Here is a brief overview of the actions taken in the last few weeks on some of the major issues confronting law enforcement

The West Virginia Legislature approved a measure (HB 4289) that bans bias-based policing and requires law enforcement agencies to develop policies to prevent the practice. Agencies would also have to establish independent procedures for investigation claims of bias and for disciplining officers found to have engaged in the practice. The bill is currently awaiting action by the Governor.

The Virginia Senate passed a bill (HB 1053) to expand cultural diversity training for law enforcement officers. The bill would develop a model policy that could be used by state and local police agencies to ensure that employees are sensitive to and aware of cultural diversity and biased policing. The policy would also include provisions for the "vigorous" investigation of complaints. The Virginia Association of Chiefs of

Attorney General John Ashcroft was called up to Capitol Hill by both House and Senate appropriations subcommittees to outline and defend the President’s proposed budget for the Department of Justice.

In his statement to lawmakers, Ashcroft summarized the President’s proposed budget, declaring that the September 11 attacks redefined the mission of the Justice Department to focus on the defense and prevention of terrorism. The proposed budget for the Justice Department is $30.2 billion, which is an increase of over 20% from the current funding level. However, despite this significant increase in the overall budget, funding levels for state and local law enforcement assistance programs have been significantly reduced.

The Local Law Enforcement Block Grant (LLEBG) program and the Byrne Grant program would be combined into a new initiative, the Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program. The proposed funding level for this new combined program is $800 million, a decrease of $194 million, or 20%, from the current funding level for both programs. In addition to the consolidation and reduction of these grant programs, the proposed budget for the COPS program features a decrease of almost 50%, with the complete elimination of the law enforcement hiring grant program and significant reductions in the funds available for crime-fighting technology.

Police supports the bill. The House passed the measure on February 8.

During debate on a broad truth-in-sentencing bill, the South Carolina Senate added a provision that requires law enforcement agencies to begin collecting data on traffic stops. The bill also requires agencies to develop policies to prevent the practice of bias-based policing, procedures for receiving and investigating complaints, and to discipline officers who engage in it. Because the House version of the measure does not contain these provisions, the bill has been sent to a conference committee to resolve the differences.

Measures to require the collection of DNA samples from all felons have passed the House in both Iowa and Kentucky, and have passed committees in Colorado, Minnesota and New Hampshire.

Bills increasing or eliminating the statute of limitations on sex crimes if DNA evidence is present have passed the Oklahoma House and a Florida committee.

A bill passed by the Maryland House requires state officials to save scientific evidence from most cases for the duration of a prisoner’s sentence.

The Wisconsin House has approved a bill to allow its citizens to carry concealed weapons. However, its passage in the Senate is uncertain.

A Colorado House committee approved a bill designed to protect the identities of people holding permits to carry concealed weapons. Under the bill, a police chief or sheriff who receives a request for information that would identify permit holders would have to notify the holders in writing and wait 10 days before releasing the information. However, an attempt to amend a domestic violence bill to require sheriffs to issue concealed-weapon permits was unsuccessful.

The Ohio Senate approved a bill to require that drunken-driving tests be used as evidence in arrests, even if officers do not follow all the rules while giving them. The bill follows an August 2000 Supreme Court ruling that said police who do not properly conduct sobriety tests cannot use them as evidence when deciding whether to arrest suspected drunken drivers. The bill requires the test to be used as evidence if it was conducted in "substantial compliance" with national testing standards. Supporters of the bill argue that the court’s decision was a case of hairsplitting that hurts police officers' abilities to do their jobs. For example, because of the ruling, sobriety tests can now be challenged if a police officer tested a person on a gravel road instead of a smooth surface as called for in the standards.

