File No. 645

House of Representatives, April 30, 2007

The Committee on Judiciary reported through REP. LAWLOR of the 99th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING AN URBAN VIOLENCE REDUCTION GRANT PROGRAM, A DATABASE OF CERTAIN PERSONS REPORTING THE LOSS OR THEFT OF A FIREARM AND FUNDING FOR THE STATE-WIDE FIREARMS TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2007) (a) As used in this section:

(1) "Grant" means an urban violence reduction grant;

(2) "Eligible agency" means a nonprofit agency authorized by a municipality to apply for and administer a grant on behalf of such municipality; and

(3) "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management.

(b) There is established an urban violence reduction grant program for the purpose of reducing urban youth violence by providing grants for programs and services for youth in Connecticut's urban centers. The program shall be administered by the Office of Policy and Management.

(c) The secretary shall, within available appropriations, award grants under the program based on competitive proposals submitted and evaluated as provided in this section, except that, within available appropriations and subject to the requirements of subsection (g) of this section, the cities of Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven shall each receive, annually, a grant of seven hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, the cities of New London and Waterbury shall each receive, annually, a grant of four hundred seventy-five thousand dollars and the city of Stamford shall receive, annually, a grant of two hundred thousand dollars. Such grants may be made to a municipality or to one or more eligible agencies acting on behalf of a municipality. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, and each fiscal year thereafter, the amount of the grant payable to each municipality in accordance with this section shall be reduced proportionately in the event that the total amount payable in grants to all municipalities under this section exceeds the amount appropriated for such grants for such year.

(d) Grants made under this section shall be used to provide eligible programs and services for youth between twelve and eighteen years of age. Such programs and services shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Mentoring; (2) tutoring and enrichment activities; (3) social and cultural activities; (4) athletic and recreational opportunities; and (5) training in problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, peer counseling and similar topics designed to reduce youth violence. Grant recipients shall provide for parental and youth involvement, on an ongoing basis, in the planning and operation of such programs.

(e) The Office of Policy and Management shall publish a notice of grant availability and solicit competitive proposals under the program for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, and each fiscal year thereafter. Municipalities and eligible agencies acting on behalf of a municipality may file a grant application with the Office of Policy and Management on such forms and at such times as the secretary prescribes. Applications filed by eligible agencies acting on behalf of a municipality shall include the endorsement of the chief elected official of such municipality.

(f) The Office of Policy and Management shall review all grant applications received under the program and determine which grant applications shall be funded and at what funding levels. Criteria for such determinations shall be established by the secretary and included in the notice of grant availability.

(g) The cities of Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, New London, Stamford and Waterbury shall annually submit to the Office of Policy and Management a plan for the use of the grants made pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, and such plan shall be subject to the approval of the secretary. The plan shall be in such form, and contain such information, as the secretary shall prescribe. No grant shall be made to any such city pursuant to subsection (c) of this section unless such city has an approved plan for the fiscal year for which the grant is being made.

(h) The secretary may adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54 of the general statutes, to carry out the provisions of this section.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2007) The Department of Public Safety shall maintain a database of any person (1) who has reported the loss or theft of a firearm pursuant to section 53-202g of the general statutes, as amended by substitute senate bill 903 of the current session, (2) who has committed an infraction or been convicted of a crime pursuant to section 53-202g of the general statutes, as amended by substitute senate bill 903 of the current session, and (3) who has lost such firearm or from whom such firearm has been stolen but who had not discovered such loss or theft as of the time a law enforcement agency seized or recovered such firearm and determined such person's ownership thereof.

Sec. 3. (Effective July 1, 2007) (a) The sum of five hundred thousand dollars is appropriated to the Department of Public Safety, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, for the purpose of funding the state-wide firearms trafficking task force established in section 29-38e of the general statutes.

(b) The sum of five hundred thousand dollars is appropriated to the Department of Public Safety, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, for the purpose of funding the state-wide firearms trafficking task force established in section 29-38e of the general statutes.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact:

Explanation

The bill requires the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) to establish an Urban Violence Reduction Grant, within available appropriations, for six municipalities and other urban centers. The bill specifies that the following cities shall receive a grant, if appropriations are sufficient, they are:

The bill contains provisions that if appropriations are insufficient these grants will be reduced proportionately. Additionally the bill requires OPM to establish a grant for other urban centers, and requires OPM to determine the eligibility criteria, amount of the grant, and award such grants. It is uncertain what grants, if any will be awarded, but any costs would be in addition to the grants enumerated in the bill, which cost $3.325 million to fully fund, and all costs would be prorated to the amount of available appropriations. The budget bill, sHB 7077 as favorably reported by the appropriations committee, contains $1 million in each year of the biennium in the Office of Policy and Management for a similarly named, but different Violence Reduction Grants. These funds are provided for a different program, and are not available to implement provisions of this bill.

