# Plain Language Summary: Refund the Police Act of 2022

This bill would provide federal grant money to states and local police departments that meet certain conditions. The federal government would offer up to $25 million per year (from 2023 through 2028) to help police departments hire and retain officers. To qualify for this money, a state or local government would need to certify that it doesn't have stricter rules about when police can use force against people, and that it has actually taken steps in the previous year to hire and keep more police officers.

The bill specifically targets what it calls "heightened standards for use of force." In plain terms, this means the bill is designed to help police departments in places that don't have rules requiring officers to use extra caution before using physical force. It would also exclude any jurisdiction that has made it illegal to charge someone with first-degree murder for drive-by shootings. The money could be used for typical police department expenses like equipment, training, and officer salaries.

The practical effect would be that police departments in jurisdictions without stricter use-of-force policies would get federal funding to expand their forces, while departments in places that have adopted tougher standards on when officers can use force would not be eligible. This creates a financial incentive for local governments to either avoid adopting stricter police accountability measures or to roll back any they already have in place. The bill essentially uses federal money as leverage to discourage what supporters of police reform call "accountability measures" and what the bill's supporters view as unnecessary restrictions on law enforcement.

Refund the Police Act of 2022

Herrera Beutler, Jaime

Refund the Police Act of 2022 This bill authorizes the Bureau of Justice Assistance within the Department of Justice to make grants to state and local governments for the same purposes as grants under the Community Oriented Policing Services Program. To be eligible for a grant, a state or local government must certify that it <ul> <li>does not have a law requiring a heighted standard for use of force and has taken steps to expand efforts to hire and retain law enforcement officers, and</li> <li>has not taken steps to eliminate drive-by shootings as a basis for first degree murder. </li> </ul>