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PRINTER'S NO. 1687
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1193
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY MASTRIANO, ROBINSON, MARTIN, BROOKS, PITTMAN,
GEBHARD AND REGAN, JUNE 1, 2022
REFERRED TO LAW AND JUSTICE, JUNE 1, 2022
AN ACT
Amending Title 44 (Law and Justice) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, providing for law enforcement recovery
grants; establishing the Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot
Program and the Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program
Fund; and imposing duties on the Pennsylvania Commission on
Crime and Delinquency.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Part I of Title 44 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
CHAPTER 9
LAW ENFORCEMENT RECOVERY GRANTS
Sec.
901. Scope of chapter.
902. Findings and declarations.
903. Definitions.
904. Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program.
905. Administration of applications .
906. Award of grant.
907. Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program Fund.
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908. Expiration.
§ 901. Scope of chapter.
This chapter relates to law enforcement recovery grants
through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
§ 902. Findings and declarations.
The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
(1) The effects of COVID-19 and the ensuing shutdowns
had effects that reverberated across all sectors of our
society.
(2) The law enforcement agencies of this Commonwealth
have not been immune to these effects and are confronting a
significant crisis regarding the recruitment and retention of
law enforcement officers.
(3) Law enforcement agencies in urban, suburban and
rural parts of this Commonwealth currently face significant
vacancies in law enforcement officer positions, which are
projected to continue to worsen with increasing retirements
and a tight labor market in the wake of COVID-19.
(4) Compounding the issue of recruitment and retention
has been the rise in violent crime in this Commonwealth
dating back to 2020.
(5) According to the latest FBI crime statistics,
Pennsylvania has had the third highest increase in violent
crimes in the entire nation compared to 2019.
(6) In addition to the uptick in violent crime, drug
trafficking has accelerated and the proliferation of deadly
drugs such as fentanyl continues to overwhelm communities and
take lives.
(7) The establishment of the Law Enforcement Recovery
Grant Pilot Program will ensure that law enforcement agencies
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have the resources to properly serve the communities of this
Commonwealth and save lives.
§ 903. 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 Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and
Delinquency.
" COVID-19." The novel coronavirus as identified in the
proclamation of disaster emergency issued by the Governor on
March 6, 2020, published at 50 Pa.B. 1644 (March 21, 2020), and
any renewal of the state of disaster emergency.
"Fund." The Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program
Fund established under section 907(a) (relating to Law
Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program Fund).
"Law enforcement agency." As follows:
(1) A government entity whose responsibilities include
enforcement of criminal laws or the investigation of
suspected criminal activity.
(2) The term includes any of the following:
(i) The Pennsylvania State Police.
(ii) The office of sheriff in this Commonwealth.
(iii) The police department of a county, region,
city, borough, incorporated town or township located in
this Commonwealth.
"Law enforcement officer." An officer or other employee of a
law enforcement agency:
(1) whose personal responsibilities include enforcement
of criminal laws or the investigation of suspected criminal
activity; and
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(2) who is vested by law with a duty to maintain public
order or make arrests for offenses, whether or not that duty
extends to all offenses or is limited to specific offenses.
"Program." The Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program
established under section 904(a) (relating to Law Enforcement
Recovery Grant Pilot Program).
§ 904. Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program.
(a) Establishment.--The Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot
Program is established and shall be administered by the
commission.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the program is to provide to
law enforcement agencies the opportunity to apply for grants to
address the critical needs in the communities in which they
serve, including the following:
(1) Strategies and incentives to recruit new law
enforcement officers.
(2) Strategies and incentives to retain current law
enforcement officers.
(3) Wellness initiatives for law enforcement agencies to
mitigate the significant mental and physical impacts of
responding to the rise of violent crime during the COVID-19
pandemic.
(4) Investments in technology and equipment to allow law
enforcement agencies to respond to the rise in violent crime
due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(5) Collaborative responses to violent crime and
violence related to drug trafficking resulting from the
COVID-19 pandemic.
§ 905. Administration of applications.
(a) Applications.--A law enforcement agency shall submit an
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application for a grant under the program in a form and manner
specified by the commission.
(b) Application period.--When grant money is made available
under the program during each fiscal year, the commission shall
begin to accept applications from law enforcement agencies for
the purposes specified under section 904(b) (relating to Law
Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program). The commission shall
provide notice of the application period and process on the
commission's publicly accessible Internet website. The
commission shall establish a deadline for the submission of
applications for law enforcement agencies during each fiscal
year.
(c) Review.--The commission shall review completed
applications for grants under the program and make the grant
awards in accordance with section 906 (relating to award of
grant). If a grant award is denied in whole or in part, the
commission shall provide the applicant with the reason for the
full or partial denial.
§ 906. Award of grant.
(a) Criteria.--When determining grant awards to a law
enforcement agency under the program, the commission shall
consider the following criteria pertaining to the law
enforcement agency:
(1) Current staffing shortages.
(2) Population of the respective jurisdiction.
(3) Increases in the rate of violent crime in the
respective jurisdiction since calendar year 2019.
(4) Increases in the rate of drug offenses in the
respective jurisdiction since calendar year 2019.
(b) Awards.--A law enforcement agency may only apply for and
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receive one grant award under the program.
§ 907. Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot Program Fund.
(a) Establishment.--The Law Enforcement Recovery Grant Pilot
Program Fund is established as a special fund within the State
Treasury to be used for making grants under the program.
(b) Limitations.--A law enforcement agency may not receive a
grant award under the program in excess of $2,500,000.
(c) Transfers.--In addition to any other money appropriated
to the commission for making grants under the program, the sum
of $50,000,000 is transferred to the fund from money received by
the Commonwealth under section 9901 of the American Rescue Plan
Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2, 135 Stat. 4) and deposited into
the COVID-19 Response Restricted Account for the purpose of
making grants under the program.
(d) Remaining money.--
(1) Any money in the fund which remains unexpended,
uncommitted or unencumbered on the date of the deadline
established under section 905(b) (relating to administration
of applications) shall remain in the fund.
(2) The State Treasurer shall transfer any money
remaining in the fund which remains unexpended, uncommitted
or unencumbered on the date of the expiration of this chapter
to the General Fund.
§ 908. Expiration.
This chapter shall expire December 31, 2024.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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