This bill would amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to allow law enforcement agencies to use COPS hiring program grants to provide bonuses for recruiting and retaining law enforcement officers. It adds a provision allowing bonuses where an agency is experiencing a decline in recruitment or a high rate of retirements or resignations. The bill also adds a definition tying "law enforcement officer" to the meaning in section 1204(9). The bill was introduced on September 16, 2025, and referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
If a local police or sheriff's office receives COPS hiring grants and is facing declining recruitment or many retirements/resignations, this bill would let that agency use grant funds to pay recruitment or retention bonuses to officers. The text does not set bonus amounts, application rules, or detailed eligibility beyond the staffing conditions named.
No publicly available information. The bill text does not include cost estimates, funding levels, or specific dollar amounts for bonuses.
The sponsors introduced the bill to authorize the use of COPS hiring program grants for bonuses to recruit and keep officers in agencies with staffing shortfalls. Sponsors listed include Greg Landsman, Mike Carey, Emilia Sykes, Max Miller, and others.
No publicly available information.