House Judiciary Committee to hold mark-up of recently released police reform legislation

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Brett Mattson

Legislative Director – Justice & Public Safety | Gulf States Counties & Parishes Caucus

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Key Takeaways

On June 8, Congressional Democrats, led by Representative Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (H.R. 7120). The 134-page bill would make sweeping changes to administration and enforcement standards of local law enforcement agencies, including mandating the use of body-worn cameras, updating reporting requirements for use of force and officer misconduct, creating uniform accreditation standards across agencies and implementing policies and procedures that prohibit and combat racial profiling.

The House Judiciary Committee is set to hold a markup of the legislation on June 17 at 10:00 AM EDT. To view the hearing, click here.

Counties play a foundational role in the criminal justice system. We own and operate 91 percent of the nation’s local jails, with over 10 million people cycling through these institutions every year. We invest almost $93 billion annually on justice and public safety services, including $35 billion on over 3,000 police and sheriff’s departments, $26 billion on correctional facilities and $19 billion on county courts and legal services. Counties are on the front lines everyday working to strengthen the safety and security of our local communities. As such, any major policing reforms should recognize the significant role of local law enforcement. Now more than ever, counties believe that a strong intergovernmental partnership is vital to advancing meaningful reform.

WHAT WOULD THE JUSTICE IN POLICING ACT OF 2020 DO?

If enacted, the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 would:

  • Require counties to use funds received from the Byrne/Justice Assistance Grant Program (Byrne JAG) and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program to implement certain reforms
  • Update the standard for prosecuting police misconduct
  • Establish a new National Police Misconduct Registry
  • Prohibit racial, religious and discriminatory profiling by law enforcement
  • Ban the use of chokeholds and “no-knock” warrants
  • Limit the transfer of military-grade equipment to state and local law enforcement agencies
  • Implement new training standards and reporting requirements around use of force, due process and police misconduct
  • Require the purchase of body-worn cameras

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