34 USC 10534 - James Guelff and Chris McCurley Body Armor Act of 2002

Collapse to view only § 10534. James Guelff and Chris McCurley Body Armor Act of 2002

§ 10530. Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program
§ 10531. Program authorized
§ 10532. Applications
§ 10533. Definitions
§ 10534. James Guelff and Chris McCurley Body Armor Act of 2002

§ 10530. Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program

The program under this subchapter shall be known as the “Patrick Leahy Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program”.

(Pub. L. 90–351, title I, § 2500, as added Pub. L. 116–18, § 1(b), May 23, 2019, 133 Stat. 869.)

§ 10531. Program authorized

(a) In general

(b) Uses of fundsGrants 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 considerationIn 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 span “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

(e) Maximum amount

(f) Matching funds

(1) In generalThe 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

(3) Limitation on matching funds

(4) Waiver

(g) Allocation of funds

(h) Expiration of appropriated funds

(1) Definition

(2) Expiration

(Pub. L. 90–351, title I, § 2501, as added Pub. L. 105–181, § 3(a)(3), June 16, 1998, 112 Stat. 513; amended Pub. L. 106–517, § 3(a), (b), Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2407, 2408; Pub. L. 110–177, title III, § 302(d), Jan. 7, 2008, 121 Stat. 2539; Pub. L. 111–8, div. B, title II, Mar. 11, 2009, 123 Stat. 583; Pub. L. 114–155, §§ 3, 5, 7, May 16, 2016, 130 Stat. 389, 390.)

§ 10532. Applications

(a) In general

(b) Regulations

(d) Applications in conjunction with purchases

If an application under this section is submitted in conjunction with a transaction for the purchase of armor vests, grant amounts under this section may not be used to fund any portion of that purchase unless, before the application is submitted, the applicant—

(1) receives clear and conspicuous notice that receipt of the grant amounts requested in the application is uncertain; and

(2) expressly assumes the obligation to carry out the transaction, regardless of whether such amounts are received.

(Pub. L. 90–351, title I, § 2502, as added Pub. L. 105–181, § 3(a)(3), June 16, 1998, 112 Stat. 514; amended Pub. L. 106–517, § 3(c), Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2408.)

§ 10533. DefinitionsFor purposes of this subchapter—

(1) the term “armor vest” means—

(A) body armor, no less than Type I, which has been tested through the voluntary compliance testing program operated by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and found to meet or exceed the requirements of NIJ Standard 0101.03, or any subsequent revision of such standard; or

(B) body armor that has been tested through the voluntary compliance testing program, and found to meet or exceed the requirements of NIJ Standard 0115.00, or any revision of such standard;

(2) the term “body armor” means any product sold or offered for sale as personal protective body covering intended to protect against gunfire, stabbing, or other physical harm;

(3) the term “State” means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands;

(4) the term “unit of local government” means a county, municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government below the State level;

(5) the term “Indian tribe” has the same meaning as in section 5304(e) of title 25; and

(6) the term “law enforcement officer” means any officer, agent, or employee of a State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe authorized by law or by a government agency to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, or investigation of any violation of criminal law, or authorized by law to supervise sentenced criminal offenders.

(Pub. L. 90–351, title I, § 2503, as added Pub. L. 105–181, § 3(a)(3), June 16, 1998, 112 Stat. 514; amended Pub. L. 106–517, § 3(d), Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2408.)

§ 10534. James Guelff and Chris McCurley Body Armor Act of 2002

(a) Short title

(b) Findings

Congress finds that—

(1) nationally, police officers and ordinary citizens are facing increased danger as criminals use more deadly weaponry, body armor, and other sophisticated assault gear;

(2) crime at the local level is exacerbated by the interstate movement of body armor and other assault gear;

(3) there is a traffic in body armor moving in or otherwise affecting interstate commerce, and existing Federal controls over such traffic do not adequately enable the States to control this traffic within their own borders through the exercise of their police power;

(4) recent incidents, such as the murder of San Francisco Police Officer James Guelff by an assailant wearing 2 layers of body armor, a 1997 bank shoot out in north Hollywood, California, between police and 2 heavily armed suspects outfitted in body armor, and the 1997 murder of Captain Chris McCurley of the Etowah County, Alabama Drug Task Force by a drug dealer shielded by protective body armor, demonstrate the serious threat to community safety posed by criminals who wear body armor during the commission of a violent crime;

(5) of the approximately 1,500 officers killed in the line of duty since 1980, more than 30 percent could have been saved by body armor, and the risk of dying from gunfire is 14 times higher for an officer without a bulletproof vest;

(6) the Department of Justice has estimated that 25 percent of State and local police are not issued body armor;

(7) the Federal Government is well-equipped to grant local police departments access to body armor that is no longer needed by Federal agencies; and

(8) Congress has the power, under the interstate commerce clause and other provisions of the Constitution of the United States, to enact legislation to regulate interstate commerce that affects the integrity and safety of our communities.

In this section:

(1) Body armor

(2) Law enforcement agency

(3) Law enforcement officer

(d) Amendment of sentencing guidelines with respect to body armor

(1) In general

(2) Sense of Congress

(e) Omitted

(f) Donation of Federal surplus body armor

(1) Definitions

(2) Donation of body armor

Notwithstanding sections 541–555 of title 40, the head of a Federal agency may donate body armor directly to any State or local law enforcement agency, if such body armor—

(A) is in serviceable condition;

(B) is surplus property; and

(C) meets or exceeds the requirements of National Institute of Justice Standard 0101.03 (as in effect on November 2, 2002).

(3) Notice to Administrator

(4) Donation by certain officers

(A) Department of Justice

In the administration of this subsection with respect to the Department of Justice, in addition to any other officer of the Department of Justice designated by the Attorney General, the following officers may act as the head of a Federal agency:

(i) The Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

(ii) The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(iii) The Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

(iv) The Director of the United States Marshals Service.

(B) Department of the Treasury

In the administration of this subsection with respect to the Department of the Treasury, in addition to any other officer of the Department of the Treasury designated by the Secretary of the Treasury, the following officers may act as the head of a Federal agency:

(i) The Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.

(ii) The Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

(iii) The Director of the United States Secret Service.

(5) No liability

(Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title I, § 11009, Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1819; Pub. L. 114–125, title VIII, § 802(d)(2), Feb. 24, 2016, 130 Stat. 210.)