SenateS. 5109119th Congress
Training Rural Law Enforcement Officers Act of 2026
Full Text
Official text as published. Use Ctrl+F / Cmd+F to search within the document.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5109 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5109
To authorize the Department of Justice to provide grant funding to
accredited nonprofit organizations to provide better access to needed
training for law enforcement officers in rural and smaller communities.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 23, 2026
Mr. Lankford (for himself and Mr. Coons) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Department of Justice to provide grant funding to
accredited nonprofit organizations to provide better access to needed
training for law enforcement officers in rural and smaller communities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Training Rural Law Enforcement
Officers Act of 2026''.
SEC. 2. TRAINING RURAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) There are more than 18,000 local police departments and
3,000 sheriff's offices in the United States. Of the local
police departments in the United States--
(A) nearly half have fewer than 10 sworn officers;
(B) 3 out of 4 have fewer than 2 dozen sworn
officers; and
(C) 8 out of 10 have fewer than 50 sworn officers.
(2) Federal funding available through grants administered
by the Department of Justice for law enforcement is frequently
complex in terms of the application process and requires
specific reporting mandates.
(3) Smaller and rural law enforcement agencies often forego
pursuing Federal funding opportunities as that pursuit creates
a demand on already limited staffing, and those smaller and
rural law enforcement agencies simply lack the experience and
resources to navigate through the application process and to
successfully adhere to the multitude of reporting requirements.
(b) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Accredited nonprofit organization.--The term
``accredited nonprofit organization'' means a nonprofit
organization that, as determined by the Attorney General, has--
(A) the proper experience and expertise in relevant
law enforcement training; and
(B) a strong track record of successfully
conducting relevant law enforcement training in a
particular training discipline.
(2) Law enforcement training grant.--The term ``law
enforcement training grant'' means a grant awarded by the
Attorney General under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) for the purpose
of law enforcement training.
(c) Authorization.--An accredited nonprofit organization or State
government entity shall be eligible to receive any law enforcement
training grant for the purpose of providing training to State and local
law enforcement agencies with fewer than 50 sworn law enforcement
officers at no cost to the law enforcement agency only for an eligible
activity described in subsection (d).
(d) Eligible Activities.--An eligible activity described in this
subsection is training in 1 or more of the following:
(1) De-escalation training for law enforcement officers
using a certified training program or course (as defined in
section 508(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10159(a))).
(2) Officer wellness programs.
(3) Leadership training.
(4) Victim-centered training for law enforcement officers
in handling situations of domestic violence.
(5) Critical incident response and management.
(6) Evidence-based law enforcement safety training for--
(A) active shooter situations;
(B) the safe handling of illicit drugs and
precursor chemicals;
(C) rescue situations;
(D) recognizing and countering ambush attacks; or
(E) response to calls for service involving--
(i) persons with mental health needs;
(ii) persons with substance use disorders;
(iii) veterans;
(iv) persons with disabilities;
(v) vulnerable youth;
(vi) persons who are victims of domestic
violence, sexual assault, or trafficking; or
(vii) persons experiencing homelessness or
living in poverty.
(7) Specialized training to law enforcement officers to
enhance their conflict resolution, mediation, problem solving,
service, and other skills needed to work in partnership with
members of the community.
(e) Amendment.--Section 501(b) of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152(b)), is amended--
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively and shifting the
margins accordingly;
(2) by striking ``A State'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--A State''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Pooling grants.--2 or more localities receiving
grants under this part may elect to pool all or a portion of
those grants to contract with an accredited nonprofit
organization (as defined in section 2(b) of the Training Rural
Law Enforcement Officers Act of 2026) for the purpose of
providing training to the group of localities that have pooled
such grants.''.
<all>