HR 8675
Training Rural Law Enforcement Officers Act of 2026
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Bill overview
This bill authorizes the Department of Justice to provide grants to nonprofit organizations to improve training opportunities for law enforcement officers in rural and smaller communities. It recognizes that many smaller agencies struggle to access federal funding due to complex application processes and reporting requirements. The grants will support training that aligns with the Department of Justice’s priorities and is offered at no cost to the receiving law enforcement agencies. This aims to bolster the skills and capabilities of officers in underserved areas.
Key provisions
- Authorizes the Department of Justice to provide grants.
- Grants are awarded to accredited nonprofit organizations.
- Training must align with Department of Justice priorities.
- Training is targeted to law enforcement agencies with fewer than 50 sworn officers.
- Training is provided at no cost to the recipient agency.
- Defines ‘accredited nonprofit organization’ based on experience and training record.
- Defines ‘law enforcement training grant’ as grants under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.
- Focuses on improving training access for rural and smaller law enforcement agencies.
Who is affected
- State and local law enforcement agencies
- Rural and smaller communities
- Nonprofit organizations
- Department of Justice
- Law enforcement officers
Notable changes
- Simplifies access to federal law enforcement training for smaller agencies.
Sponsors
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Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
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119th CONGRESS — 2d Session
H. R. 8675
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To authorize the Department of Justice to provide grant funding to accredited nonprofit organizations to provide better access to needed training for law enforcement officers in rural and smaller communities.
This Act may be cited as the Training Rural Law Enforcement Officers Act of 2026
.
Congress finds the following:
There are more than 18,000 local police departments and 3,000 sheriff’s offices in the United States. Of the local police departments in the United States—
3 out of 4 have fewer than 2 dozen sworn officers; and
Federal funding available through grants administered by the Department of Justice for law enforcement is frequently complex in terms of the application process and requires specific reporting mandates.
Smaller and rural law enforcement agencies often forego pursuing Federal funding opportunities as that pursuit creates a demand on already limited staffing, and those smaller and rural law enforcement agencies simply lack the experience and resources to navigate through the application process and to successfully adhere to the multitude of reporting requirements.
In this section:
The term accredited nonprofit organization means a nonprofit organization that, as determined by the Attorney General, has—
The term law enforcement training grant means a grant awarded by the Attorney General under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) for the purpose of law enforcement training.
An accredited nonprofit organization shall be eligible to receive any law enforcement training grant for the purpose of providing training to State and local law enforcement agencies if the training is—