ANTI-GANG ASSISTANCE ACT
House Bill 4285
Sponsor: Rep. Belda Garza
Committee: Criminal Justice
Complete to 8-22-01
A SUMMARY OF HOUSE BILL 4285 AS INTRODUCED 2-20-01
The bill would create the Anti-Gang Assistance Act and the Anti-Gang Assistance Fund within the Department of Treasury. The purpose of the program would be to provide a local community (defined as a county, city, township, or village) with money to employ additional police officers to work with local schools and the local community to reduce gang violence. Under the bill, grant funds awarded to local communities would have to be used to provide 100 percent of the matching money necessary for a local community to receive money under the federal Community Oriented Policing Services Program (a component of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322, 108 Stat. 1796).
A local community could use the grant funds to hire additional police officers or sheriff's patrol officers, though it would be the sheriff's responsibility to hire the additional sheriff's patrol officers. The grant funds would have to be used to employ the additional officers, who would have to work with local schools and the community to reduce gang violence, and to pay associated costs. Grant funds could not be used to fund the local community's maintenance police force (which would be defined as the average number of police officers on the payroll in a local community from January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1996), nor could the funds be used to hire a police officer whose primary function was administrative. The local community would have to submit a report on the use of the grant to the Department of Treasury for each fiscal year that it received a grant. The report would have to be in a form required by the state treasurer, and contain sufficient information to demonstrate that the grant had been expended in compliance with the intent of the bill. In turn, the treasurer would have to compile the reports from the local communities and submit a report to the Senate and House subcommittees on general government or their successors by March 1 after the end of each fiscal year.
The state treasurer would be charged with the administration of the bill and could perform all acts and exercise all powers necessary to do so. He or she would also review grant applications and determine which applicants would receive grant funds and the amount of money to be distributed to each eligible applicant, as well as direct the investment of the Anti-Gang Assistance Fund. Money could be received into the fund from any source. The legislature would have to appropriate money to the fund from the amount of money available for the community policing program created by Public Act 111 of 1997. Money in the fund at the close of a fiscal year would remain in the fund and not lapse to the general fund. Money from the fund would be distributed by the treasurer at the beginning of each fiscal year based on the availability of money and subsequently distributed to applicants subject to the following:
· The amount of money in each grant would have to be equal to the local community's matching amount required by the federal community oriented policing services grants of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
· The money would have to be used for the cost of the annual salaries of the additional police officers hired to work with the local schools and the community to reduce gang violence.
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This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House staff for use by House members in their deliberations, and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.