Local Taxpayer Protection Act of 2026
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Local Taxpayer Protection Act of 2026 directs the Department of Homeland Security to award grants to municipalities where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing or detention facility operates or is being developed. A grant may not exceed the municipality's combined unrealized property-tax revenue and municipal public-utility costs from the preceding fiscal year.
Each grant lasts five years and may be renewed while the facility remains in operation. Municipalities must document financial need, provide a cost-benefit analysis, identify other funding sources, and submit other information required by DHS. Municipalities may apply jointly, and DHS must encourage joint applications and issue guidance.
Grant funds may replace property-tax revenue the municipality does not collect from the facility and may pay municipal utility costs. A recipient should use the grant to make the facility self-sufficient for utilities or extend utility capacity so other residents and businesses are not impaired.
Who Benefits and How
Municipal governments hosting ICE facilities receive a way to offset lost property taxes and utility expenses. Local taxpayers benefit when facility-related costs are shifted to a federal grant. Residents and businesses served by the same utility systems may benefit from capacity improvements. Municipalities submitting joint applications may coordinate regional infrastructure responses.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal Homeland Security grant accounts bear award costs. DHS grant staff must issue guidance, review financial analyses, calculate caps, monitor uses, and consider renewals. Municipal finance and grant staff must document costs and other funding. Public-utility departments must plan self-sufficiency or capacity projects and track eligible expenses.
Key Provisions
- Creates DHS grants for municipalities hosting or developing ICE facilities.
- Caps grants at lost property taxes plus municipal utility costs.
- Uses the preceding fiscal year to calculate the maximum award.
- Establishes five-year terms renewable while the facility operates.
- Requires financial-need and cost-benefit documentation.
- Allows and encourages joint municipal applications.
- Permits spending on property-tax shortfalls and utility costs.
- Encourages utility self-sufficiency or added system capacity.
- Covers water, gas, electricity, internet, waste, recycling, and sewer services.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates five-year renewable Homeland Security grants for municipalities hosting or developing immigration processing or detention facilities, capped by lost property-tax revenue plus municipal utility costs and usable for those fiscal impacts.
Key Policy Areas
Immigration Detention, Municipal Finance, Federal Grants, Public Utilities
Primary Purpose
Creates five-year renewable Homeland Security grants for municipalities hosting or developing immigration processing or detention facilities, capped by lost property-tax revenue plus municipal utility costs and usable for those fiscal impacts.
Policy Domains
Section 2 municipality grants for ICE facilities
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Municipalities hosting ICE facilities
- Local taxpayers in host municipalities
- Residents using shared municipal utilities
- Businesses using shared municipal utilities
- Municipal public-utility systems
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal Homeland Security grant accounts
- DHS municipal-grant administrators
- Municipal finance officers
- Municipal grant applicants
- Municipal utility planning staff
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition …
Introduced in House
Mr. Kean introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Businesses using shared municipal utilities, Municipal public-utility systems, Municipal utility planning staff
Municipal finance officers, Municipalities hosting ICE facilities
DHS municipal-grant administrators, Federal Homeland Security grant accounts
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "utility"
- → Municipal public-utility provider serving the facility
- "recipient"
- → Municipality hosting or developing a covered ICE facility
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of Homeland Security
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The preceding fiscal year's unrealized property-tax revenue plus municipal public-utility costs attributable to the covered facility.
An ICE processing or detention facility operating or under development in a municipality.
Water, gas or natural gas, electricity, internet, garbage, recycling, and sewer services.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology