 and the percentage of individuals who identify as that race 

17 who live in the jurisdiction which that law enforcement 

18 agency serves, differs by greater than 30 percent, the unit 

19 of local government shall receive only 5 percent of the 

20 grant award that would have otherwise been awarded to 

21 that unit of local government under subpart 1 of part E 

22 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

23 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.). 

24 (c) OBLIGATION OF STATES.—A State that receives 

25 a grant award under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5858 IH

1 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 

2 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), which does not reduce a subgrant 

3 award made under such grant to a unit of local govern4 ment in its jurisdiction in accordance with this section, 

5 shall, in the succeeding fiscal year, receive only 50 percent 

6 of the grant award that would have otherwise been award7 ed to that State under such subpart. 

8 (d) REALLOCATION.—Any funds withheld from a 

9 State or unit of local government from a direct grant 

10 award by the Attorney General shall be reallocated in ac11 cordance with subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omni12 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 

13 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.). 

14 SEC. 4. EXEMPTIONS. 

15 The provisions of section 3 shall not apply in the case 

16 of any unit of local government— 

17 (1) that serves a population of less than 15,000 

18 people and so certifies to the Attorney General; or 

19 (2) to which the Attorney General has granted 

20 a waiver under section 5. 

21 SEC. 5. WAIVERS. 

22 The Attorney General may, in his or her discretion, 

23 grant a waiver under this section to any unit of local gov24 ernment for good cause shown, and shall consider the fol25 lowing factors: 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5858 IH

1 (1) Whether, resulting from allegations of ex2 cessive uses of force, false arrests, improper searches 

3 and seizures, failures to discipline officers suffi4 ciently, or failure to supervise officers, the unit of 

5 local government is subject to a consent decree or 

6 Memorandum of Understanding, or the subject of an 

7 investigation by the Special Litigation Section of the 

8 Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. 

9 (2) Whether the unit of local government has 

10 taken affirmative action to ensure that adequate 

11 practices and procedures are in place to increase 

12 public trust and confidence in the impartial and eq13 uitable administration of justice, including— 

14 (A) whether incidents of officer involved 

15 shootings and uses of excessive force are inves16 tigated by a Special Prosecutor appointed by 

17 the Governor, State Attorney General, or Pre18 siding Judge of the local court of jurisdiction; 

19 (B) whether incidents of officer involved 

20 shootings and uses of excessive force are adju21 dicated in a public proceeding rather than the 

22 grand jury process. 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5858 IH

1 (3) Whether the minority community is equi2 tably represented in the municipality’s legislative 

3 body and executive departments. 

Æ 


SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with BILLS