The bill requires the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to create a lost or stolen weapons database. It is anticipated that the creation of the database could result in a minimal cost to DPS associated with upgrades to current information technology database systems.

Additionally, the bill appropriates $500,000 in each FY 08 and FY 09 for a State-Wide Firearms Trafficking Task Force. The Appropriations Act, sHB 7077, as favorably reported by the Appropriations Committee, contains $500,000 in both FY 08 and FY 09 for this purpose.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation, with an exception of the upgrades to the information technology database systems, which are anticipated to be a one-time cost.



OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 7084

AN ACT CONCERNING AN URBAN VIOLENCE REDUCTION GRANT PROGRAM, A DATABASE OF CERTAIN PERSONS REPORTING THE LOSS OR THEFT OF A FIREARM AND FUNDING FOR THE STATE-WIDE FIREARMS TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE.

SUMMARY:

This bill:

1. establishes an urban violence reduction grant program within available appropriations,

2. directs the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to create a lost or stolen weapons database, and

3. appropriates to DPS $1,000,000 ($500,000 in each of the next two fiscal years) for its State-Wide Firearms Trafficking Task Force.

The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) must establish application procedures and administer the grant program, which consists of formula grants for the state's six largest cities and competitive grants for other urban centers.

The grants are for anti-violence programs and services targeting urban youth between ages 12 and 18. OPM can award them directly to municipalities or to designated nonprofit agencies. An agency's grant applications must include the chief elected municipal official's endorsement.

OPM may adopt implementing regulations.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2007, except the weapons database provision is effective October 1, 2007.

URBAN VIOLENCE REDUCTION GRANTS

The grants may be used for:

1. training on topics designed to reduce youth violence, such as problem-solving, decision-making, conflict resolution, and peer counseling;

2. mentoring;

3. tutoring, enrichment, social, and cultural activities; and

4. athletics and recreation.

The bill requires grant recipients to involve parents and youth in program planning and operations on an ongoing basis.

Formula Grants

Table 1 shows funding levels for the state's six largest cities.

Table 1: Annual Formula Grant Funding Levels

The cities must submit annual plans to OPM, in the manner the agency prescribes, describing their intended use of grant funds. OPM cannot award grant funds unless it has approved the city's plan.

The bill directs OPM to proportionally reduce formula grant funding levels in any fiscal year in which the total of all grant awards exceeds appropriations.

Competitive Grants

The bill requires OPM to establish criteria for awarding grants based on competitive proposals. It must include them in the annual notices of grant availability it must publish beginning in FY 08.

OPM decides which grant proposals to fund and at what level.

DPS LOST OR STOLEN WEAPONS DATABASE

The bill requires DPS to maintain a database containing the names of lawful firearm and assault weapon owners who (1) notify law enforcement that a weapon has been lost or stolen or (2) have not notified law enforcement of a theft of loss, but have had a weapon seized or recovered by the police.

If sSB 903 is enacted (see “Related Bill” below), the database must also include lawful firearm and assault weapon owners who commit the crime or infraction of failing to notify law enforcement when a weapon is lost or stolen.

BACKGROUND

Related Bill

Substitute Senate Bill 903, reported favorably by the Judiciary Committee, creates the infraction of failing to report a lost or stolen assault weapon or firearm to the police within 72 hours. It makes intentional and repeat offenses felonies.

State-Wide Firearms Trafficking Task Force

The task force is composed of state and local law enforcement officials. It is charged with (1) reviewing the problem and effects of illegal firearms trafficking, (2) identifying and focusing resources on prosecuting traffickers, (3) tracking and recovering illegally sold or distributed firearms, and (4) coordinating activities with other law enforcement agencies.

Its policy board is authorized by law to administer appropriations and grants (CGS §§ 29-38e and 29-38f).

COMMITTEE ACTION

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute