Title: Safer Streets Act of 2019
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Safer Streets Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of Justice to award grants to units of local governments with high rates of violent crime. Grants may be used to support law enforcement purposes such as hiring additional officers, acquiring surveillance equipment, and promoting prevention programs.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3738 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3738

  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
establish a grant program for jurisdictions with high rates of violent 
                     crime, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 12, 2019

  Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
establish a grant program for jurisdictions with high rates of violent 
                     crime, 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 ``Safer Streets Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.

    Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

  ``PART NN--GRANTS FOR JURISDICTIONS WITH HIGH RATES OF VIOLENT CRIME

``SEC. 3201. IN GENERAL.

    ``The Attorney General shall, each fiscal year, make grants to 
eligible units of local government.

``SEC. 3202. ELIGIBILITY AND INCENTIVES.

    ``To be eligible for a grant under this part, a unit of local 
government shall submit to the Attorney General information 
establishing that the rate of occurrence of violent crime within that 
unit of local government is 2 times or more the national violent crime 
rate. Of any amounts made available for grants under this part for a 
fiscal year--
            ``(1) 50 percent of such amounts shall be for grants, of an 
        equal amount to each, to units of local government for which 
        such rate of occurrence is 4 times the national violent crime 
        rate or higher;
            ``(2) 20 percent of such amounts shall be for grants, of an 
        equal amount to each, to units of local government for which 
        such rate of occurrence is 3 times the national violent crime 
        rate or higher;
            ``(3) 10 percent of such amounts shall be for grants, of an 
        equal amount to each, to all other eligible units of local 
        government; and
            ``(4) remaining amounts shall be for emergency grants to 
        such units of local government as the Attorney General 
        determines appropriate.

``SEC. 3203. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

    ``Not more than 10 percent of a grant made under this part may be 
used for costs incurred to administer such grant.

``SEC. 3204. USE OF FUNDS.

    ``Amounts made available as a grant under this part may be used by 
a grantee for law enforcement purposes including--
            ``(1) hiring additional law enforcement officers;
            ``(2) investing in surveillance equipment; and
            ``(3) prevention programs.

``SEC. 3205. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE.

    ``Any unit of local government that experiences, for a fiscal year, 
an increase of 10 percent in the rate of occurrence in violent crime 
over the preceding fiscal year, shall be eligible for an additional 
amount equal to 10 percent of the amount otherwise available under this 
part.

``SEC. 3206. DEFINITION.

    ``The term `violent crime' has the meaning given that term by the 
Attorney General for purposes of the Uniform Crime Reporting Program, 
for the fiscal year during which the grants are made.''.
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