II 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3515 

To authorize previously appropriated resources for communities to address 

persistent or historical crime through collaborative cross-sector partnerships. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 7, 2016 

Mr. DONNELLY (for himself and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To authorize previously appropriated resources for communities to address persistent or historical crime through 

collaborative cross-sector partnerships. 

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 ‘‘Investing in Neighbor5 hood-focused, Vital, Evidence-based Strategies and Trust 

6 to Prevent Crime Act of 2016’’ or the ‘‘INVEST to Pre7 vent Crime Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 

3 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 

4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘PART MM—DEMONSTRATION GRANT PROGRAM 

6 ‘‘SEC. 3031. DEFINITIONS. 

7 ‘‘In this part— 

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘crime hot spot’ means a defined 

9 geographic area within a target neighborhood where, 

10 for not less than 1 year, the occurrence of crime is 

11 so frequent that it is highly predictable; 

12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘eligible entity’ means a State, 

13 unit of local government, Indian tribe, tribal organi14 zation, non-profit organization, or institution of 

15 higher education that is a member of a community 

16 consortium, which includes not less than 1 partner 

17 law enforcement agency, that is committed to work18 ing with law enforcement agencies, community lead19 ers, and research partners to develop an evidence20 based or research-based, cross-sector strategy to re21 vitalize a target neighborhood facing significant 

22 crime challenges; 

23 ‘‘(3) the term ‘evidence-based practice’ means a 

24 program, strategy, or procedure that has been dem25 onstrated as effective by causal evidence, obtained 

26 through one or more outcome evaluations; 


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1 ‘‘(4) the terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘tribal organi2 zation’ have the meanings given those terms in sec3 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu4 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); 

5 ‘‘(5) the term ‘institution of higher education’ 

6 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 

7 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002); 

8 ‘‘(6) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 

9 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

10 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

11 American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana 

12 Islands; 

13 ‘‘(7) the term ‘target neighborhood’ means a 

14 defined geographic area that is the focus of a project 

15 funded by a grant awarded under this part; and 

16 ‘‘(8) the term ‘unit of local government’ means 

17 a county, municipality, city, town, township, village, 

18 parish, borough, or other unit of general government 

19 below the State level. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 3032. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may— 

22 ‘‘(1) make grants to eligible entities to prepare 

23 a comprehensive plan for and implement enhance24 ment of the capacity of local and tribal communities 

25 to effectively target and address significant crime 


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1 issues through collaborative cross-sector approaches; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) provide training and technical assistance 

4 to eligible entities that receive grants under this 

5 part. 

6 ‘‘(b) PROJECT GOALS.—Projects funded under this 

7 section shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) identify a target neighborhood facing sig9 nificant crime challenges; 

10 ‘‘(2) use evidence-based practices or research11 based practices; 

12 ‘‘(3) encourage active involvement and leader13 ship from neighborhood residents, business owners, 

14 organizations, and others who live, work, or conduct 

15 business in the target neighborhood; and 

16 ‘‘(4) build cross-sector partnerships to address 

17 crime problems from multiple perspectives. 

18 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a planning grant 

20 or an implementation grant under this section, an 

21 eligible entity shall submit an application to the At22 torney General in such form and containing such in23 formation as the Attorney General may reasonably 

24 require. 


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1 ‘‘(2) COMBINED APPLICATION.—The Attorney 

2 General may develop a procedure under which an eli3 gible entity may apply at the same time and in a 

4 single application for a planning grant and an imple5 mentation grant under this section, with receipt of 

6 the implementation grant conditioned on the suc7 cessful completion of the activities funded by the 

8 planning grant. 

9 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH PARTNER.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An applicant for a 

11 grant under this section shall identify a re12 search partner, such as an institution of higher 

13 education, research center, or State or local 

14 agency, to— 

15 ‘‘(i) conduct a detailed crime analysis 

16 during the planning period described in 

17 subsection (d)(1)(A); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) assist the grant recipient to se19 lect the most appropriate evidence-based 

20 practices or research-based practices to 

21 apply based on the research findings. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONTINUED ASSISTANCE.—A re23 search partner described in subparagraph (A) 

24 shall remain engaged throughout the duration 


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1 of the grant by continuing to provide and ana2 lyze data to help inform project implementation. 

