,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #cjfi ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #i1 #bjac ,mr4 ,conyers 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,virginia1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mr4 ,johnson of ,georgia1 and ,mr4 ,peters of ,michigan7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to improve public safety through increased law enforcement presence and enhanced public safety equipment and programs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title2 ,definitions 7a7 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,shield ,our ,streets ,act of #bjac4 7b7 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,elevated need locality ,the term elevated need locality means a county or other unit of local government that is not part of a county that-- 7,a7 has a violent crime rate at or above the national average1 as determined by the ,federal ,bureau of ,investigation2 and 7,b7 has1 during the most recent #e-year period1 had budget reductions4 7#b7 ,unit of local government ,the term unit of local government has the meaning given such term in section #ija of title ,i of the ,omnibus ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act of #aifh 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #cgia74 #b4 ,shield ,police ,hiring ,grants 7a7 ,in general ,the ,attorney ,general is authorized to carry out a program1 through the ,office of ,community ,oriented ,policing ,services1 to award grants to eligible local law enforcement agencies to assist such agencies with hiring and rehiring career law enforcement officers in accordance with this section4 7b7 ,eligible local law enforcement agencies ,for the purposes of this section1 an eligible local law enforcement agency is a local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over all or part of an elevated need locality4 7c7 ,use of funds ,grant funds awarded under this section shall be used by an eligible local law enforcement agency to-- 7#a7 hire and train new career law enforcement officers for deployment in the jurisdiction of the agency2 or 7#b7 rehire career law enforcement officers who have been laid off as a result of ,federal1 ,state1 or local budget reductions4 7d7 ,grant period ,each grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of #c years and may be extended or renewed for an additional #b-year period at the discretion of the ,attorney ,general4 7e7 ,technical assistance ,the ,attorney ,general shall provide technical assistance to eligible local law enforcement agencies during the application process and while such agencies are carrying out grants under this section4 7f7 ,no matching requirement ,an eligible local law enforcement agency receiving a grant under this section shall not be required to provide any portion of the costs1 in cash or in-kind1 of the activities carried out with such grant from non-,federal funds4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,in addition to any other funds authorized to be appropriated for hiring and rehiring local law enforcement officers1 there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #ajj1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years #bjad through #bjai4 #c4 ,shield ,public ,safety ,enhancement ,grants 7a7 ,in general ,the ,attorney ,general is authorized to carry out a program to award grants to eligible organizations to enhance public safety through the activities described in subsection 7c74 7b7 ,eligible organizations ,for the purposes of this section1 an eligible organization is-- 7#a7 a unit of local government that has jurisdiction over all or part of an elevated need locality2 or 7#b7 a nonprofit organization that operates in one or more elevated need localities4 7c7 ,authorized activities ,grant funds awarded under this section shall be used as follows3 7#a7 ,with respect to an eligible organization described in subsection 7b77#a71 to enhance public safety in the jurisdiction of the organization4 ,such enhancement may include-- 7,a7 purchasing public safety equipment2 7,b7 funding public safety programs2 7,c7 making infrastructure improvements for the purpose of enhancing public safety2 7,d7 purchasing and installing street lights and other lights to deter crime2 7,e7 funding activities related to crime labs2 and 7,f7 funding public defender programs4 7#b7 ,with respect to an eligible organization described in subsection 7b77#b71 to carry out programs designed to reduce crime in one or more of the counties or cities under subsection 7b77#b74 7d7 ,grant period ,each grant awarded under this section shall be for a period of one year and may be extended or renewed for an additional period at the discretion of the ,attorney ,general4 7e7 ,technical assistance ,the ,attorney ,general shall provide technical assistance to eligible organizations during the application process and while such organizations are carrying out grants under this section4 7f7 ,no matching requirement ,an eligible organization receiving a grant under this section shall not be required to provide any portion of the costs1 in cash or in-kind1 of the activities carried out with such grant from non-,federal funds4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,in addition to any other funds authorized to be appropriated for public safety enhancement by eligible organizations1 there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #ajj1jjj1jjj for each of the fiscal years #bjad through #bjai4