,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bhhd ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #ca1 #bjac ,mr4 ,cummings introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to require the ,attorney ,general to make competitive grants to ,state1 tribal1 and local governments to establish and maintain witness protection and assistance programs4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,witness ,security and ,protection ,grant ,program ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,witness protection grant program 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section-- 7#a7 the term applicant means a ,state1 tribal1 or local government that applies for a grant under this section2 and 7#b7 the terms serious drug offense and serious violent felony have the meaning given those terms in section #ceei7;c77#b7 of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code4 7b7 ,grants required ,subject to subsection 7j71 the ,attorney ,general shall make competitive grants to ,state1 tribal1 and local governments to establish or maintain programs that provide protection or assistance to witnesses in court proceedings involving-- 7#a7 a homicide1 serious violent felony1 or serious drug offense2 or 7#b7 gangs or organized crime4 7c7 ,criteria ,in making grants under this section1 the ,attorney ,general shall evaluate applicants based upon the following3 7#a7 ,the extent to which the applicant lacks infrastructure to support programs that provide protection or assistance to witnesses4 7#b7 ,the prevalence of witness intimidation in the jurisdiction of the applicant4 7#c7 ,the percentage of cases not prosecuted by the applicant due to witness intimidation4 7#d7 ,the number of homicides per capita committed in the jurisdiction of the applicant4 7#e7 ,the number of serious violent felonies or serious drug offenses per capita committed in the jurisdiction of the applicant4 7#f7 ,the extent to which organized crime is present in the jurisdiction of the applicant4 7#g7 ,any other criteria that the ,attorney ,general determines appropriate4 7d7 ,technical assistance ,from amounts made available under subsection 7j7 to carry out this section1 the ,attorney ,general1 upon request of a recipient of a grant under this section1 shall direct the appropriate offices within the ,department of ,justice to provide technical assistance to the recipient to the extent the ,attorney ,general determines technical assistance is needed to establish or maintain a program that provides protection or assistance to witnesses4 7e7 ,best practices 7#a7 ,report ,a recipient of a grant under this section shall submit to the ,attorney ,general a report1 in such form and manner and containing such information as specified by the ,attorney ,general1 that evaluates each program established or maintained pursuant to the grant1 including policies and procedures under the program4 7#b7 ,development of ,best ,practices ,based on the reports submitted under paragraph 7#a71 the ,attorney ,general shall develop best practice models to assist ,state1 tribal1 and local governments in addressing-- 7,a7 witness safety2 7,b7 short-term and permanent witness relocation2 7,c7 financial and housing assistance2 and 7,d7 any other services related to witness protection or assistance that the ,attorney ,general determines necessary4 7#c7 ,dissemination to ,states ,not later than #a year after developing best practice models under paragraph 7#b71 the ,attorney ,general shall disseminate the models to ,state1 tribal1 and local governments4 7#d7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that ,state1 tribal1 and local governments should use the best practice models developed and disseminated under this subsection to evaluate1 improve1 and develop witness protection or witness assistance programs as appropriate4 7#e7 ,rule of construction relating to sensitive information ,nothing in this section shall be construed to require the dissemination of any information that the ,attorney ,general determines-- 7,a7 is law enforcement sensitive and should only be disclosed within the law enforcement community2 or 7,b7 poses a threat to national security4 7f7 ,federal share 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,federal share of the cost of a program carried out using a grant made under this section shall be not more than #ge percent4 7#b7 ,in-kind contributions 7,a7 ,in general ,subject to subparagraph 7,b71 the non-,federal share for a program carried out using a grant made under this section may be in the form of in-kind contributions that are directly related to the purpose for which the grant was made4 7,b7 ,maximum percentage ,not more than #ej percent of the non-,federal share for a program carried out using a grant made under this section may be in the form of in-kind contributions4 7g7 ,administrative costs ,of amounts made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year1 the ,attorney ,general may use not more than #e percent for administrative costs4 7h7 ,geographic distribution ,in making grants under this section1 the ,attorney ,general shall-- 7#a7 to the extent reasonable and practical1 ensure an equitable geographical distribution throughout the ,united ,states of programs that provide protection or assistance to witnesses2 and 7#b7 give due consideration to applicants from both urban and rural areas4 7i7 ,report to ,congress ,the ,attorney ,general shall submit a report to ,congress-- 7#a7 not later than ,december #ca1 #bjad1 on the implementation of this section1 including any information on programs funded by grants made under this section2 and 7#b7 not later than ,december #ca1 #bjai1 on the programs funded by grants made under this section1 including on best practice models developed under subsection 7e77#b74 7j7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #cj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjad through #bjah4