3 ‘‘(d) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para5 graph (2)— 

6 ‘‘(A) a planning grant awarded under this 

7 section shall be used by the recipient for a pe8 riod not to exceed 12 months; and 

9 ‘‘(B) an implementation grant awarded 

10 under this section shall be used by the recipient 

11 for a period not to exceed 36 months. 

12 ‘‘(2) EXTENSION OF PLANNING OR IMPLEMEN13 TATION.—Upon request of a grant recipient, the At14 torney General may allow the grant recipient to ex15 tend the planning period described in paragraph 

16 (1)(A) or the implementation period described in 

17 paragraph (1)(B) for a reasonable length of time, as 

18 determined by the Attorney General. 

19 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—If 

20 the Attorney General allows an extension under 

21 paragraph (2), the Attorney General may not award 

22 additional grant funds. 

23 ‘‘(e) PLANNING GRANTS.—A grant awarded for the 

24 planning phase of a project may be used to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) identify, verify, and prioritize crime hot 

2 spots within the target neighborhood; 

3 ‘‘(2) build community partnerships and facili4 tate leadership to ensure residents are active partici5 pants in the strategy to address crime in the com6 munity; 

7 ‘‘(3) collaborate with local law enforcement 

8 agencies, research partners, and the community to 

9 analyze the drivers of crime and assess the needs of 

10 the community and the available resources to meet 

11 those needs; and 

12 ‘‘(4) work with community consortium partners 

13 to develop a comprehensive cross-sector strategic 

14 plan to reduce crime in the target neighborhood that 

15 is based on the findings made under paragraph (3). 

16 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—Funds awarded 

17 for the implementation phase of a project may be used 

18 to— 

19 ‘‘(1) convene regular meetings of cross-sector 

20 partners and the project management team; 

21 ‘‘(2) continue work with research partners to 

22 assess project implementation; 

23 ‘‘(3) modify strategies developed during project 

24 planning as appropriate; 


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1 ‘‘(4) support personnel and program costs to 

2 implement strategies developed during project plan3 ning; 

4 ‘‘(5) pursue community engagement and leader5 ship development; and 

6 ‘‘(6) identify and develop a long-term sustain7 able strategy to continue to achieve the project’s 

8 goals after the conclusion of the implementation pe9 riod. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 3033. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

11 ‘‘At the end of the first grant year, and each year 

12 thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit a report to 

13 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

14 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representa15 tives that provides an overall assessment of the out16 comes— 

17 ‘‘(1) achieved by the demonstration projects 

18 funded under this part; and 

19 ‘‘(2) achieved by any demonstration projects 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(A) received funding under the Byrne 

22 Criminal Justice Innovation program of the De23 partment of Justice during fiscal years 2013 

24 through 2016; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) were carried out during the grant 

2 year to which the report pertains. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 3034. GRANT ACCOUNTABILITY. 

4 ‘‘(a) ACCOUNTABILITY.—All grants awarded by the 

5 Attorney General under this part shall be subject to the 

6 following accountability provisions: 

7 ‘‘(1) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—In this paragraph, the 

9 term ‘unresolved audit finding’ means a finding 

10 in the final audit report of the Inspector Gen11 eral of the Department of Justice that the au12 dited grantee has utilized grant funds for an 

13 unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallow14 able cost that is not closed or resolved within 

15 12 months from the date when the final audit 

16 report is issued. 

17 ‘‘(B) AUDITS.—Beginning in the first fis18 cal year beginning after the date of enactment 

19 of this subsection, and in each fiscal year there20 after, the Inspector General of the Department 

21 of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of 

22 grants under this part to prevent waste, fraud, 

23 and abuse of funds by grantees. The Inspector 

24 General shall determine the appropriate number 

25 of grantees to be audited each year. 


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1 ‘‘(C) MANDATORY EXCLUSION.—A recipi2 ent of grant funds under this part that is found 

3 to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be 

4 eligible to receive grant funds under this part 

5 during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after 

6 the end of the 12-month period described in 

7 subparagraph (A). 

8 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

9 under this part, the Attorney General shall give 

10 priority to eligible applicants that did not have 

11 an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal 

12 years before submitting an application for a 

13 grant under this part. 

