Sec. 1053. Modification of authority to transfer Department of Defense property for law enforcement activities
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Section 2576a of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsections: Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, the controlled defense items that may be treated as eligible defense items for purposes of this section shall include items that— can be readily put to civilian use by State and local law enforcement agencies; and are suitable for transfer to State and local law enforcement agencies pursuant to this section. The controlled defense items to be treated as eligible defense items for purposes of this section as of the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 are the following:
Camouflage uniforms and clothing. Fixed wing manned aircraft. Rotary wing manned aircraft. Unmanned aerial vehicles. Wheeled armored vehicles. Wheeled tactical vehicles. Specialized firearms and ammunition under .50-caliber. Explosives and pyrotechnics, including explosive breaching tools. Breathing apparatus. Riot batons. The Secretary of Defense shall, acting through the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency and in consultation with the Working Group established by Executive Order 13688, maintain, and periodically update, a list of controlled defense items that are currently appropriate for treatment as eligible defense items for purposes of this section.
The list shall be established and maintained in accordance with the regulations for purposes of this section under subsection (g). A controlled defense item may not be treated as an eligible defense item for purposes of this section if— the item is made exclusively for the military; and the item, or a substantially similar item, cannot be purchased by State or local law enforcement agencies in the private sector even after the item is demilitarized. Unless and until determined otherwise by the Secretary for purposes of this section, the controlled defense items that may not be treated as eligible defense items for purposes of this section are the following:
Tracked armored vehicles. Weaponized aircraft, vessels, and vehicles of any kind. Firearms of .50-caliber or higher. Ammunition of .50-caliber or higher. Grenades, flash bang grenades, grenade launchers, and grenade launcher attachments. Bayonets. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected
(MRAP)vehicle. Tasers developed primarily for use by the military. The Secretary shall, acting through the Director and in consultation with the Working Group referred to in paragraph (1)(C), maintain, and periodically update, a list of controlled defense items that are currently prohibited from treatment as eligible defense items for purposes of this section. The list shall be established and maintained in accordance with the regulations for purposes of this section under subsection (g). The regulations for purposes of this section shall provide that a law enforcement agency in possession on the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 of a controlled defense item that is not eligible for treatment as an eligible defense item pursuant to paragraph (2)(B) shall not be required to return such item to the Department pursuant to Executive Order 13688. The regulations for purposes of this section shall provide that a law enforcement agency in possession of a controlled defense item that is no longer eligible for treatment as an eligible defense item pursuant to paragraph (2)(C) shall not be required to return such item to the Department pursuant to Executive Order 13688. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require a law enforcement agency, pursuant to Executive Order 13688, to return to the Department equipment obtained from the Federal Government, or obtained using Federal funds, if such equipment was obtained by the agency in a manner consistent with all applicable laws and regulations. Nothing in this section shall be construed as a transfer of ownership of any equipment obtained from the Federal Government pursuant to this section. The regulations for purposes of this section may not require the use of an eligible defense item transferred under this section within one year of the receipt of the item by the State or local law enforcement agency concerned. Except as provided in paragraph (2), a State or local law enforcement agency may not request transfer of an eligible defense item under this section, including pursuant to interagency transfer under subsection (t), unless the law enforcement agency has provided notice of the request to the head and legislative body of the State or political subdivision of a State of which the law enforcement agency is an agency. A State or local law enforcement agency requesting transfer of an eligible defense item is not required to comply with paragraph
(1)if the item requested is for an active undercover operation. A State or local law enforcement agency receiving an item under this section pursuant to a request covered by subparagraph
(A)shall notify the head and legislative body of the State or political subdivision of a State of which the law enforcement agency is an agency of the request not later than 10 business days after the operation concerned becomes an open record. On and after the date that is three years after the date of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, eligible defense items may not be transferred to a State or local law enforcement agency of a State under this section unless the Governor of the State (or the designee of the Governor) certifies to the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency that the State has in place minimum training requirements for all sworn law enforcement officers in the State, including— a requirement that anyone that has decisionmaking authority on the deployment of a SWAT team attends the National Tactical Officers Association unit commanders course or an equivalent within one year of commencing the exercise of such authority; specialized leadership training requirements for unit commanders who have— decisionmaking authority on the deployment of SWAT teams and tactical military vehicles; or responsibility for drafting policies on the use of force and SWAT team deployment; annual specialized SWAT team training requirements for all SWAT team members, including in law enforcement tactics used in tactical operations; annual training requirements for all law enforcement officers that are members of specialized tactical units other than SWAT teams (including high-risk warrant service teams, hostage rescue teams, and drug enforcement task forces); annual training on the general policing standards of the law enforcement agency on equipment such as eligible defense items; annual training on sensitivity, including training on ethnic and racial bias, cultural diversity, and police interaction with the disabled, mentally ill, and new immigrants; annual training in crowd control tactics for any officers that may be called upon to participate in crowd control efforts; and such other training as recommended by the evaluation conducted pursuant to section 1051(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016. The requirements under subparagraph
