II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2904 

To prevent the militarization of Federal, State, and local law enforcement 

by Federal excess property transfers and grant programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 

Mr. COBURN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To prevent the militarization of Federal, State, and local 

law enforcement by Federal excess property transfers 

and grant programs. 

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 ‘‘Stop Militarizing Law 

5 Enforcement Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFER OF DE7 PARTMENT OF DEFENSE PERSONAL PROP8 ERTY TO FEDERAL AND STATE LAW EN9 FORCEMENT AGENCIES. 

10 (a) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 2576a of title 10, 

2 United States Code, is amended— 

3 (A) in subsection (a)— 

4 (i) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (I) in the matter preceding sub6 paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub7 section (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘the provi8 sions of this section’’; and 

9 (II) in subparagraph (A), by 

10 striking ‘‘, including counter-drug and 

11 counterterrorism activities’’; and 

12 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and 

13 the Director of National Drug Control Pol14 icy’’; 

15 (B) in subsection (b)— 

16 (i) in paragraph (3), by striking 

17 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

18 (ii) in paragraph (4), by striking the 

19 period and inserting a semicolon; and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new paragraphs: 

22 ‘‘(5) the recipient certifies to the Department of 

23 Defense that it has the personnel and technical ca24 pacity, including training, to operate the property; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(6) the recipient certifies to the Department of 

2 Defense that if the recipient determines that the 

3 property is surplus to the needs of the recipient, the 

4 recipient will return the property to the Department 

5 of Defense.’’; 

6 (C) by striking subsection (d); and 

7 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

8 subsections: 

9 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFERS.—The Secretary 

10 of Defense may not transfer under this section any prop11 erty as follows: 

12 ‘‘(1) Weapons, weapon parts, and weapon com13 ponents, including camouflage and deception equip14 ment, and optical sights. 

15 ‘‘(2) Weapon system specific vehicular acces16 sories. 

17 ‘‘(3) Demolition materials. 

18 ‘‘(4) Explosive ordinance. 

19 ‘‘(5) Night vision equipment. 

20 ‘‘(6) Tactical clothing, including uniform cloth21 ing and footwear items, special purpose clothing 

22 items, and specialized flight clothing and accessories. 

23 ‘‘(7) Drones. 


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1 ‘‘(8) Combat, assault, and tactical vehicles, in2 cluding Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) 

3 vehicles. 

4 ‘‘(9) Training aids and devices. 

5 ‘‘(e) APPROVAL BY LAW REQUIRED FOR TRANSFER

6 OF PROPERTY NOT PREVIOUSLY TRANSFERRABLE.—(1) 

7 In the event the Secretary of Defense proposes to make 

8 available for transfer under this section any property of 

9 the Department of Defense not previously made available 

10 for transfer under this section, the Secretary shall submit 

11 to the appropriate committees of Congress a report setting 

12 forth the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) A description of the property proposed to 

14 be made available for transfer. 

15 ‘‘(B) A description of the conditions, if any, to 

16 be imposed on use of the property after transfer. 

17 ‘‘(C) A certification that transfer of the prop18 erty would not violate a provision of this section or 

19 any other provision of law. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may not transfer any property 

21 covered by a report under this subsection unless author22 ized by a law enacted by Congress after the date of the 

23 receipt of the report by Congress. 

24 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION ACCOUNTING FOR

25 TRANSFERRED PROPERTY.—(1) The Secretary of Defense 


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1 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress 

2 each year a certification in writing that each recipient to 

3 which the Secretary has transferred property under this 

4 section during the preceding fiscal year— 

5 ‘‘(A) has provided to the Secretary documenta6 tion accounting for all property the Secretary has 

7 previously transferred to such recipient under this 

8 section; and 

9 ‘‘(B) has complied with paragraphs (5) and (6) 

10 of subsection (b) with respect to the property so 

11 transferred during such fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary cannot provide a certification 

13 under paragraph (1) for a recipient, the Secretary may 

14 not transfer additional property to such recipient under 

15 this section, effective as of the date on which the Secretary 

16 would otherwise make the certification under this sub17 section, and such recipient shall be suspended or termi18 nated from further receipt of property under this section. 

