HR 3846
Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act
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Bill overview
This bill, the Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act, creates a grant program to help state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies utilize retired law enforcement personnel for civilian tasks. Specifically, it allows agencies to hire retired officers to assist in investigations, analyze crime scenes, and perform other support functions, while excluding them from making arrests or using force. The program requires agencies to assess the training and experience of these officers and to conduct background checks, including reviewing disciplinary records, to ensure accountability.
Key provisions
- Establishes a grant program for civilian law enforcement tasks.
- Defines ‘civilian law enforcement task’ to include activities like homicide investigations and forensics analysis.
- Requires eligible entities to assess the training and experience of retired officers.
- Mandates a review of retired officers’ disciplinary records before hiring.
- Requires audits of grant recipients by the Department of Justice to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse.
- Establishes a penalty for grantees with unresolved audit findings, including exclusion from receiving future grants.
- Prioritizes grant applications from entities without unresolved audit findings.
- Requires the Attorney General to certify grant completion and exclusions annually.
Who is affected
- State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies
- Tribal Law Enforcement Agencies
- Territorial Law Enforcement Agencies
- Retired Law Enforcement Officers
Sponsors
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 3846
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to establish a grant program to help law enforcement agencies with civilian law enforcement tasks, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act
.
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:
In this part:
The term civilian law enforcement task—
assisting in compliance with reporting requirements;
does not include the ability to make arrests or use force under the color of law.
have appropriate and reasonably current training and experience to effectively carry out the tasks described in section 3062(a); or
will participate in appropriate continuing education programs to satisfy subparagraph (A).
train civilian employees of the eligible entity on civilian law enforcement tasks that can be performed on behalf of a law enforcement agency; and
perform civilian law enforcement tasks on behalf of the eligible entity.
requesting the personnel record of the retired law enforcement officer from each law enforcement agency that employed the retired law enforcement officer.
Before making any hiring determination, the highest ranking law enforcement officer of an eligible entity receiving a grant under subsection (a) or a designee of that law enforcement officer shall review any findings of misconduct that arise as a result of a search or request conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
A grant awarded under this part shall be subject to the accountability requirements of this section.
In this subsection, the term unresolved audit finding means a finding in a final audit report of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice that an audited grantee has used grant funds for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved within 12 months from the date when the final audit report is issued.
Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of the
Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act
, and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of grants under this part to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by grantees. The Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall determine the appropriate number of grantees to be audited each year.A recipient of grant funds under this part that is found to have an unresolved audit finding shall not be eligible to receive grant funds under this part during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after the end of the 12-month period described in paragraph (1).
In awarding grants under this part, the Attorney General shall give priority to eligible entities that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal years before submitting an application for a grant under this part.
Beginning in the fiscal year during which audits commence under subsection (b)(2), the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives an annual certification—
indicating whether—
all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice under subsection (b) have been completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General or Director; and
all mandatory exclusions required under subsection (b)(3) have been issued; and
that includes a list of any grant recipients excluded under subsection (b)(3) from the previous year.
Before the Attorney General awards a grant to an eligible entity under this part, the Attorney General shall compare potential grant awards with other grants awarded by the Attorney General to determine if grant awards are or have been awarded for a similar purpose.
If the Attorney General awards grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that includes—
a list of all such grants awarded, including the total dollar amount of any such grants awarded; and
the reason the Attorney General awarded multiple grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose.