Title: Law Enforcement Protection Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Law Enforcement Protection Act
This bill modifies and reauthorizes through FY2023 the Bulletproof Vest Partnership program.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2868 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2868

   To enhance the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program to assist law 
      enforcement agencies in protecting law enforcement officers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 16, 2018

  Mr. Gardner introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To enhance the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program to assist law 
      enforcement agencies in protecting law enforcement officers.

    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 ``Law Enforcement Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BULLETPROOF VEST PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) Uses of Funds.--Section 2501(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10531(b)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
        subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and adjusting the 
        margins accordingly;
            (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), as so 
        redesignated, by striking ``Grants awarded under this section'' 
        and inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        grants awarded under this part'';
            (3) in paragraph (1)(B), as so redesignated, by inserting 
        ``subject to paragraph (2),'' before ``used for''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Type iii body armor grants.--A type III body armor 
        grant shall be--
                    ``(A) distributed in accordance with paragraph 
                (1)(A); and
                    ``(B) used for the purchase of body armor that 
                meets the standards for type III body armor, as 
                determined by the National Institute of Justice, in an 
                amount that is proportionate to the number of sworn law 
                enforcement officers employed by the grantee on the 
                date of the application submitted by the grantee under 
                section 2502.''.
    (b) Minimum Amount.--Section 2501(d) of title I of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10531(d)) is 
amended by striking ``Unless'' and inserting ``With respect to grants 
awarded under this part that are not type III body armor grants, 
unless''.
    (c) Maximum Amount.--Section 2501(e) of title I of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10531(e)) is 
amended by striking ``A qualifying'' and inserting ``With respect to 
grants awarded under this part that are not type III body armor grants, 
a qualifying''.
    (d) Matching Funds.--Section 2501(f) of title I of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10531(f)) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by striking ``The portion'' and inserting ``Except as 
        otherwise provided in this subsection, the portion''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Type iii body armor grants.--A type III body armor 
        grant shall not be subject to the matching requirement under 
        paragraph (1).''.
    (e) Expiration of Appropriated Funds.--Section 2501(h) of title I 
of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10531(h)) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
            ``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term 
        `appropriated funds'--
                    ``(A) means any amount appropriated for any of 
                fiscal years 2016 through 2023; and
                    ``(B) does not include any amount appropriated to 
                the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program Type III Body 
                Armor Fund.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) by striking ``2022'' and inserting ``2025''; 
                and
                    (B) by striking ``2023'' and inserting ``2026''; 
                and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Funds appropriated to the bulletproof vest 
        partnership program type iii body armor fund.--All funds that 
        are appropriated to the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program 
        Type III Body Armor Fund shall remain available until 
        expended.''.
    (f) Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program Type III Body Armor 
Fund.--Section 2501 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10531) is amended by adding at the end 
the following:
    ``(i) Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program Type III Body Armor 
Fund.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury 
        a fund to be known as the `Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program 
        Type III Body Armor Fund'.
            ``(2) Use of funds.--The Attorney General may, without 
        further appropriation, use amounts in the Bulletproof Vest 
        Partnership Program Type III Body Armor Fund to award type III 
        body armor grants under this part.''.
    (g) Definitions.--Section 2503 of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10533) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking the semicolon and 
        inserting a period;
            (2) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (3) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and inserting 
        a semicolon;
            (4) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (9) and 
        moving paragraph (9), as so redesignated, to follow paragraph 
        (6);
            (5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
            ``(7) the term `sworn law enforcement officer' means a law 
        enforcement officer who is formally authorized to make arrests 
        while acting within the scope of explicit legal authority;
            ``(8) the term `type III body armor grant' means a grant 
        that is--
                    ``(A) awarded under this part using funds from the 
                Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program Type III Body 
                Armor Fund; and
                    ``(B) to be used in accordance with section 
                2501(b)(2); and'';
            (6) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as paragraphs 
        (4) and (5), respectively;
            (7) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (6) and 
        moving paragraph (6), as so redesignated, to follow paragraph 
        (5), as so redesignated; and
            (8) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
            ``(3) the term `Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program Type 
        III Body Armor Fund' means the fund established under section 
        2501(i);''.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a) of title I of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 
10261(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (23), by striking ``$25,000,000 for each 
        of fiscal years 2016 through 2020'' and inserting ``$50,000,000 
        for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, of which $3,000,000 
        shall be made available each fiscal year to the National 
        Institute of Standards and Technology for research and 
        development of body armor, as defined in section 2503 of that 
        part.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(28) There is authorized to be appropriated to the Bulletproof 
Vest Partnership Program Type III Body Armor Fund established under 
section 2501(i) of part Y $1,100,000,000.''.
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