Strong Communities Act of 2023

Subjects: Crime and Law Enforcement, Employment and training programs, Higher education, Law enforcement administration and funding, Law enforcement officers

Summary:  <p><b>Strong Communities Act of 2023</b></p> <p>This bill allows funds under the Community Oriented Policing Services grant program to be used to provide training to officers and recruits who agree to serve in law enforcement agencies in their communities.</p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 994 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 994

  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
  provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement 
recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve 
     in precincts of law enforcement agencies in their communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 28, 2023

   Mr. Peters (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Tillis, Ms. 
   Klobuchar, Mr. Cruz, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Padilla, Mr. 
 Blumenthal, and Mr. Ossoff) introduced the following bill; which was 
       read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
  provide that COPS grant funds may be used for local law enforcement 
recruits to attend schools or academies if the recruits agree to serve 
     in precincts of law enforcement agencies in their communities.

    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 ``Strong Communities Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. STRONG COMMUNITIES PROGRAM.

    Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (m) as subsection (n); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (l) the following:
    ``(m) COPS Strong Communities Program.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' 
                means--
                            ``(i) an institution of higher education, 
                        as defined in section 101 of the Higher 
                        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001), that, 
                        in coordination or through an agreement with a 
                        local law enforcement agency, offers a law 
                        enforcement training program; or
                            ``(ii) a local law enforcement agency that 
                        offers a law enforcement training program.
                    ``(B) Local law enforcement agency.--The term 
                `local law enforcement agency' means an agency of a 
                State, unit of local government, or Indian Tribe that 
                is authorized by law or by a government agency to 
                engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, 
                investigation, or prosecution of any violation of 
                criminal law.
            ``(2) Grants.--The Attorney General may use amounts 
        otherwise appropriated to carry out this section for a fiscal 
        year (beginning with fiscal year 2023) to make competitive 
        grants to local law enforcement agencies to be used for 
        officers and recruits to attend law enforcement training 
        programs at eligible entities if the officers and recruits 
        agree to serve in law enforcement agencies in their 
        communities.
            ``(3) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a grant through a 
        local law enforcement agency under this subsection, each 
        officer or recruit described in paragraph (2) shall--
                    ``(A) serve as a full-time law enforcement officer 
                for a total of not fewer than 4 years during the 8-year 
                period beginning on the date on which the officer or 
                recruit completes a law enforcement training program 
                for which the officer or recruit receives benefits;
                    ``(B) complete the service described in 
                subparagraph (A) in a local law enforcement agency 
                located within--
                            ``(i) 7 miles of the residence of the 
                        officer or recruit where the officer or recruit 
                        has resided for not fewer than 5 years; or
                            ``(ii) if the officer or recruit resides in 
                        a county with fewer than 150,000 residents, 
                        within 20 miles of the residence of the officer 
                        or recruit where the officer or recruit has 
                        resided for not fewer than 5 years; and
                    ``(C) submit to the eligible entity providing a law 
                enforcement training program to the officer or recruit 
                evidence of employment of the officer or recruit in the 
                form of a certification by the chief administrative 
                officer of the local law enforcement agency where the 
                officer or recruit is employed.
            ``(4) Repayment.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If an officer or recruit does 
                not complete the service described in paragraph (3), 
                the officer or recruit shall submit to the local law 
                enforcement agency an amount equal to any benefits the 
                officer or recruit received through the local law 
                enforcement agency under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Regulations.--The Attorney General shall 
                promulgate regulations that establish categories of 
                extenuating circumstances under which an officer or 
                recruit may be excused from repayment under 
                subparagraph (A).''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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