Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act

Bill: 113-hr-5478
Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. [D-GA-4]
Introduced: 2014-09-16 in the House
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Congressional oversight
Firearms and explosives
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Government information and archives
Law enforcement administration and funding
Military facilities and property
State and local government operations

Summary:
action_date: 2014-09-16
text: 
Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act - Amends the program under which the Secretary of Defense is authorized to transfer excess personal property of the Department of Defense (DOD) to federal and state agencies for law enforcement activities. Excludes counter-drug activities from the categories of law enforcement activities for which DOD property may be transferred under such program. 
 
Requires recipients of DOD property to certify that they: (1) have personnel, technical capacity, and training to operate the property; and (2) will return to the DOD any property that is surplus to the recipient's needs. Requires recipients that are not federal agencies to certify that they have notified their local community of requests for DOD property with a notice on a publicly accessible Internet website and postings at prominent locations in the jurisdiction.
 
Requires the Secretary to submit annually to Congress a description of property to be transferred along with a certification that the transfers are not prohibited by law. Prohibits transfers of: 
 
 
automatic weapons that are not suitable for law enforcement purposes;
 
 weapons of .50 caliber or greater;
 
 tactical vehicles, including highly mobile multi-wheeled vehicles, armored vehicles, and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles;
 
armored or weaponized drones;
 
 aircraft that are combat configured or combat coded, or that have no established commercial flight application;
 
 grenades and similar explosives;
 
silencers; and 
 
long range acoustic devices.
 
 
Prohibits transfers conditioned upon the agency demonstrating the use of any small arms or ammunitions.
 
Requires the Secretary to ensure that certain items are not transferred from one federal or state agency to another such agency.
 
 Prohibits obligations or expenditures of appropriations to carry out the DOD's property transfer program unless specified conditions have been met, including requirements to verify: (1) that in-person inventories of transferred property have been conducted at each agency, and (2) that 100% of such property was accounted for during the inventories or that agencies unable to account for such property have been suspended from the program.
 
Requires the Defense Logistics Agency to maintain an Internet website that makes available publicly a description of: (1) each transfer broken down by state, county, and recipient; and (2) during the 30-day period preceding the date on which any property is transferred, the property to be transferred and the recipient.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2014-09-16
text: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
action_date: 2014-09-16
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2014-09-16
text: Introduced in House