II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4287 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19 (legislative day, MAY 17), 2022 

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. MURKOWSKI, and Mr. COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and 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 Parity Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—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 recruitment practices can help law 

13 enforcement agencies engender trust, develop good 

14 relations with their communities, and ensure that 

15 the officers they hire can best serve those commu16 nities. Recruitment efforts should start in the com17 munity, and law enforcement agencies should con18 sider developing youth programs to attract younger 

19 generations. This could include Explorer programs, 

20 internships through local schools, cadet academies, 

21 university partnerships, and youth mentorship pro22 grams that foster relationships between young adults 

23 and departments. Not only do these programs de24 velop enthusiasm for a law enforcement career, but 


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1 they can also build relationships between law en2 forcement agencies and the communities they serve. 

3 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con4 gress that the Office of Community Oriented Policing 

5 Services (commonly known as the ‘‘COPS Office’’) of the 

6 Department of Justice is uniquely suited to empower local 

7 law enforcement agencies to fulfill recommendations re8 lated to law enforcement hiring practices, including agen9 cies being reflective of the communities they serve, both 

10 demographically and in values and vision, and possessing 

11 the mindset and skills needed to engage with the commu12 nity. 

13 SEC. 3. RURAL COMMUNITY ACCESS TO COPS GRANTS. 

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

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

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

17 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

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

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol20 lowing: 

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

22 government that has a median household income of 

23 less than 70 percent of the national median house24 hold income and qualifies for a reduced contribution 

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


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1 law enforcement officers to not more than 80 per2 cent of the national median household income;’’; and 

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

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

5 (22)’’. 

6 (b) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—Section 

7 1701(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 ‘‘(g) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), the portion of the costs of a program, 

18 project, or activity provided by a grant under sub19 section (a) may not exceed 75 percent, unless the 

20 Attorney General waives, wholly or in part, the re21 quirement under this subsection of a non-Federal 

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

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

24 1 year for hiring or rehiring or increasing the com25 pensation of career law enforcement officers, the 


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1 Federal share shall decrease from year to year for 

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

3 increased hiring and compensation level using State 

4 or local sources of funding following the conclusion 

5 of Federal support, as provided in an approved plan 

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

7 ‘‘(2) REDUCED NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBU8 TION.— 

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

10 costs of a program, project, or activity provided 

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

12 or unit of local government described in sub13 paragraph (B), may not exceed— 

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

15 the grant; 

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

17 the grant; 

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

19 the grant; or 

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

21 the grant. 

22 ‘‘(B) STATE OR UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERN23 MENT DESCRIBED.—A State or unit of local 

24 government described in this subparagraph is 

25 any State or unit of local government— 


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1 ‘‘(i) with a median household income 

2 that is not more than 80 percent of the na3 tional median household income; 

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

5 employee with compensation that is more 

6 than double the national median household 

7 income; and 

8 ‘‘(iii) that is a rural State, rural com9 munity, or rural area as such terms are 

10 defined in section 40002(a) of the Violent 

11 Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 

12 of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)).’’. 

13 (d) LIMITATION ON HIRING AND REHIRING.—Sec14 tion 1704(c) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 

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

16 to read as follows: 

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

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

19 this part for hiring or rehiring a career law enforce20 ment officer may not exceed $75,000, unless the At21 torney General grants a waiver from this limitation. 

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

23 a jurisdiction that has a median household income of 

24 less than 70 percent of the national median house25 hold income and qualifies for a reduced contribution 


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1 under section 1701(g)(2), a career law enforcement 

2 officer who is hired or rehired or whose compensa3 tion is increased under this part may not receive 

4 from any funding provided under this part com5 pensation exceeding 80 percent of the national me6 dian household income for work performed as an on7 duty law enforcement officer.’’. 

8 (e) ALLOCATION OF COPS GRANT PROGRAM

9 FUNDS.—Section 1001(a)(11)(B) of title I of the Omni10 bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

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

12 the second sentence the following: ‘‘If funds remain avail13 able for obligation under this subparagraph in a fiscal year 

14 after all eligible and qualified grantees have been funded 

15 from the 50 percent of funding allocated for grants pursu16 ant to applications submitted by units of local government 

17 or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over areas 

18 with populations exceeding 150,000 or by public and pri19 vate entities that serve areas with populations exceeding 

20 150,000, the remaining funds may be used for grants pur21 suant to applications submitted by units of local govern22 ment or law enforcement agencies having jurisdiction over 

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

24 private entities that serve areas with populations 150,000 

25 or less.’’. 


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1 (f) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1709 of title I of the Om2 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

3 U.S.C. 10389) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

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

6 General, acting through the Director of the Office of 

7 Community Oriented Policing Services.’’. 

8 SEC. 4. COPS OFFICE. 

9 Section 1701(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con10 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381(a)) 

11 is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING

13 SERVICES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.—There is 

15 within the Department of Justice, under the general 

16 authority of the Attorney General, a separate and 

17 distinct office to be known as the Office of Commu18 nity Oriented Policing Services (referred to in this 

19 subsection as the ‘COPS Office’). 

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

21 headed by a Director who shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Attorney Gen23 eral; and 

24 ‘‘(B) have final authority over grants 

25 under this part and any other grants, cooperaVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:43 May 31, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4287.IS S4287

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1 tive agreements, and contracts awarded by the 

2 COPS Office. 

3 ‘‘(3) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney 

4 General, acting through the Director, shall make 

5 grants to States, units of local government, Indian 

6 tribal governments, other public and private entities, 

7 and multi-jurisdictional or regional consortia for the 

8 purposes described in subsection (b).’’. 

9 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—In fiscal year 2026 and fiscal year 

11 2031, the Comptroller General of the United States, after 

12 consultation with the Attorney General, shall submit to 

13 Congress and make publicly available a report that pro14 vides the information described in subsection (b) using a 

15 broad cross-section of law enforcement agencies— 

16 (1) from various regions of the United States; 

17 (2) of different sizes; and 

18 (3) from rural, suburban, and urban jurisdic19 tions. 

20 (b) INFORMATION REQUIRED.—The information re21 ferred to in subsection (a) is— 

22 (1) a measure of how representative law en23 forcement officers are of the communities they serve 

24 based on demographics, including, at a minimum, 

25 gender and race; 


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1 (2) the percentage of law enforcement officers 

2 who live in the jurisdiction in which they are em3 ployed; 

4 (3) a measure of average law enforcement offi5 cer pay compared to cost of living in the jurisdiction 

6 in which the law enforcement officers are employed; 

7 and 

8 (4) legislative and administrative recommenda9 tions for improving— 

10 (A) the diversity of law enforcement agen11 cies, including officers, specifically in relation to 

12 the communities they serve; and 

13 (B) the number of officers who live in the 

14 jurisdiction in which they are employed. 

Æ 


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