S. 2413

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

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

the procedures and conditions for the award of matching grants for the purchase

of armor vests.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bulletproof Vest Partnership

Grant Act of 2000’’.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) the number of law enforcement officers who are killed

in the line of duty would significantly decrease if every law

enforcement officer in the United States had the protection

of an armor vest;

(2) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, 709 law

enforcement officers in the United States were killed in the

line of duty;

(3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the

risk of fatality to law enforcement officers while not wearing

an armor vest is 14 times higher than for officers wearing

an armor vest;

(4) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, bulletresistant materials helped save the lives of more than 2,000

law enforcement officers in the United States; and

(5) the Executive Committee for Indian Country Law

Enforcement Improvements reports that violent crime in Indian

country has risen sharply, despite a decrease in the national

crime rate, and has concluded that there is a ‘‘public safety

crisis in Indian country’’.

SEC. 3. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

ARMOR VESTS.

(a) MATCHING FUNDS.—Section 2501(f) of part Y of title I of

the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.

3796ll(f)) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘The portion’’ and inserting the following:

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The portion’’;

(2) by striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and all that follows through

the period at the end of the first sentence and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)—

‘‘(A) may not exceed 50 percent; and

‘‘(B) shall equal 50 percent, if—
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‘‘(i) such grant is to a unit of local government

with fewer than 100,000 residents;

‘‘(ii) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance determines that the quantity of vests to be purchased with such grant is reasonable; and

‘‘(iii) such portion does not cause such grant to

violate the requirements of subsection (e).’’; and

(3) by striking ‘‘Any funds’’ and inserting the following:

‘‘(2) INDIAN ASSISTANCE.—Any funds’’.

(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Section 2501(g) of part Y of title

I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968

(42 U.S.C. 3796ll(g)) is amended to read as follows:

‘‘(g) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Funds available under this part

shall be awarded, without regard to subsection (c), to each qualifying

unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents. Any

remaining funds available under this part shall be awarded to

other qualifying applicants.’’.

(c) APPLICATIONS.—Section 2502 of part Y of title I of the

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.

3796ll–1) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS IN CONJUNCTION WITH PURCHASES.—If an

application under this section is submitted in conjunction with

a transaction for the purchase of armor vests, grant amounts under

this section may not be used to fund any portion of that purchase

unless, before the application is submitted, the applicant—

‘‘(1) receives clear and conspicuous notice that receipt of

the grant amounts requested in the application is uncertain;

and

‘‘(2) expressly assumes the obligation to carry out the transaction, regardless of whether such amounts are received.’’.

(d) DEFINITION OF ARMOR VEST.—Section 2503(1) of part Y

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

of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796ll–2(1)) is amended—

(1) by striking ‘‘means body armor’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘means—

‘‘(A) body armor’’;

(2) by adding ‘‘or’’ at the end; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(B) body armor that has been tested through the

voluntary compliance testing program, and found to meet

or exceed the requirements of NIJ Standard 0115.00, or

any revision of such standard;’’.

(e) INTERIM DEFINITION OF ARMOR VEST.—For purposes of part

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

of 1968, as amended by this Act, the meaning of the term ‘‘armor

vest’’ (as defined in section 2503 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 3796ll–

2)) shall, until the date on which a final NIJ Standard 0115.00

is first fully approved and implemented, also include body armor

which has been found to meet or exceed the requirements for

protection against stabbing established by the State in which the

grantee is located.
S. 2413—3

(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 1001(a)(23) of

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

1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)(23)) is amended by inserting before the

period at the end the following: ‘‘, and $50,000,000 for each of

fiscal years 2002 through 2004’’.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.