Auto Theft Prevention Act
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Auto Theft Prevention Act creates a new federal grant program administered by the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) within the Department of Justice. The program provides competitive grants to states, which must distribute at least 50% of funds as subgrants to local law enforcement agencies and at least 25% to state law enforcement agencies, prioritizing jurisdictions with the highest levels of auto theft. The bill also amends the existing COPS grant program (Section 1701(b) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968) to add auto theft activities as an authorized use of funds. It authorizes $30 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2030 ($150 million total).
Who Benefits
- State and local law enforcement agencies receive dedicated federal funding for equipment, personnel, overtime, training, and task forces to combat auto theft
- Communities with high auto theft rates benefit from prioritized funding and increased law enforcement capacity
- Auto theft victims benefit from enhanced enforcement reducing theft rates
- Law enforcement equipment vendors (particularly license plate reader manufacturers and data storage providers) benefit from designated procurement funding
Who Bears the Burden
- Federal taxpayers bear the $150 million cost over five years
- Auto theft perpetrators and stolen vehicle trafficking networks face enhanced law enforcement capacity and multi-jurisdictional task forces
- State Attorneys General bear administrative burden of applying for grants, distributing subgrants, and managing compliance
Key Provisions
- Grant program established within 60 days of enactment through the DOJ COPS Office
- States apply through their Attorney General with documentation of auto theft levels and plans for fund use
- Minimum 50% of grant funds to local law enforcement (prioritized by auto theft levels)
- Minimum 25% to state law enforcement agencies
- Eligible uses: equipment (vehicles, license plate readers), personnel hiring, overtime, training, joint task forces, data collection/research
- Administrative costs capped at 5% of grant amount
- $30 million authorized per year for FY2026-2030
- Amends existing COPS grant program to add auto theft as eligible use
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
Establishes a federal auto theft prevention grant program administered by the DOJ COPS Office, authorizing $30 million per year for fiscal years 2026-2030 to fund state and local law enforcement efforts to combat auto theft and stolen vehicle trafficking, and expands existing COPS grant eligibility to include auto theft activities.
Key Policy Areas
Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement
Primary Purpose
Establishes a federal auto theft prevention grant program administered by the DOJ COPS Office, authorizing $30 million per year for fiscal years 2026-2030 to fund state and local law enforcement efforts to combat auto theft and stolen vehicle trafficking, and expands existing COPS grant eligibility to include auto theft activities.
Policy Domains
Section 3 -- Auto Theft Prevention Grant Program
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- State and local law enforcement agencies (dedicated auto theft funding)
- Communities with high auto theft rates (prioritized funding)
- Law enforcement equipment vendors (license plate readers, vehicles)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal taxpayers ($150 million over 5 years)
- Auto theft perpetrators and stolen vehicle trafficking networks
- State Attorneys General (grant administration)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Section 4 -- COPS Grant Program Amendment
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Law enforcement agencies already receiving COPS grants (expanded eligible uses)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Other COPS grant priorities (potential funding competition)
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Moreno, and Ms. Rosen) introduced …
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "director"
- → Director of the COPS Office, Department of Justice
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The auto theft prevention grant program established under section 3(a).
Any entity administered by a locality that exists primarily to prevent and detect crime and enforce criminal laws.
The Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice.
Any State entity that exists primarily to prevent and detect crime and enforce criminal laws.
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