14 ‘‘(E) REIMBURSEMENT.—If an entity is 

15 awarded grant funds under this part during the 

16 2-fiscal-year period during which the entity is 

17 barred from receiving grants under subpara18 graph (C), the Attorney General shall— 

19 ‘‘(i) deposit an amount equal to the 

20 amount of the grant funds that were im21 properly awarded to the grantee into the 

22 General Fund of the Treasury; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the 

24 repayment to the fund from the grant reVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:05 Dec 08, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3515.IS S3515

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1 cipient that was erroneously awarded grant 

2 funds. 

3 ‘‘(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION REQUIRE4 MENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

6 paragraph and the grant programs under this 

7 part, the term ‘nonprofit organization’ means 

8 an organization that is described in section 

9 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

10 and is exempt from taxation under section 

11 501(a) of such Code. 

12 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—The Attorney Gen13 eral may not award a grant under this part to 

14 a nonprofit organization that holds money in 

15 offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding 

16 paying the tax described in section 511(a) of 

17 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

18 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—Each nonprofit orga19 nization that is awarded a grant under this part 

20 and uses the procedures prescribed in regula21 tions to create a rebuttable presumption of rea22 sonableness for the compensation of its officers, 

23 directors, trustees, and key employees, shall dis24 close to the Attorney General, in the application 

25 for the grant, the process for determining such 


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1 compensation, including the independent per2 sons involved in reviewing and approving such 

3 compensation, the comparability data used, and 

4 contemporaneous substantiation of the delibera5 tion and decision. Upon request, the Attorney 

6 General shall make the information disclosed 

7 under this subparagraph available for public in8 spection. 

9 ‘‘(3) CONFERENCE EXPENDITURES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—No amounts made 

11 available to the Department of Justice under 

12 this part may be used by the Attorney General, 

13 or by any individual or entity awarded discre14 tionary funds through a cooperative agreement 

15 under this part, to host or support any expendi16 ture for conferences that uses more than 

17 $20,000 in funds made available by the Depart18 ment of Justice, unless the head of the relevant 

19 agency or department, provides prior written 

20 authorization that the funds may be expended 

21 to host the conference. 

22 ‘‘(B) WRITTEN APPROVAL.—Written ap23 proval under subparagraph (A) shall include a 

24 written estimate of all costs associated with the 

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1 erages, audio-visual equipment, honoraria for 

2 speakers, and entertainment. 

3 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—The Deputy Attorney Gen4 eral shall submit an annual report to the Com5 mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

6 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

7 Representatives on all conference expenditures 

8 approved under this paragraph. 

9 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL CERTIFICATION.—Beginning in 

10 the first fiscal year beginning after the date of en11 actment of this subsection, the Attorney General 

12 shall submit, to the Committee on the Judiciary and 

13 the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and 

14 the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee 

15 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, 

16 an annual certification— 

17 ‘‘(A) indicating whether— 

18 ‘‘(i) all audits issued by the Office of 

19 the Inspector General under paragraph (1) 

20 have been completed and reviewed by the 

21 appropriate Assistant Attorney General or 

22 Director; 

23 ‘‘(ii) all mandatory exclusions required 

24 under paragraph (1)(C) have been issued; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) all reimbursements required 

2 under paragraph (1)(E) have been made; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) that includes a list of any grant re5 cipients excluded under paragraph (1) from the 

6 previous year. 

7 ‘‘(b) PREVENTING DUPLICATIVE GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before the Attorney Gen9 eral awards a grant to an applicant under this part, 

10 the Attorney General shall compare potential grant 

11 awards with other grants awarded under this part to 

12 determine if duplicate grant awards are awarded for 

13 the same purpose. 

14 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—If the Attorney General awards 

15 duplicate grants to the same applicant for the same 

16 purpose the Attorney General shall submit to the 

17 Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the 

18 Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Rep19 resentatives a report that includes— 

20 ‘‘(A) a list of all duplicate grants awarded, 

21 including the total dollar amount of any dupli22 cate grants awarded; and 

23 ‘‘(B) the reason the Attorney General 

24 awarded the duplicate grants.’’. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

2 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

3 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(28) For activities under part MM, there are 

6 authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each 

7 of fiscal years 2017 through 2021.’’. 

Æ 


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