Title 34 — NavyRelease 119-73
§10531 Program authorized
Title 34 › Subtitle Subtitle I— - Comprehensive Acts › Chapter CHAPTER 101— - JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER XXIV— - MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ARMOR VESTS › § 10531
Summary
The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance can give grants to States, local governments, and Indian tribes to buy armor vests for State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and court officers. Grants go straight to the applying government or court and must be used to buy vests for officers in that grantee’s area. When picking who gets money, the Director may favor places that need vests most, have or will require officers to wear vests on duty, have violent crime at or above the national average, provide specially fitted vests (including for female officers), or did not get a 1998 block grant. Each State and its local grantees must get at least 0.50% of the yearly total (territories get 0.25%). No single grantee may get more than 5% of the yearly total, and a State plus its grantees may not get more than 20%. Grants may cover up to 50% of costs and must cover 50% for local governments with fewer than 100,000 residents if conditions are met. Tribal law enforcement or Bureau of Indian Affairs funds may count as the non‑Federal share. Other Federal grants cannot be used to match. The Director can waive the match for hardship. Funds must be given to each qualifying local government under 100,000 residents first; leftover funds go to other qualified applicants. Any amounts appropriated for fiscal years 2016–2020 that are not obligated by December 31, 2022 must be returned to the U.S. Treasury by January 31, 2023.
Full Legal Text
Title 34, §10531
Navy — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)The Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance is authorized to make grants to States, units of local government, and Indian tribes to purchase armor vests for use by State, local, and tribal law enforcement officers and State and local court officers.
(b)Grants awarded under this section shall be—
(1)distributed directly to the State, unit of local government, State or local court, or Indian tribe; and
(2)used for the purchase of armor vests for law enforcement officers in the jurisdiction of the grantee.
(c)In awarding grants under this subchapter, the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance may give preferential consideration, if feasible, to an application from a jurisdiction that—
(1)has the greatest need for armor vests based on the percentage of law enforcement officers in the department who do not have access to a vest;
(2)has, or will institute, a mandatory wear policy that requires on-duty law enforcement officers to wear armor vests whenever feasible;
(3)has a violent crime rate at or above the national average as determined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and
(4)provides armor vests to law enforcement officers that are uniquely fitted for such officers, including vests uniquely fitted to individual female law enforcement officers; or
(5)has not received a block grant under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grant program described under the heading “Violent Crime Reduction Programs, State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance” of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105–119).
(d)Unless all eligible applications submitted by any State or unit of local government within such State for a grant under this section have been funded, such State, together with grantees within the State (other than Indian tribes), shall be allocated in each fiscal year under this section not less than 0.50 percent of the total amount appropriated in the fiscal year for grants pursuant to this section, except that the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands shall each be allocated .25 percent.
(e)A qualifying State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe may not receive more than 5 percent of the total amount appropriated in each fiscal year for grants under this section, except that a State, together with the grantees within the State may not receive more than 20 percent of the total amount appropriated in each fiscal year for grants under this section.
(f)(1)The portion of the costs of a program provided by a grant under subsection (a)—
(A)may not exceed 50 percent; and
(B)shall equal 50 percent, if—
(i)such grant is to a unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents;
(ii)the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance determines that the quantity of vests to be purchased with such grant is reasonable; and
(iii)such portion does not cause such grant to violate the requirements of subsection (e).
(2)Any funds appropriated by Congress for the activities of any agency of an Indian tribal government or the Bureau of Indian Affairs performing law enforcement functions on any Indian lands may be used to provide the non-Federal share of a matching requirement funded under this subsection.
(3)A State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe may not use funding received under any other Federal grant program to pay or defer the cost, in whole or in part, of the matching requirement under paragraph (1).
(4)The Director may waive in whole or in part, the match requirement of paragraph (1) in the case of fiscal hardship, as determined by the Director.
(g)Funds available under this subchapter shall be awarded, without regard to subsection (c), to each qualifying unit of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents. Any remaining funds available under this subchapter shall be awarded to other qualifying applicants.
(h)(1)In this subsection, the term “appropriated funds” means any amounts that are appropriated for any of fiscal years 2016 through 2020 to carry out this subchapter.
