Posted by: jgomori Posted date: January 14, 2022

NAPO priority legislation signed into law in 2021 includes: Protecting America’s First Responders Act, which makes it easier for public safety officers disabled in the line of duty to qualify for the federal Public Safety Officer’s Benefits (PSOB) Program’s disability benefits, ensures beneficiaries receive the highest award amount possible, and makes certain all children of public safety officers disabled or killed in the line of duty are able to benefit from the Public Safety Officers’ Education Assistance Program. It also includes a two-year extension of the COVID presumption for PSOB eligibility for public safety officers who had COVID-19 at the time of death or who are disabled due to COVID-19; COPS Counseling Act implements confidentiality standards for federal law enforcement peer support counseling programs and directs the U.S. Attorney General to report on best practices and professional standards for state and local peer support counseling programs. It ensures all U.S. law enforcement officers have access to confidential peer support programs; and Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila Federal Officers and Employees Protection Act, which applies federal extra territorial jurisdiction to federal murder or attempted murder cases of federal law enforcement officers and that federal law enforcement officers serving abroad receive the same protections as those serving at home.

NAPO priority legislation passed by the Senate in 2021 includes: Better Cybercrime Metrics Act, which would establish standardized metrics for tracking cybercrime helping law enforcement, policy makers, and criminologists better understand the scope and size of cybercrime in the United States. It also would mandate the FBI integrate the new cybercrime metrics into its current reporting systems and databases, making it easier for state and local law enforcement to collect and report on cybercrime in their jurisdictions; and Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act would reauthorize the Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment program for the next five years at $40 million annually. This program provides funding, training and technical assistance for states and local governments to develop and implement critical substance use disorder treatment programs in state, local, and tribal correctional and detention facilities and to create and maintain community reintegration services for individuals upon release to the community. Check out NAPO’s Legislative Scorecard to discover how your representatives and senators voted on NAPO’s priority legislation during 2021.

On Jan. 5, NAPO obtained a copy of a draft Presidential Executive Order on police reform, which would implement much of Senator Booker’s police reform legislative proposal that NAPO fought so hard to stop last year, and was rejected by Congress. NAPO alerted our members to the draft Order and sent a letter to the White House Domestic Policy Advisor, Ambassador Susan Rice, and the Domestic Policy Council highlighting a few of our biggest concerns and expressing our dismay that NAPO was not at the table for its drafting. We asked to engage in a robust discussion of our concerns, provisions the Administration is considering, including in the final Executive Order, and the Administration’s police reform goals. The Administration stated the document leaked is not the final Order and NAPO is scheduled to meet with the Administration to review where they are with the draft Order; and Please join NAPO’s 33rd Annual Police, Fire, EMS, & Municipal Employee Pension & Benefits Seminar, Feb. 27 – March 1, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada

For more information on these and other legislative issues, please click on the links below.