POST Act of 2015

To require that States receiving Byrne JAG funds to require sensitivity training for law enforcement officers of that State. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the POST Act of 2015 2. In general (a) Training requirement For each fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in subsection (b) in which a State receives funds for a program referred to in subsection (c)(2), the State shall require that all individuals enrolled in an academy of a law enforcement agency of the State and all law enforcement officers of the State fulfill a training session on sensitivity each fiscal year, including training on ethnic and racial bias, cultural diversity, and police interaction with the disabled, mentally ill, and new immigrants. In the case of individuals attending an academy, such training session shall be for 8 hours, and in the case of all other law enforcement officers, the training session shall be for 4 hours. (b) Compliance and Ineligibility (1) Compliance date Each State shall have not more than 120 days, beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to comply with subsection (a), except that— (A) the Attorney General may grant an additional 120 days to a State that is making good faith efforts to comply with such subsection; and (B) the Attorney General shall waive the requirements of subsection (a) if compliance with such subsection by a State would be unconstitutional under the constitution of such State. (2) Ineligibility for funds For any fiscal year after the expiration of the period specified in paragraph (1), a State that fails to comply with subsection (a), shall, at the discretion of the Attorney General, be subject to not more than a 20-percent reduction of the funds that would otherwise be allocated for that fiscal year to the State under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq. (c) Reallocation Amounts not allocated under a program referred to in subsection (b)(2) to a State for failure to fully comply with subsection (a) shall be reallocated under that program to States that have not failed to comply with such subsection.

Summary: POST Act of 2015 Directs states receiving funds under specified Bureau of Justice Assistance grant programs (whether characterized as the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Programs, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, or otherwise), after a specified compliance period, to require all individuals enrolled in an academy of a law enforcement agency of the state and all law enforcement officers of the state to fulfill a training session on sensitivity each fiscal year, including training on ethnic and racial bias, cultural diversity, and police interaction with the disabled, mentally ill, and new immigrants. Requires an eight-hour session for individuals attending an academy and a four-hour session for all other law enforcement officers. Subjects any state that fails to comply with such requirement to a reduction of up to 20% of the funds that would otherwise be allocated to such state for a fiscal year for such grant programs, at the discretion of the Attorney General.