(A)shall provide for the first completion of the training concerned by an individual who becomes an officer in a law enforcement agency by not later than one year after the date on which the individual becomes an officer in the law enforcement agency. Each law enforcement agency to which eligible defense items are transferred pursuant to this section shall retain training records of each office authorized to use such items, either in the personnel file of the officer or by the training division or equivalent entity of the agency, for not less than three years after the date on which the training occurs, and shall provide a copy of such records to the Director upon request. In the event an offensive weapon or ordnance transferred to a State or local law enforcement agency under this section is lost, stolen, or misappropriated, the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, after providing the law enforcement agency with notice and the opportunity to contest the allegation, shall suspend the law enforcement agency from eligibility for receipt of items under this section for a period of six months. In the event a State or local law enforcement agency is determined by the Director (or the designee of the Director) to have intentionally falsified any information in requesting or applying for items under this section, the Director, after providing the law enforcement agency with notice and the opportunity to contest the determination, shall terminate the law enforcement agency from eligibility for receipt of items under this section until such time as the head of the law enforcement agency is replaced. Nothing in this section shall be construed to override, alter, or supersede the authority of the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency to dispose of property of the Department of Defense that is not a controlled defense item to law enforcement agencies under another provision of law. In this section: The term bayonet means a large knife designed to be attached to the muzzle of a rifle, shotgun, or long gun for the purposes of hand-to-hand combat. The term breaching apparatus means a tool designed to provide law enforcement rapid entry into a building or through a secured doorway, including battering rams or similar entry devices, ballistic devices, and explosive devices. The term controlled defense item means property of the Department of Defense that is subject to the restriction of the United States Munitions List (22 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121) or the Commerce Control List (15 Code of Federal Regulations Part 774). The term eligible defense item means a controlled defense item that is eligible for transfer to a law enforcement agency pursuant to this section. The term fixed wing manned aircraft means a powered aircraft with a crew aboard, such as airplanes, that uses a fixed wing for lift. The term grenade launcher means a firearm or firearm accessory designed to launch small explosive projectiles. The term riot baton means a nonexpandable baton of greater length than service-issued types that are intended to protect its wielder during melees by providing distance from assailants. The term does not include a service-issued telescopic or fixed length straight baton. The term specialized firearm and ammunition under .50 caliber means a weapon and corresponding ammunition for specialized operations or assignments. The term does not include service-issued handguns, rifles, or shotguns that are issued or approved by an agency to be used during the course of regularly assigned duties. The term State Coordinator means an individual appointed by the Governor of a State— to manage requests of State and local law enforcement agencies of the State for eligible defense items; and to ensure the appropriate use of eligible defense items transferred under this section by such law enforcement agencies. The term State or local law enforcement agency means a State or local agency or entity with law enforcement officers that have arrest and apprehension authority and whose primary function is to enforce the laws. The term includes a local educational agency with such officers. The term does not include a firefighting agency or entity. The term SWAT team means a Special Weapons and Tactics team or other specialized tactical team composed of State or local sworn law enforcement officers. The term tactical military vehicle means an armored vehicle having military characteristics resulting from military research and development processes that is designed primarily for use by forces in the field in direct connection with, or support of, combat or tactical operations. The term tracked armored vehicle means a vehicle that provides ballistic protection to their occupants and utilizes a tracked system instead of wheels for forward motion. The term unmanned aerial vehicle means a remotely piloted, powered aircraft without a crew aboard. The term wheeled armored vehicle means any wheeled vehicle either purpose-built or modified to provide ballistic protection to its occupants, such as a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected
(MRAP)vehicle of an Armored Personnel Carrier. The term wheeled tactical vehicle means a vehicle purpose-built to operate onroad and offroad in support of military operations, such as a HMMWV ( Humvee ), 2.5ton truck, 5ton truck, or a vehicle with a breaching or entry apparatus attached. . Chapter 153 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2576b the following new section: In transferring excess property of the Department of Defense under authorities specified in subsection
(b)that authorize the transfer of such property to both other Federal agencies and State and local agencies, the Secretary of Defense shall afford a priority to other Federal agencies in the transfer of any property that is not a controlled defense item. The authorities specified in this subsection are the following: The authority to transfer personal property for law enforcement activities under section 2576a of this title. The authority to transfer personal property to assist firefighting activities under section 2576b of this title. The authority to transfer documents, artifacts, and other materiel under section 2572 of this title. The authority to transfer nonlethal supplies for homeless and humanitarian relief under section 2557 of this title. The authority to make foreign military sales under the Arms Export Control Act ( 22 U.S.C. 2751 et seq. ). The authority to transfer research equipment under section 11(i) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 ( 15 U.S.C. 3710(i) ). Such other authorities relating to transfer of property of the Department as the Secretary designates for purposes of this section. . The table of sections at the beginning of chapter 153 of such title is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2576b the following new item: 2576c. Excess property: priority in transfer to other Federal agencies of property also transferrable to State and local agencies. .
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Sec. 1053
Modification of authority to transfer Department of Defense property for law enforcement activities
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