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PRINTER'S NO. 739
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
670
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY HAYWOOD, A. WILLIAMS, TARTAGLIONE, STREET, COSTA,
KEARNEY, SANTARSIERO, COMITTA, HUGHES, COLLETT, KANE AND
FONTANA, MAY 11, 2021
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, MAY 11, 2021
AN ACT
Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in public safety, providing for
violence intervention and prevention; establishing the
Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP)
Grant Program; imposing duties on the Pennsylvania Commission
on Crime and Delinquency; and making appropriations.
This act may be referred to as the Break the Cycle of
Violence Act.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Part III of Title 35 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 59
VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION
Sec.
5901. Scope of chapter.
5902. Definitions.
5903. Grant program.
5904. Advisory committee.
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5905. Application forms.
5906. Award of program grants.
5907. Appropriations.
5908. Administrative costs.
5909. Reports.
§ 5901. Scope of chapter.
This chapter relates to violence intervention and prevention.
§ 5902. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Commission." The Criminal Justice Advisory Committee of the
Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
"Disproportionately impacted by violence." Having any of the
following characteristics of a municipality or community:
(1) Experiencing 10 or more homicides per year for at
least two of the three years preceding the submission of a
program grant application.
(2) Demonstrating a unique and compelling need for
additional resources to address gun and group-related
violence within the municipality or community.
"Municipality." A city, borough, incorporated town, township
or home rule municipality.
"Program." The Community-Based Violence Intervention and
Prevention (VIP) Grant Program established under section 5903(a)
(relating to grant program).
§ 5903. Grant program.
(a) Establishment.--The Community-Based Violence
Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Grant Program is established
within the commission.
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(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program is to award grants
to improve public health and safety in municipalities and
communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence by
supporting, expanding and replicating effective community-based
violence reduction initiatives through strategies that:
(1) Include hospital-based violence intervention,
evidence-based street outreach and focused deterrence
programs.
(2) Have demonstrated effectiveness at reducing gun or
group-related violence without contributing to mass
incarceration.
(3) Are primarily focused on providing community-based
violence intervention services to the relatively small number
of individuals within a program grantee's municipality or
community who are identified as being at the highest risk of
perpetrating or being victimized by violence in the near
future.
(c) Administration.--The commission shall administer the
program.
(d) Public notice.--The commission shall provide information
regarding the availability and award of program grant money on
the commission's publicly accessible Internet website.
§ 5904. Advisory committee.
The commission shall form a grant selection advisory
committee that includes the following:
(1) Individuals who have been personally impacted by
violence.
(2) Individuals with experience implementing community-
based violence reduction initiatives.
(3) At least three members of the Department of Health's
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Office of Health Equity Advisory Committee.
§ 5905. Application forms.
The commission shall develop annual grant application forms
for any municipality or community-based organization serving a
municipality that seeks a program grant. At a minimum, the forms
shall contain the following information:
(1) The name, address and contact information of the
municipality or community-based organization.
(2) The amount of program grant money requested.
(3) The proposed use for the program grant money
requested, including clearly defined and measurable
objectives for the program grant money and the anticipated
number of individuals to be served.
(4) A statement describing how the municipality or
community-based organization proposes to use the program
grant money to implement a community-based violence reduction
initiative in accordance with the strategies described in
section 5903(b) (relating to grant program).
(5) A statement describing how the municipality or
community-based organization proposes to use the program
grant money to enhance coordination with relevant
stakeholders or existing violence prevention and intervention
programs and service providers in the municipality or
community, if any, to achieve maximum impact and minimize
duplication of services.
(6) Evidence indicating that the proposed violence
reduction initiative would likely reduce the incidence of gun
and group-related violence.
(7) Any other information that the commission deems
necessary and appropriate.
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§ 5906. Award of program grants.
(a) Review.--After review of the information provided under
each applicant's submitted application form, the commission
shall determine whether to award grant program money to the
applicant and, if so, the amount of the program grant money
awarded.
(b) Competitive nature of awards.--Program grants shall be
awarded on a competitive basis to municipalities and community-
based organizations that are disproportionately impacted by
violence.
(c) Considerations.--In awarding program grants, the
commission shall:
(1) Give preference to applicants whose grant proposals
demonstrate the greatest likelihood of reducing the number of
persons victimized by gun and group-related violence in their
community, without contributing to mass incarceration.
(2) Consider the geographic and demographic diversity of
the applicants.
(3) Consider the scope of the applicant's proposal and
the applicant's demonstrated need for additional resources to
effectively reduce gun and group-related violence in the
affected municipality or community.
(d) Cash or in-kind match.--
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), each municipality that
receives a program grant shall commit a cash or in-kind match
that is equivalent to 25% of the cost of the program grant
awarded under this chapter.
(2) The commission may waive the requirement under
paragraph (1) for good cause.
(e) Distribution by municipality.--Each municipality that
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receives a program grant shall distribute at least 50% of the
program grant money to:
(1) one or more community-based organizations within the
municipality or community;
(2) a public agency or department that is not a law
enforcement agency but is primarily dedicated to community
safety or violence prevention within the municipality or
community; or
(3) a combination of the entities specified under
paragraphs (1) and (2).
(f) Duration.--Subject to the availability of State funding,
a program grant shall be awarded for a duration of at least
three years.
(g) Notice.--
(1) The commission shall provide written notice to the
applicant of the award or denial of the program grant money.
(2) Notice of the award of program grant money shall
include the amount of the program grant money awarded and any
conditions or restrictions on the use of the program grant
money.
(3) Notice of the denial of all or part of the program
grant money requested shall include the reasons for the full
or partial denial.
§ 5907. Appropriations.
In addition to any amounts otherwise authorized to be
appropriated or made available to the commission, the sum of
$10,000,000 is hereby appropriated for each of the three fiscal
years following the effective date of this section to provide
program grants.
§ 5908. Administrative costs.
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The commission may use up to 8% of the money appropriated for
program grants each year for the costs of administering the
program, which may include the costs relating to the employment
of personnel, providing technical assistance to grantees and
evaluating the impact of initiatives supported by the grants.
§ 5909. Reports.
Upon completion of each grant cycle, the commission shall
prepare and submit a report to the General Assembly regarding
the impact of violence reduction initiatives supported by the
program.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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