II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 962 

To extend the same Federal benefits to law enforcement officers serving 

private institutions of higher education and rail carriers that apply to 

law enforcement officers serving units of State and local government. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 15, 2015 

Mr. REED (for himself, Ms. AYOTTE, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. 

MARKEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To extend the same Federal benefits to law enforcement 

officers serving private institutions of higher education 

and rail carriers that apply to law enforcement officers 

serving units of State and local government. 

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 ‘‘Equity in Law En5 forcement Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LINE-OF-DUTY DEATH AND DISABILITY BENEFITS. 

2 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 1204(9) of title I of the 

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

4 U.S.C. 3796b(9)) is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 

8 at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

10 ‘‘(E) an individual who is— 

11 ‘‘(i) serving a private institution of 

12 higher education in an official capacity, 

13 with or without compensation, as a law en14 forcement officer; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) sworn, licensed, or certified 

16 under the laws of a State for the purposes 

17 of law enforcement (and trained to meet 

18 the training standards for law enforcement 

19 officers established by the relevant govern20 mental appointing authority); or 

21 ‘‘(F) a rail police officer who is— 

22 ‘‘(i) employed by a rail carrier; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) sworn, licensed, or certified 

24 under the laws of a State for the purposes 

25 of law enforcement (and trained to meet 

26 the training standards for law enforcement 


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1 officers established by the relevant govern2 mental appointing authority).’’. 

3 (b) APPLICABILITY OF AMENDMENTS.—The amend4 ments made by this section shall apply to a personal injury 

5 sustained in the line of duty by an individual described 

6 in subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 1204(9) of title I 

7 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

8 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796b(9)), as added by subsection (a), 

9 on or after April 15, 2013. 

10 SEC. 3. LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR VESTS. 

11 (a) GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 2501 of title I of the 

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

13 U.S.C. 3796ll) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘and Indian tribes’’ and in16 serting ‘‘Indian tribes, private institutions of 

17 higher education, and rail carriers’’; and 

18 (B) by inserting before the period at the 

19 end the following: ‘‘and law enforcement offi20 cers serving private institutions of higher edu21 cation and rail carriers who are sworn, licensed, 

22 or certified under the laws of a State for the 

23 purposes of law enforcement (and trained to 

24 meet the training standards for law enforceVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:45 Apr 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S962.IS S962

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1 ment officers established by the relevant gov2 ernmental appointing authority)’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘or Indian 

4 tribe’’ and inserting ‘‘Indian tribe, private institution 

5 of higher education, or rail carrier’’; and 

6 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘or Indian 

7 tribe’’ and inserting ‘‘Indian tribe, private institution 

8 of higher education, or rail carrier’’. 

9 (b) APPLICATIONS.—Section 2502 of title I of the 

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

11 U.S.C. 3796ll–1) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘or Indian 

13 tribe’’ and inserting ‘‘Indian tribe, private institution 

14 of higher education, or rail carrier’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘and Indian 

16 tribes’’ and inserting ‘‘Indian tribes, private institu17 tions of higher education, and rail carriers’’. 

18 (c) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2503(6) of title I of the 

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

20 U.S.C. 3796ll–2(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘or Indian 

21 tribe’’ and inserting ‘‘Indian tribe, private institution of 

22 higher education, or rail carrier’’. 

23 SEC. 4. BYRNE GRANTS. 

24 Section 501(b)(2) of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

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


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1 3751(b)(2)) is amended by inserting after ‘‘units of local 

2 government’’ the following: ‘‘, private institutions of high3 er education, and rail carriers’’. 

Æ 


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