(2)All appropriated funds that are not obligated on or before December 31, 2022 shall be transferred to the General Fund of the Treasury not later than January 31, 2023.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998, referred to in subsec. (c)(5), is Pub. L. 105–119, Nov. 26, 1997, 111 Stat. 2440. Provisions under the heading “Violent Crime Reduction Programs, State and Local Law
Enforcement
Assistance”, 111 Stat. 2452, are not classified to the Code. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 3796ll of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 2501 of Pub. L. 90–351 was renumbered section 2601 and is classified to section 10541 of this title.
Amendments
2016—Subsec. (c)(2) to (5). Pub. L. 114–155, § 7, substituted “; and” for “; or” at end of par. (3), added par. (4), and redesignated former par. (4) as (5). Subsec. (f)(3), (4). Pub. L. 114–155, § 5, added par. (3) and redesignated former par. (3) as (4). Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 114–155, § 3, added subsec. (h). 2009—Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 111–8 added par. (3). 2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–177, § 302(d)(1), inserted “and State and local court officers” after “tribal law
Enforcement
officers”. Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 110–177, § 302(d)(2), inserted “State or local court,” after “government,”. 2000—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 106–517, § 3(a), designated first sentence as par. (1), inserted par. heading, substituted “subsection (a)—” and subpars. (A) and (B) for “subsection (a) may not exceed 50 percent.”, and designated second sentence as par. (2) and inserted par. heading. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 106–517, § 3(b), amended heading and text of subsec. (g) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “At least half of the funds available under this subchapter shall be awarded to units of local government with fewer than 100,000 residents.”
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Transfer of Functions
Effective Aug. 1, 2000, all functions of Director of Bureau of Justice Assistance, other than those enumerated in section 10142(3) through (6) of this title, transferred to Assistant Attorney General for Office of Justice Programs, see section 1000(a)(1) [title I, § 108(b)] of Pub. L. 106–113, set out as a note under section 10141 of this title. Findings of 2000
Amendments
Pub. L. 106–517, § 2, Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2407, provided that: “Congress finds that— “(1) the number of law
Enforcement
officers who are killed in the line of duty would significantly decrease if every law
Enforcement
officer in the United States had the protection of an armor vest; “(2) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, 709 law
Enforcement
officers in the United States were killed in the line of duty; “(3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the risk of fatality to law
Enforcement
officers while not wearing an armor vest is 14 times higher than for officers wearing an armor vest; “(4) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, bullet-resistant materials helped save the lives of more than 2,000 law
Enforcement
officers in the United States; and “(5) the Executive Committee for Indian Country Law
Enforcement
Improvements reports that violent crime in Indian country has risen sharply, despite a decrease in the national crime rate, and has concluded that there is a ‘public safety crisis in Indian country’.” Findings and Purpose of 1998
Amendments
Pub. L. 105–181, § 2, June 16, 1998, 112 Stat. 512, provided that: “(a) Findings.—Congress finds that—“(1) the number of law
Enforcement
officers who are killed in the line of duty would significantly decrease if every law
Enforcement
officer in the United States had the protection of an armor vest; “(2) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, 709 law
Enforcement
officers in the United States were feloniously killed in the line of duty; “(3) the Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that the risk of fatality to law
Enforcement
officers while not wearing an armor vest is 14 times higher than for officers wearing an armor vest; “(4) the Department of Justice estimates that approximately 150,000 State, local, and tribal law
Enforcement
officers, nearly 25 percent, are not issued body armor; “(5) according to studies, between 1985 and 1994, bullet-resistant materials helped save the lives of more than 2,000 law
Enforcement
officers in the United States; and “(6) the Executive Committee for Indian Country Law
Enforcement
Improvements reports that violent crime in Indian country has risen sharply, despite a decrease in the national crime rate, and has concluded that there is a ‘public safety crisis in Indian country’. “(b) Purpose.—The purpose of this Act [see
Short Title
of 1998 Act note set out under section 10101 of this title] is to save lives of law
Enforcement
officers by helping State, local, and tribal law
Enforcement
agencies provide officers with armor vests.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
34 U.S.C. § 10531
Title 34 — Navy
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73