I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1807

To establish a matching grant program to help State and local jurisdictions

purchase bullet resistant equipment for use by law enforcement departments.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 13, 1999

Mr. MCINNIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish a matching grant program to help State and

local jurisdictions purchase bullet resistant equipment

for use by law enforcement departments.

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 ‘‘Officer Dale Claxton

5 Bullet Resistant Police Protective Equipment Act of

6 1999’’.

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

9 (1) Officer Dale Claxton of the Cortez, Colo10 rado, Police Department was shot and killed by bul-
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1 lets that passed through the windshield of his police

2 car after he stopped a stolen truck, and his life may

3 have been saved if his police car had been equipped

4 with bullet resistant equipment;

5 (2) the number of law enforcement officers who

6 are killed in the line of duty would significantly de7 crease if every law enforcement officer in the United

8 States had access to additional bullet resistant

9 equipment;

10 (3) between 1985 and 1994, 709 law enforce11 ment officers in the United States were killed by a

12 felon in the line of duty;

13 (4) the Federal Bureau of Investigation esti14 mates that the risk of fatality to a law enforcement

15 officer who is not wearing bullet resistant equip16 ment, such as an armor vest, is 14 times higher

17 than for an officer wearing an armor vest;

18 (5) between 1985 and 1994, bullet-resistant

19 materials helped save the lives of more than 2,000

20 law enforcement officers in the United States;

21 (6) the Executive Committee for Indian Coun22 try Law Enforcement Improvements reports that

23 violent crime in Indian country has risen sharply de24 spite a decrease in the national crime rate, and has
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1 concluded that there is a ‘‘public safety crisis in In2 dian country’’.

3 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to save

4 lives of law enforcement officers by helping State, local,

5 and tribal law enforcement agencies provide officers with

6 bullet resistant equipment and video cameras.

7 SEC. 3. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCE8 MENT BULLET RESISTANT EQUIPMENT.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part Y of title I of the Omnibus

10 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended—

11 (1) by striking the part designation and part

12 heading and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘PART Y—MATCHING GRANT PROGRAMS

14 FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

15 ‘‘Subpart A—Grant Program For Armor

16 Vests’’;

17 (2) by striking ‘‘this part’’ each place that term

18 appears and inserting ‘‘this subpart’’; and

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

20 ‘‘Subpart B—Grant Program For Bullet

21 Resistant Equipment

22 ‘‘SEC. 2511. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of

24 Justice Assistance is authorized to make grants to

25 States, units of local government, and Indian tribes to
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1 purchase bullet resistant equipment for use by State,

2 local, and tribal law enforcement officers.

3 ‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this

4 section shall be—

5 ‘‘(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of

6 local government, or Indian tribe; and

7 ‘‘(2) used for the purchase of bullet resistant

8 equipment for law enforcement officers in the juris9 diction of the grantee.

10 ‘‘(c) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding

11 grants under this subpart, the Director of the Bureau of

12 Justice Assistance may give preferential consideration, if

13 feasible, to an application from a jurisdiction that—

14 ‘‘(1) has the greatest need for bullet resistant

15 equipment based on the percentage of law enforce16 ment officers in the department who do not have ac17 cess to a vest;

18 ‘‘(2) has a violent crime rate at or above the

19 national average as determined by the Federal Bu20 reau of Investigation; or

21 ‘‘(3) has not received a block grant under the

22 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program de23 scribed under the heading ‘Violent Crime Reduction

24 Programs, State and Local Law Enforcement As25 sistance’ of the Departments of Commerce, Justice,
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1 and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Ap2 propriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105–119).

3 ‘‘(d) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Unless all eligible applica4 tions submitted by any State or unit of local government

5 within such State for a grant under this section have been

6 funded, such State, together with grantees within the

7 State (other than Indian tribes), shall be allocated in each

8 fiscal year under this section not less than 0.50 percent

9 of the total amount appropriated in the fiscal year for

10 grants pursuant to this section except that the United

11 States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the

12 Northern Mariana Islands shall each be allocated .25 per13 cent.

14 ‘‘(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A qualifying State, unit of

15 local government, or Indian tribe may not receive more

16 than 5 percent of the total amount appropriated in each

17 fiscal year for grants under this section, except that a

18 State, together with the grantees within the State may not

19 receive more than 20 percent of the total amount appro20 priated in each fiscal year for grants under this section.

