Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 1998
PL 105-181 (S.1605), enacted 06/16/1998

112 STAT. 512 
PUBLIC LAW 105-181-^UNE 16, 1998 
Public Law 105-181 
105th Congress 
An Act 
June 16, 1998 
To establish a matching grant program to help State and local jurisdictions purchase 
[S. 1605] 
armor vests for use by law enforcement departments. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of 
Bulletproof Vest 
the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
Partnership 
Grant Act of 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
1998 
42 use 3711 
l^is -^ct may be cited as the "Bulletproof Vest Partnership 
note. 
Grant Act of 1998". 
42 use 379611 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 
^°^^' 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 
(1) the number of law enforcement officers who are killed 
in the line of duty would significantly decrease if every law 
enforcement officer in the United States had the protection 
of an armor vest; 
(2) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, 709 law 
enforcement officers in the United States were feloniously killed 
in the line of duty; 
(3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the 
risk of fatality to law enforcement officers while not wearing 
an armor vest is 14 times higher than for officers wearing 
an armor vest; 
(4) the Department of Justice estimates that approximately 
150,000 State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers, nearly 
25 percent, are not issued body armor; 
(5) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, bullet-
resistant materials helped save the lives of more than 2,000 
law enforcement officers in the United States; and 
(6) the Executive Committee for Indian Country Law 
Enforcement Improvements reports that violent crime in Indian 
country has risen sharply, despite a decrease in the national 
crime rate, and has concluded that there is a "public safety 
crisis in Indian country". 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to save lives of law 
enforcement officers by helping State, local, and tribal law enforce-
ment agencies provide officers with armor vests. 
SEC. 3. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR 
VESTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating part Y as part Z; 
(2) by redesignating section 2501 as section 2601; and 
(3) by inserting after part X the following new part: 
PUBLIC LAW 105-181-JUNE 16, 1998 
112 STAT. 513 
**PART 
Y—MATCHING 
GRANT 
PROGRAM 
FOR 
LAW ENFORCEMENT 
ARMOR 
VESTS 
"SEC. 2501. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 
42 USC 3796//. 
"(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assist-
ance is authorized to make grants to States, units of local govern-
ment, and Indian tribes to purchase armor vests for use by State, 
local, and tribal law enforcement officers. 
"(b) USES OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this section shall 
be— 
"(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local govern-
ment, or Indian tribe; and 
"(2) used for the purchase of armor vests for law enforce-
ment officers in the jiuisdiction of the grantee. 
"(c) PREFERENTIAL CONSIDERATION.—In awarding grants under 
this part, the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance may 
give preferential consideration, if feasible, to an application from 
a jurisdiction that— 
"(1) has the greatest need for armor vests based on the 
percentage of law enforcement officers in the department who 
do not have access to a vest; 
"(2) has, or will institute, a mandatory wear policy that 
requires on-duty law enforcement officers to wear armor vests 
whenever feasible; and 
"(3) has a violent crime rate at or above the national 
average as determined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; 
or 
"(4) has not received a block grant under the Local Law 
Enforcement Block Grant program described under the heading 
'Violent Crime Reduction Programs, State and Local Law 
Enforcement Assistance' of the Departments of Commerce, Jus-
tice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropria-
tions Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-119). 
"(d) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Unless all eligible applications submit-
ted by any State or unit of local government within such State 
for a grant under this section have been funded, such State, together 
with grantees within the State (other than Indian tribes), shall 
be allocated in each fiscal year under this section not less than 
0.50 percent of the total amount appropriated in the fiscal year 
for grants pursuant to this section, except that the United States 
Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana 
Isl£m.ds shall each be allocated .25 percent. 
"(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—A qualifying State, unit of local 
government, or Indian tribe may not receive more than 5 percent 
of the total amount appropriated in each fiscal year for grants 
under this section, except that a State, together with the grantees 
within the State may not receive more than 20 percent of the 
total amount appropriated in each fiscal year for grants under 
this section. 
"(f) MATCHING FUNDS.—The portion of the costs of a program 
provided by a grant under subsection (a) 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 Mfairs 
E
erforming law enforcement functions on any Indian lands may 
e used to provide the non-Federal share of a matching requirement 
funded under this subsection. 
112 STAT. 514 
PUBLIC LAW 1 0 5 - 1 8 1 - ^ U N E 16, 1998 
"(g) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—At least half of the funds available 
under this part shall be awarded to units of local government 
with fewer than 100,000 residents. 
42 use 3796//-L 
"SEC. 2502. APPLICATIONS. 
"(a) IN GENERAL.—To request a grant under this part, the 
chief executive of a State, unit of local government, or Indian 
tribe shall submit an application to the Director of the Bureau 
of Justice Assistance in such form and containing such information 
as the Director may reasonably require. 
"(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of 
the enactment of this part, the Director of the Bureau of Justice 
Assistance shall promulgate regulations to implement this section 
(including the information that must be included and the require-
ments that the States, units of local government, and Indian tribes 
must meet) in submitting the applications required under this 
section. 
"(c) ELIGIBILITY.—^A unit of local government that receives fund-
ing under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program 
(described under the heading 'Violent Crime Reduction Programs, 
State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance' of the Departments 
of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agen-
cies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-119)) during a fiscal 
year in which it submits an application under this part shall not 
be eligible for a grant imder this part imless the chief executive 
officer of such unit of local government certifies and provides an 
explanation to the Director that the unit of local government consid-
ered or will consider using funding received under the block grant 
program for any or all of the costs relating to the purchase of 
armor vests, but did not, or does not expect to use such funds 
for such purpose. 
42 use 3796//-2. 
"SEC. 2503. DEFINrnONS. 
"For purposes of this part— 
"(1) the term 'armor vest' means body armor, no less than 
Type I, which has been tested through the voluntary compliance 
testing program operated by the National Law Enforcement 
and Corrections Technology Center of the National Institute 
of Justice (NIJ), £ind found to meet or exceed the requirements 
of NIJ Standard 0101.03, or any subsequent revision of such 
standard; 
"(2) the term 'body armor' means any product sold or offered 
for sale as personal protective body covering intended to protect 
against gunfire, stabbing, or other physical harm; 
"(3) the term 'State' means each of the 50 States, the 
District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the 
United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and 
the Northern Mariana Islands; 
"(4) the term 'unit of local government' means a county, 
municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or other 
unit of general government below the State level; 
"(5) the term 'Indism tribe' has the same meaning as in 
section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education 
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)); and 
"(6) the term 'law enforcement officer' means any officer, 
agent, or employee of a State, unit of local government, or 
Indian tribe authorized by law or by a government agency 
PUBLIC LAW 105-181-JUNE 16, 1998 
112 STAT. 515 
to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, or investiga-
tion of any violation of criminal law, or authorized by law 
to supervise sentenced criminal offenders.", 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 1001(a) of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 
3793(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new para-
graph: 
"(23) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
part Y, $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2001.". 
SEC. 4. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 
In the case of any equipment or products that may be author-
ized to be purchased with financisd assistance provided using funds 
appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act, it is the 
sense of the Congress that entities receiving the assistance should, 
in expending the assistance, purchase only American-made equip-
ment and products. 
Approved June 16, 1998. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 1605 (H.R. 2829): 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 144 (1998): 
Mar. 11, considered and passed Senate. 
May 12, considered and passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 2829. 
May 15, Senate concurred in House amendments. 
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 34 (1998): 
June 16, Presidential remarks.