119-hr568

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 568 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 568

 To provide funding to State and local law enforcement agencies to 
 combat auto theft and stolen automobile trafficking, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 January 20, 2025

Ms. Sherrill (for herself and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To provide funding to State and local law enforcement agencies to 
 combat auto theft and stolen automobile trafficking, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Auto Theft Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTO THEFT PREVENTION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Office of Community Oriented 
Policing Services of the Department of Justice shall establish an auto 
theft prevention grant program (in this Act referred to as the 
``Program'') to provide funding to State law enforcement agencies and 
local law enforcement agencies to combat auto theft and stolen vehicle 
trafficking.

    (b) Eligible Recipient.--The Director shall make grants under the 
Program to the Attorney General of each State, with the amount awarded 
proportional to the overall level of auto thefts within each State in 
the year prior to the date of the disbursement of the grant.
            (c) Distribution of Funds.--

    (1) Local law enforcement agencies.--The Attorney General 
 of a State shall make at least 50 percent of a grant awarded 
 under the Program available as competitive subgrants to local 
 law enforcement agencies to combat auto theft, with the amount 
 awarded determined by prioritizing localities with a higher 
 overall level of auto thefts in the year prior to the date of 
 the disbursement of the grant.

    (2) State law enforcement agencies.--The Attorney General 
 of a State shall make at least 25 percent of a grant awarded 
 under the Program available to State law enforcement agencies 
 to combat auto theft.

    (3) Other amounts.--The Attorney General of a State shall 
 make any proportion of the grant awarded under the Program not 
 allocated under paragraph

    (1) or

    (2) available as competitive 
 subgrants to local law enforcement agencies or to State law 
 enforcement agencies. Any subgrant made under this paragraph to 
 a local law enforcement agency shall follow the prioritization 
 under paragraph

    (1) .
            (d) Eligible Activities.--Amounts from a grant awarded under the 
Program may only be used for the purpose of combating auto theft and 
combating stolen automobile trafficking, including--

    (1) purchasing equipment used to combat auto theft, such as 
 law enforcement vehicles and license plate readers, and funding 
 costs associated with that equipment, such as subscription fees 
 and data storage fees for license plate readers;

    (2) hiring additional law enforcement officers and support 
 staff to combat auto theft;

    (3) funding overtime costs and additional compensation for 
 law enforcement officers and support staff involved in 
 combating auto theft;

    (4) providing training for law enforcement officers and 
 support staff to combat auto theft;

    (5) providing resources for joint task forces established 
 to combat auto theft;

    (6) funding law enforcement data collection, data storage, 
 and research activities related to combating auto theft; and

    (7) funding for the administrative costs of applying for 
 and implementing the grant, up to a maximum of 5 percent of the 
 grant amount.

    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to 
carry out the Program.

SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZED USES OF COPS GRANT PROGRAM FUNDS.

 

Section 1701

    (b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381

    (b) ) is amended--

    (1) by redesignating paragraph

    (24) as paragraph

    (25) ;

    (2) in paragraph

    (23) --
        (A) by striking ``

    (22) '' and inserting ``

    (23) ''; 
 and
        (B) by redesignating paragraph

    (23) as paragraph

    (24) ; and

    (3) by inserting after paragraph

    (22) , the following:
 ``

    (23) to combat auto thefts and stolen automobile 
 trafficking by purchasing equipment, hiring law enforcement 
 officers and support staff, covering overtime and officer 
 compensation costs, expanding access to training initiatives, 
 funding joint task forces, and funding law enforcement data 
 collection and research activities related to auto thefts;''.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

 In this Act:

    (1) Local law enforcement agency.--The term ``local law 
 enforcement agency'' means any entity administered by a 
 locality that exists primarily to prevent and detect crime and 
 enforce criminal laws.

    (2) Locality.--The term ``locality'' means any city, 
 county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other 
 general purpose political subdivision of a State.

    (3) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
 United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
 Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

    (4) State law enforcement agency.--The term ``State law 
 enforcement agency'' means any State entity that exists 
 primarily to prevent and detect crime and enforce criminal 
 laws.
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