§2 Use of grant funds to combat organized crime
This section amends the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program (34 U.S.C. 10381) to authorize a new permissible use of funds—designated as paragraph (23)—for state and local governments to create specialized law enforcement units dedicated to combating organized crime, cartel operations, and transnational criminal organizations. Such units may use funds to (1) acquire specified equipment, including tactical vehicles, unmanned aerial systems (excluding weaponized drones and those from covered nations per 10 U.S.C. 4872 or covered foreign entities per P.L. 118-63), ballistic vests, helmets, and firearms; (2) train officers in counter-organized crime tactics and intelligence-gathering; and (3) hire additional personnel, including to backfill positions vacated by reassignments. The section also updates the program's catch-all permissible use (redesignated as paragraph (24)), adds a new prioritization preference for applicants from jurisdictions with high cartel, gang, or transnational criminal activity that certify funds will support the new permissible use (redesignated as paragraph (25)), and appropriates $50 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030 for JAG grants used for that purpose (derived from specified rescinded Department of Labor funds). Additionally, the section directs the Attorney General to finalize implementing rules within 180 days of enactment and to submit annual reports to Congress detailing uses of and grantees for such funds.