34 USC 10531 – Program authorized
(a) In general
The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance is authorized to make grants to States, units of local government, and Indian tribes to purchase armor vests for use by State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and State and local court officers.
(b) Uses of funds
Terms Used In 34 USC 10531
- court: means a tribunal recognized as a part of the judicial branch of a State or of its local government units. See 34 USC 10251
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- State: means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands: Provided, That for the purposes of section 10156(a) of this title, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be considered as one state 1 and that for these purposes 67 per centum of the amounts allocated shall be allocated to American Samoa, and 33 per centum to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. See 34 USC 10251
- unit of local government: means &mdash. See 34 USC 10251
Grants awarded under this section shall be—
(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of local government, State or local court, or Indian tribe; and
(2) used for the purchase of armor vests for law enforcement officers in the jurisdiction of the grantee.
(c) Preferential consideration
In awarding grants under this subchapter, 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;
(3) has a violent crime rate at or above the national average as determined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
(4) provides armor vests to law enforcement officers that are uniquely fitted for such officers, including vests uniquely fitted to individual female law enforcement officers; or
(5) 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, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105-119).
(d) Minimum amount
Unless all eligible applications submitted 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 Islands 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
(1) In general
The portion of the costs of a program provided by a grant under subsection (a)—
(A) may not exceed 50 percent; and
(B) shall equal 50 percent, if—
(i) such grant is to a unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents;
(ii) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance determines that the quantity of vests to be purchased with such grant is reasonable; and
(iii) such portion does not cause such grant to violate the requirements of subsection (e).
(2) Indian assistance
Any funds appropriated by Congress for the activities of any agency of an Indian tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be used to provide the non-Federal share of a matching requirement funded under this subsection.
(3) Limitation on matching funds
A State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe may not use funding received under any other Federal grant program to pay or defer the cost, in whole or in part, of the matching requirement under paragraph (1).
(4) Waiver
The Director may waive in whole or in part, the match requirement of paragraph (1) in the case of fiscal hardship, as determined by the Director.
(g) Allocation of funds
Funds available under this subchapter shall be awarded, without regard to subsection (c), to each qualifying unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents. Any remaining funds available under this subchapter shall be awarded to other qualifying applicants.
(h) Expiration of appropriated funds
(1) Definition
In this subsection, the term “appropriated funds” means any amounts that are appropriated for any of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 to carry out this subchapter.
(2) Expiration
All appropriated funds that are not obligated on or before December 31, 2022 shall be transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury not later than January 31, 2023.