Appropriations for Justice for Fiscal Year 2009 SCAAP S.3182, making appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009 has been placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar.  This bill includes $400,000 for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Grant Program (SCAAP).  The program reimburses state and local governments for the costs of incarcerating deportable criminals.  CCPOA strongly believes that county and state governments should be fully reimbursed for these costs.  The President had proposed eliminating all funding for this program.

PSOB
The Senate bill funds the Public Safety Officer Benefit Program (PSOB).  The PSOB Program provides a one-time financial benefit to the eligible survivors of public safety officers whose deaths are the direct and proximate result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty.  The current death benefit for officers is $303,064.  The bill also directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to provide an analysis of, and recommendations to improve, Federal and State programs to assist public safety officers and their survivors, who are catastrophically injured or killed in the line of duty.  CCPOA strongly supports this program and is working to expand and improve it. 

Vests
The Senate bill contains $25,850,000 in funding for the bullet-proof vest grant program, including $5,000,000 is for the National Institute of Standards and Technology's [NIST] Office of Law Enforcement Standards [OLES] to continue supporting the ballistic and stab-resistant material compliance testing programs, as well as for other technical support related to public safety weapons and protective systems. CCPOA strongly supports this program.

House Bill
The House Committee on Appropriations passed a 2009 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriation bill on June 25, 2008.  This bill rejects the President’s proposal to once again gut funding – a $1.6 billion cut – for state and local law enforcement programs. The bill increases funding by $447 million over 2008.  More specific information will be provided in next month's update, when actual bill language is available.  Key programs funded are as follows:

            • Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS): $627 million, rejecting the President’s proposal to eliminate programs that support local law enforcement agencies with technology and hiring grants, $40 million above 2008. Includes $40 million for the “COPS on the Beat” hiring program.

            • Office of Justice Programs: $1.87 billion, rejecting the President’s proposal to eliminate grant programs for state and local organizations to fight and prevent crime, $177 million above 2008. This includes Byrne Justice Assistance Grants, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, drug courts, and programs for at risk youth and missing or abused children.

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Program
As supported by CCPOA, H.R. 3546 passed the House of Representatives on June 25th and has been placed on the Senate legislative calendar.  This bill would reauthorize the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program at fiscal year 2006 levels ($1 billion) through 2012.  This grant program provides funds to for state and local law enforcement programs.

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne-JAG) allows States and local governments to support a broad range of activities to prevent and control crime and to improve the criminal justice system: corrections and community programs; law enforcement activities; criminal prosecution and court programs; prevention and education; drug treatment, planning, and evaluation programs; technology improvement programs; and crime victim and witness programs.  Although Congress authorized more than $1 billion for fiscal year 2006, only $520 million was appropriated for fiscal year 2007. In fiscal year 2008, the appropriation for the Byrne-JAG program was cut by two-thirds, to $170.4 million. The President has proposed further cuts for the fiscal year 2009 budget.

For 2008, the State of California received $11,535,950 and local governments received $5,579,626. For more information on funding allocations for California, go to the following link: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/jag08/08CA.xls

 The Latest Federal Reports on Corrections
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DOJ Implementing Prisoner Rape Elimination Act
Click Here for links to information about the implementation of this public law.