19 ‘‘(g) CONDITIONS FOR EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.— 

20 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, amounts au21 thorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available 

22 for any fiscal year may not be obligated or expended to 

23 carry out this section unless the Secretary submits to the 

24 appropriate committees of Congress a certification that for 

25 the preceding fiscal year that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) each recipient agency that has received 

2 property under this section has— 

3 ‘‘(A) demonstrated 100 percent account4 ability for all such property, in accordance with 

5 paragraph (2) or (3), as applicable; or 

6 ‘‘(B) been suspended or terminated from 

7 the program pursuant to paragraph (4); 

8 ‘‘(2) with respect to each non-Federal agency 

9 that has received property under this section, the 

10 State Coordinator responsible for each such agency 

11 has verified that the State Coordinator or an agent 

12 of the State Coordinator has conducted an in-person 

13 inventory of the property transferred to the agency 

14 and that 100 percent of such property was ac15 counted for during the inventory or that the agency 

16 has been suspended or terminated from the program 

17 pursuant to paragraph (4); 

18 ‘‘(3) with respect to each Federal agency that 

19 has received property under this section, the Sec20 retary of Defense or an agent of the Secretary has 

21 conducted an in-person inventory of the property 

22 transferred to the agency and that 100 percent of 

23 such property was accounted for during the inven24 tory or that the agency has been suspended or terVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:00 Oct 02, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2904.IS S2904

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1 minated from the program pursuant to paragraph 

2 (4); 

3 ‘‘(4) the eligibility of any agency that has re4 ceived property under this section for which 100 per5 cent of the equipment was not accounted for during 

6 an inventory described in paragraph (2) or (3), as 

7 applicable, to receive property transferred under this 

8 section has been suspended or terminated; and 

9 ‘‘(5) each State Coordinator has certified, for 

10 each non-Federal agency located in the State for 

11 which the State Coordinator is responsible that— 

12 ‘‘(A) the agency has complied with all re13 quirements under this section; or 

14 ‘‘(B) the eligibility of the agency to receive 

15 property transferred under this section has been 

16 suspended or terminated; and 

17 ‘‘(6) the Secretary of Defense has certified, for 

18 each Federal agency that has received property 

19 under this section that— 

20 ‘‘(A) the agency has complied with all re21 quirements under this section; or 

22 ‘‘(B) the eligibility of the agency to receive 

23 property transferred under this section has been 

24 suspended or terminated. 


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1 ‘‘(h) WEBSITE.—The Defense Logistics Agency shall 

2 maintain, and update on a quarterly basis, an Internet 

3 website on which the following information shall be made 

4 publicly available in a searchable format: 

5 ‘‘(1) A description of each transfer made under 

6 this section, including transfers made before the 

7 date of the enactment of the Stop Militarizing Law 

8 Enforcement Act, set forth by State, county, and re9 cipient agency, and including item name, item type, 

10 item model, and quantity. 

11 ‘‘(2) A list of all property transferred under 

12 this section that is not accounted for by the Defense 

13 Logistics Agency, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) the name of the State, county, and 

15 recipient agency; 

16 ‘‘(B) the item name, item type, and item 

17 model; 

18 ‘‘(C) the date on which such property be19 came unaccounted for by the Defense Logistics 

20 Agency; and 

21 ‘‘(D) the current status of such item. 

22 ‘‘(3) A list of each agency suspended or termi23 nated from further receipt of property under this 

24 section, including State, county, and agency, and the 


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1 reason for and duration of such suspension or termi2 nation. 

3 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) The term ‘appropriate committees of Con5 gress’ means— 

6 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Armed Services 

7 and the Committee on Homeland Security and 

8 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Armed Services 

10 and the Committee on Oversight and Govern11 ment Reform of the House of Representatives. 

12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘agent of a State Coordinator’ 

13 means any individual to whom a State Coordinator 

14 formally delegates responsibilities for the duties of 

15 the State Coordinator to conduct inventories de16 scribed in subsection (g)(2). 

17 ‘‘(3) The term ‘State Coordinator’, with respect 

18 to a State, means the individual appointed by the 

19 governor of the State to maintain property account20 ability records and oversee property use by the 

21 State.’’. 

22 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

23 by this subsection shall take effect on the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) RETURN OF PROPERTY TO DEPARTMENT OF DE2 FENSE.—Not later than one year after the date of the en3 actment of this Act, each Federal or State agency to which 

4 property described by subsection (d) of section 2576a of 

5 title 10, United States Code (as added by subsection 

6 (a)(1) of this section), was transferred before the date of 

7 the enactment of this Act shall return such property to 

8 the Defense Logistics Agency on behalf of the Department 

9 of Defense. 

10 SEC. 3. USE OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 

11 PREPAREDNESS GRANT FUNDS. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

13 (1) the term ‘‘Agency’’ means the Federal 

14 Emergency Management Agency; and 

15 (2) the term ‘‘preparedness grant program’’ in16 cludes— 

17 (A) the Urban Area Security Initiative au18 thorized under section 2003 of the Homeland 

19 Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 604); 

20 (B) the State Homeland Security Grant 

21 Program authorized under section 2004 of the 

22 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 605); 

23 (C) the Port Security Grant Program au24 thorized under section 70107 of title 46, United 

25 States Code; and 


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1 (D) any other non-disaster preparedness 

2 grant program of the Agency. 

3 (b) LIMITATION.—The Agency may not permit 

4 awards under a preparedness grant program— 

5 (1) to be used to buy, maintain, or alter— 

6 (A) tactical law enforcement protective 

7 equipment, including— 

8 (i) ballistic helmets; 

9 (ii) ballistic shields; 

10 (iii) battle dress uniforms, coveralls, 

11 and jumpsuits worn during tactical oper12 ations, boots, or other specialized tactical 

13 clothing or footwear; and 

14 (iv) tactical protective padding; 

15 (B) explosive entry equipment; 

16 (C) portable or transportable explosive 

17 magazines; 

18 (D) head and face protection equipment, 

19 other than those to be used by certified bomb 

20 technicians; 

21 (E) robot and remotely piloted vehicles, in22 cluding upgrades, attachments or tools for ro23 bots and remotely piloted vehicles; 


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1 (F) canines (other than bomb-sniffing ca2 nines for agencies with certified bomb techni3 cians); 

4 (G) tactical or armored vehicles; 

5 (H) law enforcement surveillance equip6 ment; 

7 (I) long range hailing and warning devices; 

8 or 

9 (J) tactical entry equipment; or 

10 (2) to be used for, or to deploy or obtain train11 ing in the use or deployment of— 

12 (A) robots and remotely piloted vehicles; 

13 (B) canines (other than bomb-sniffing ca14 nines for agencies with certified bomb techni15 cians); 

16 (C) explosive entry equipment; 

17 (D) law enforcement surveillance equip18 ment; or 

19 (E) tactical operations. 

20 (c) REVIEW OF PRIOR RECEIPT OF PROPERTY BE21 FORE AWARD.—In making an award under a prepared22 ness grant program, the Agency shall— 

23 (1) determine whether the awardee has already 

24 received, and still retains, property from the Depart25 ment of Defense pursuant to section 2576a of title 


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1 10, United States Code, including through review of 

2 the website maintained by the Defense Logistics 

3 Agency pursuant to subsection (h) of such section 

4 (as added by section 2(a)(1) of this Act); and 

5 (2) require that the award may not be used by 

6 the awardee to procure or obtain property deter7 mined to be retained by the awardee pursuant to 

8 paragraph (1). 

9 (d) USE OF GRANT PROGRAM FUNDS FOR REQUIRED

10 RETURN OF PROPERTY TO DOD.—Notwithstanding any 

11 other provision of law, the use of funds by a State or local 

12 agency to return to the Department of Defense property 

13 transferred to such State or local agency pursuant to sec14 tion 2676a of title 10, United States Code, as such return 

15 is required by section 2(b) of this Act, shall be an allow16 able use of preparedness grant program funds by such 

17 agency. 

18 SEC. 4. USE OF EDWARD BYRNE MEMORIAL JUSTICE AS19 SISTANCE GRANT FUNDS. 

20 (a) LIMITATION.—Section 501(d) of title I of the 

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

22 U.S.C. 3751(d)) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(3) The purchase, maintenance, alteration, or 

25 operation of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) lethal weapons; or 

2 ‘‘(B) less-lethal weapons.’’. 

3 (b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS FOR REQUIRED RETURN

4 OF PROPERTY TO DOD.—Notwithstanding any other pro5 vision of law, the use of funds by a State agency or unit 

6 of local government to return to the Department of De7 fense property transferred to such agency or unit of local 

8 government pursuant to section 2676a of title 10, United 

9 States Code, as such return is required by section 2(b) 

10 of this Act, shall be an allowable use of grant amounts 

11 under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance 

12 Grant Program. 

Æ 


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