Title: CAM TIP Act of 2017
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:


Camera Accountability Maintenance and Transparency in Policing Act of 2017 or the CAM TIP Act of 2017
This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a grant program for state, local, and tribal governments to acquire, operate, and maintain body-worn cameras for law enforcement officers.
Additionally, it establishes a task force in the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide recommendations on community policing, including best practices for accountability and transparency.
DOJ must study the cost to purchase and use body-worn cameras.
Finally, the Government Accountability Office must study and report on the Department of Defense Excess Personal Property Program.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 124 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 124

To establish a grant program providing for the acquisition, operation, 
and maintenance of body-worn cameras for law enforcement officers, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2017

Mr. Al Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a grant program providing for the acquisition, operation, 
and maintenance of body-worn cameras for law enforcement officers, and 
                          for other purposes.

    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 ``Camera Accountability Maintenance 
and Transparency in Policing Act of 2017'' or the ``CAM TIP Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. BODY-WORN CAMERA GRANTS.

    Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

                   ``PART MM--BODY-WORN CAMERA GRANTS

``SEC. 3031. IN GENERAL.

    ``From amounts made available to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, 
the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance may make grants to 
States, units of local government, and Indian tribes for the 
acquisition, operation, and maintenance of body-worn cameras for law 
enforcement officers. In making such grants, the Director shall assess 
the program proposed by the applicant for the elements described in 
section 3033.

``SEC. 3032. USES OF FUNDS.

    ``Grants awarded under this part shall be--
            ``(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local 
        government, or Indian tribe; and
            ``(2) used for the program described under section 3033.

``SEC. 3033. PROGRAM DESCRIBED.

    ``The program described in this section is any program implemented 
by a grantee requiring the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement 
officers in that jurisdiction, which--
            ``(1) establishes policies and procedures for when law 
        enforcement officers should wear, activate, and deactivate 
        body-worn cameras;
            ``(2) ensures the protection of the civil liberties of 
        members of general public relating to the use of body-worn 
        cameras by law enforcement officers;
            ``(3) establishes policies limiting the use of recordings 
        of body-worn cameras to monitor the conduct of law enforcement 
        officers outside of their interactions, in an official 
        capacity, with members of the general public;
            ``(4) establishes or proposes to develop standards relating 
        to the effective placement, on a law enforcement officer's 
        body, of a body-worn camera;
            ``(5) describes the best practices for receiving an 
        accurate narrative from the recordings of body-worn cameras;
            ``(6) establishes policies for the collection and storage 
        of the recordings of body-worn cameras;
            ``(7) establishes policies relating to the availability of 
        recordings of body-worn cameras--
                    ``(A) to the general public;
                    ``(B) to victims of crimes; and
                    ``(C) for internal use by the law enforcement 
                agency; and
            ``(8) has in place guidelines and training courses for law 
        enforcement officers relating to the proper management and use 
        of body-worn cameras.

``SEC. 3034. MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) Federal Share.--The portion of the costs of a program 
provided by a grant under this part may not exceed 50 percent. Any 
funds appropriated by Congress for the activities of any agency of an 
Indian tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law 
enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be used to provide the 
non-Federal share of a matching requirement funded under this 
subsection.
    ``(b) Non-Federal Share.--The non-Federal share of payments made 
under this part may be made in cash or in-kind fairly evaluated, 
including planned equipment or services.

``SEC. 3035. FUNDING.

    ``Grants under this part may be made using the funds that are 
available under section 506(a)(1).''.

SEC. 3. STUDY ON THE COST OF THE PURCHASE AND USE OF BODY-WORN CAMERAS 
              BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

    (a) Study.--The Attorney General shall conduct a study on the cost 
to State and local law enforcement agencies of purchasing and using 
body-worn cameras or other similar cameras, including gun-mounted 
cameras.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a 
report that contains the results of the study conducted under 
subsection (a).

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE ON COMMUNITY POLICING AND BODY 
              CAMERA ACCOUNTABILITY.

    There shall be established in the Department of Justice a task 
force to do the following:
            (1) The task force shall be created to provide 
        recommendations on community policing, including best practices 
        for creating accountability and transparency.
            (2) Not later than one year after the date of the enactment 
        of this Act, the task force shall provide a report to the 
        Congress, which shall include the recommendations under 
        paragraph (1).
            (3) Membership shall include representatives of civil 
        rights organizations, Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
        personnel, and community policing experts.
            (4) The task force shall develop proper body-worn camera 
        training protocol.
            (5) The task force shall study the impact that citizen 
        review boards could have on investigating cases of alleged 
        police misconduct.
            (6) Not later than 1 year after implementation of the body 
        camera requirement policy under section 3033 of title I of the 
        Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1968, the task force shall conduct 
        a survey to determine best practices and effectiveness of the 
        policy with findings to be reported back to the Congress.

SEC. 5. GAO REPORT ON PENTAGON'S 1033 PROGRAM.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Congress a 
report on the Department of Defense Excess Personal Property Program 
established pursuant to section 1033 of the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104-201), that 
includes information on--
            (1) which jurisdictions equipment is sent to;
            (2) the value of equipment sent to each jurisdiction;
            (3) the level of training provided to officers; and
            (4) how the equipment is used in the jurisdiction.
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