PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jan 3, 2025
Stop Enabling Repeat Violence and Endangering Our Communities Act or the SERVE Our Communities Act
This bill authorizes the Bureau of Justice Assistance to make grants to states and local governments for mentoring, transitional services, and training to help offenders successfully reintegrate back into the community after incarceration. To be eligible for a grant, a state or local government must take steps to prevent repeat offenses by violent offenders and allow a state court or magistrate to consider the danger an individual poses to the community when determining bail or pretrial release conditions.
People & committees
Rep. Tenney, Claudia [R-NY-24] · R–NY
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Apr 8, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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Analyze H.R.198 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-01-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This bill proposes federal grants for state and local governments that allow courts to consider community danger when setting bail or conditions for release before trial, and that have taken steps to prevent repeat offenses by violent offenders. It would authorize funding for fiscal years 2026–2031. Permitted grant uses are defined in another law whose text is not supplied.
The Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, is authorized to make grants to eligible States and units of local government for the purposes described in subsection (c).
(1) shall allow a State court or magistrate to consider the danger an individual poses to the community when determining bail or pretrial release conditions; and (2) shall have taken steps during the previous calendar year to prevent repeat offenses by violent offenders
A State or unit of local government that receives a grant under this section may use such funds for the purposes described in section 211(b) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 60531(b)).
There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 to carry out this section.
Section 1 names the proposal the Stop Enabling Repeat Violence and Endangering Our Communities Act, or SERVE Our Communities Act.
This Act may be cited as the Stop Enabling Repeat Violence and Endangering Our Communities Act or the SERVE Our Communities Act.
The Attorney General, through the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, would be authorized to award grants to eligible state and local governments. The provision permits grants; it does not require an award to every eligible government.
(a) Authorization The Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, is authorized to make grants to eligible States and units of local government for the purposes described in subsection (c).
Grant eligibility would require both allowing a state court or magistrate to consider community danger in bail or pretrial-release decisions and having taken steps during the previous calendar year to prevent repeat offenses by violent offenders. These are conditions for receiving grants.
(b) Eligibility In order to be eligible for a grant under this section, a State or unit of local government— (1) shall allow a State court or magistrate to consider the danger an individual poses to the community when determining bail or pretrial release conditions; and (2) shall have taken steps during the previous calendar year to prevent repeat offenses by violent offenders
The bill lists alternative examples of qualifying steps: enacting a law allowing consideration of community danger in release decisions; expanding efforts to hire and retain law enforcement officers and prosecutorial staff; or administering public education to combat anti-police sentiment and improve community-police relations. It does not require all three listed actions.
including— (A) enacting a law that allows a State court or magistrate to consider the danger an individual poses to the community when determining bail or pretrial release conditions; (B) expanding efforts of that jurisdiction to hire and retain law enforcement officers and prosecutorial staff; or (C) administering a public education program to combat anti-police sentiment and improve community-police relations.
Recipients could use grant money for purposes described in section 211(b) of the Second Chance Act of 2007. The supplied bill incorporates that provision by reference rather than describing those purposes.
(c) Use of funds A State or unit of local government that receives a grant under this section may use such funds for the purposes described in section 211(b) of the Second Chance Act of 2007 (34 U.S.C. 60531(b)).
The bill would authorize Congress to provide $10 million for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2031. This is permission for future appropriations, not an appropriation that itself supplies the money.
(d) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 to carry out this section.
The bill would use the definitions of “State” and “unit of local government” from section 901 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. Those definitions are not reproduced in the supplied text.
(e) Definitions In this section, the terms State and unit of local government have the meanings given such terms in section 901 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10251).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated April 8, 2025, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on the Judiciary on January 3, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2025-04-08T08:06:13Z. 2025-01-03: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 2025-01-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-01-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy rider was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for a particular recipient or place was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; formal earmark status and accompanying materials cannot be assessed from this bundle.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential exception was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. The program's eligibility conditions do not establish such a benefit. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Apr 8, 2025. How PlainBill uses AI