21 ‘‘(f) MATCHING FUNDS.—The portion of the costs of

22 a program provided by a grant under subsection (a) may

23 not exceed 50 percent. Any funds appropriated by Con24 gress for the activities of any agency of an Indian tribal

25 government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing
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1 law enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be

2 used to provide the non-Federal share of a matching re3 quirement funded under this subsection.

4 ‘‘(g) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—At least half of the

5 funds available under this subpart shall be awarded to

6 units of local government with fewer than 100,000 resi7 dents.

8 ‘‘SEC. 2512. APPLICATIONS.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To request a grant under this

10 subpart, the chief executive of a State, unit of local gov11 ernment, or Indian tribe shall submit an application to

12 the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance in such

13 form and containing such information as the Director may

14 reasonably require.

15 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after

16 the date of the enactment of this subpart, the Director

17 of the Bureau of Justice Assistance shall promulgate regu18 lations to implement this section (including the informa19 tion that must be included and the requirements that the

20 States, units of local government, and Indian tribes must

21 meet) in submitting the applications required under this

22 section.

23 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—A unit of local government that

24 receives funding under the Local Law Enforcement Block

25 Grant program (described under the heading ‘Violent
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1 Crime Reduction Programs, State and Local Law En2 forcement Assistance’ of the Departments of Commerce,

3 Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies

4 Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 104–119)) during

5 a fiscal year in which it submits an application under this

6 subpart shall not be eligible for a grant under this subpart

7 unless the chief executive officer of such unit of local gov8 ernment certifies and provides an explanation to the Di9 rector that the unit of local government considered or will

10 consider using funding received under the block grant pro11 gram for any or all of the costs relating to the purchase

12 of bullet resistant equipment, but did not, or does not ex13 pect to use such funds for such purpose.

14 ‘‘SEC. 2513. DEFINITIONS.

15 ‘‘In this subpart—

16 ‘‘(1) the term ‘bullet resistant equipment’

17 means windshield glass, car panels, shields, and pro18 tective gear;

19 ‘‘(2) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50

20 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth

21 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands,

22 American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana

23 Islands;

24 ‘‘(3) the term ‘unit of local government’ means

25 a county, municipality, town, township, village, par-
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1 ish, borough, or other unit of general government

2 below the State level;

3 (4) the term ‘Indian tribe’ has the same mean4 ing as in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determina5 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.

6 450b(e)); and

7 ‘‘(5) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means

8 any officer, agent, or employee of a State, unit of

9 local government, or Indian tribe authorized by law

10 or by a government agency to engage in or supervise

11 the prevention, detection, or investigation of any vio12 lation of criminal law, or authorized by law to super13 vise sentenced criminal offenders.

14 ‘‘Subpart C—Grant Program For Video Cameras

15 ‘‘SEC. 2521. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of

17 Justice Assistance is authorized to make grants to States,

18 units of local government, and Indian tribes to purchase

19 video cameras for use by State, local, and tribal law en20 forcement agencies in law enforcement vehicles.

21 ‘‘(b) USES OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this

22 section shall be—

23 ‘‘(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of

24 local government, or Indian tribe; and
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1 ‘‘(2) used for the purchase of video cameras for

2 law enforcement vehicles in the jurisdiction of the

3 grantee.

4 ‘‘(c) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding

5 grants under this subpart, the Director of the Bureau of

6 Justice Assistance may give preferential consideration, if

7 feasible, to an application from a jurisdiction that—

8 ‘‘(1) has the greatest need for video cameras,

9 based on the percentage of law enforcement officers

10 in the department do not have access to a law en11 forcement vehicle equipped with a video camera;

12 ‘‘(2) has a violent crime rate at or above the

13 national average as determined by the Federal Bu14 reau of Investigation; or

15 ‘‘(3) has not received a block grant under the

16 Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program de17 scribed under the heading ‘Violent Crime Reduction

18 Programs, State and Local Law Enforcement As19 sistance’ of the Departments of Commerce, Justice,

20 and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Ap21 propriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105–119).

22 ‘‘(d) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Unless all eligible applica23 tions submitted by any State or unit of local government

24 within such State for a grant under this section have been

25 funded, such State, together with grantees within the
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1 State (other than Indian tribes), shall be allocated in each

2 fiscal year under this section not less than 0.50 percent

3 of the total amount appropriated in the fiscal year for

4 grants pursuant to this section, except that the United

5 States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the

6 Northern Mariana Islands shall each be allocated 0.25

7 percent.

8 ‘‘(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A qualifying State, unit of

9 local government, or Indian tribe may not receive more

10 than 5 percent of the total amount appropriated in each

11 fiscal year for grants under this section, except that a

12 State, together with the grantees within the State may not

13 receive more than 20 percent of the total amount appro14 priated in each fiscal year for grants under this section.

15 ‘‘(f) MATCHING FUNDS.—The portion of the costs of

16 a program provided by a grant under subsection (a) may

17 not exceed 50 percent. Any funds appropriated by Con18 gress for the activities of any agency of an Indian tribal

19 government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing

20 law enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be

21 used to provide the non-Federal share of a matching re22 quirement funded under this subsection.

23 ‘‘(g) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—At least half of the

24 funds available under this subpart shall be awarded to
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1 units of local government with fewer than 100,000 resi2 dents.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2522. APPLICATIONS.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To request a grant under this

5 subpart, the chief executive of a State, unit of local gov6 ernment, or Indian tribe shall submit an application to

7 the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance in such

8 form and containing such information as the Director may

9 reasonably require.

10 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after

11 the date of the enactment of this subpart, the Director

12 of the Bureau of Justice Assistance shall promulgate regu13 lations to implement this section (including the informa14 tion that must be included and the requirements that the

15 States, units of local government, and Indian tribes must

16 meet) in submitting the applications required under this

17 section.

18 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—A unit of local government that

19 receives funding under the Local Law Enforcement Block

20 Grant program (described under the heading ‘Violent

21 Crime Reduction Programs, State and Local Law En22 forcement Assistance’ of the Departments of Commerce,

23 Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies

24 Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105–119)) during

25 a fiscal year in which it submits an application under this
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1 subpart shall not be eligible for a grant under this subpart

2 unless the chief executive officer of such unit of local gov3 ernment certifies and provides an explanation to the Di4 rector that the unit of local government considered or will

5 consider using funding received under the block grant pro6 gram for any or all of the costs relating to the purchase

7 of video cameras, but did not, or does not expect to use

8 such funds for such purpose.

9 ‘‘SEC. 2523. DEFINITIONS.

10 ‘‘In this subpart—

11 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Indian tribe’ has the same mean12 ing as in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determina13 tion and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.

14 450b(e));

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘law enforcement officer’ means

16 any officer, agent, or employee of a State, unit of

17 local government, or Indian tribe authorized by law

18 or by a government agency to engage in or supervise

19 the prevention, detection, or investigation of any vio20 lation of criminal law, or authorized by law to super21 vise sentenced criminal offenders;

22 ‘‘(3) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50

23 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth

24 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands,
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1 American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana

2 Islands; and

3 ‘‘(4) the term ‘unit of local government’ means

4 a county, municipality, town, township, village, par5 ish, borough, or other unit of general government

6 below the State level.’’.

7 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

8 1001(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets

9 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)) is amended by striking

10 paragraph (23) and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘(23) There are authorized to be appropriated to

12 carry out part Y—

13 ‘‘(A) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

14 through 2002 for grants under subpart A;

15 ‘‘(B) $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

16 through 2002 for grants under subpart B; and

17 ‘‘(C) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

18 through 2002 for grants under subpart C.’’.

19 SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

20 In the case of any equipment or products that may

21 be authorized to be purchased with financial assistance

22 provided using funds appropriated or otherwise made

23 available by this Act, it is the sense of the Congress that

24 entities receiving the assistance should, in expending the
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1 assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and

2 products.

3 SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT.

4 Section 202 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control

5 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3722) is amend6 ed by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘(e) BULLET RESISTANT TECHNOLOGY DEVELOP8 MENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Institute is authorized

10 to—

11 ‘‘(A) conduct research and otherwise work

12 to develop new bullet resistant technologies (i.e.,

13 acrylic, polymers, aluminized material, and

14 transparent ceramics) for use in police equip15 ment (including windshield glass, car panels,

16 shields, and protective gear);

17 ‘‘(B) inventory bullet resistant technologies

18 used in the private sector, in surplus military

19 property, and by foreign countries;

20 ‘‘(C) promulgate relevant standards for,

21 and conduct technical and operational testing

22 and evaluation of, bullet resistant technology

23 and equipment, and otherwise facilitate the use

24 of that technology in police equipment.
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1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this subsection $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years

4 2000 through 2002.’’.

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