A Maryland House committee killed several bills addressing drunken driving, including a measure to toughen the punishment for drivers with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent or higher, almost double the legal limit. The committee also killed two bills that would have toughened penalties for drivers who refuse to take breath or blood tests. The Judiciary Committee, known for its skepticism of drunken-driving bills, delayed voting on legislation sponsored by the House leadership to prohibit open containers of alcohol in vehicles and to toughen the penalty for repeat drunken drivers. Maryland is at risk of losing millions of dollars of federal highway construction dollars if it does not pass those bills this year.

Supporters of a bill (SB 1749) that would strengthen border security are putting pressure on Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) to schedule a vote by the full Senate. The House passed its version of the bill (HB 3525) on December 19.

The legislation would provide modern technology to immigration control agencies and enable federal officials to more carefully scrutinize visitors through a range of measures. Among other things, it requires federal intelligence, law enforcement, diplomatic and immigration offices to help create a common database of suspected terrorists and other undesirables that would provide up=to-date information to border and immigration officials. The president could designate specific types of law enforcement or intelligence information that the database could not provide to immigration officials. It also requires a study of ways to establish an international suspect database that the U.S. could share with Mexico, Canada, and other countries that do not require a visa to enter the U.S.

Additionally, the legislation requires the INS and Customs Service to hire additional inspectors, all of whom would be classified as law enforcement officers. It also authorizes $150 million each for the INS and the Customs Service for technological security upgrades

The legislation also requires planes and passenger ships from other countries to provide passenger and crew lists before arriving; requires identification documents for non-citizens to contain biometric data such as fingerprints or retina scans; and establish requirements for electronic reporting of the activities of foreign students.

the programs complained that funding is being cut for state and local law enforcement agencies even as the federal government seeks an unprecedented level of help from the agencies to prevent terrorist attacks.

In response to questions regarding the elimination of the COPS hiring program, Ashcroft called the program a "miraculous sort of success" that has more than met its goal of providing funding for 100,000 new police officers. He told the Senate subcommittee that the success of the COPS program "demonstrated very clearly that if you put additional resources into the law enforcement mix, you can improve the quality of life for people," and said it is now up to local decision makers to decide "whether they want to put more resources into law enforcement or whether they feel that they're at the right level."

In addition, members of the subcommittee questioned the Attorney General on other topics. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the sponsor of an IACP-supported bill that would require background checks to be performed at gun shows, asked the Attorney General to consider closing the gun show loophole as a way to prevent terrorists from illegally purchasing weapons. Ashcroft responded that "this administration does support closing the gun show loophole," and that he had taken several steps to better enforcement the laws that prohibit the acquisition of guns by illegal aliens, including directing that the immediate determination rate of NICS checks be improved, and that the FBI send all firearm purchase requests by noncitizens to the INS Law Enforcement Support Center to check against INS databases.

• Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Immigration and Naturalization Service: March 21.

• Federal Bureau of Investigation: March 6.
• Drug Enforcement Agency: March 20.

• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network: March 6.

• Terrorism Crisis Response Capabilities: March 5.

• Identity Theft Prevention: March 20.

• Hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2003 budget for Indian affairs programs: March 5, March 7.

The House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee approved a measure (HR 3482) that would give police access to e-mail to help them catch terrorists and other criminals. It creates new requirements for Internet service providers (ISPs) to comply with requests from law enforcement to see customers’ e-mail and other electronic information.

Under the anti-terrorism enacted last year, ISPs are permitted to disclose e-mail and other electronic communications to law enforcement if the companies "reasonable believe" the messages involve a threat of death or serious injury. The legislation would alter the standard, requiring ISPs to disclose the content of communications they believe in "good faith" constitute such an emergency.

The subcommittee also approved an amendment that added a section to the bill expanding the use of electronic surveillance tools known as pen registers and trap-and-trace devices. These devices capture information about the source or destination of communications without capturing the content. Under current law, law enforcement must get court orders to use pen registers and trap-and-trace devices. In some emergencies, law enforcement can install the devices for 48 hours before seeking the court order. The amendment would expand the list of emergency situations in which law enforcement could use the devices without first getting the court authorization. It would add immediate threats to national security and attacks on protected computers.