Defund Cities that Defund the Police Act of 2025
Defund Cities that Defund the Police Act of 2025 would bar jurisdictions that have defunded their police from receiving certain federal development dollars. Specifically, the bill defines “defunding state” and “defunding locality,” and then blocks these jurisdictions from receiving grants under two major programs: the Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program (as well as related planning, training, and supplementary activities). The bill also requires the federal agencies administering these programs to redirect or withhold funds from defunding jurisdictions and to reallocate those funds to non-defunding states and localities within the same state where possible. The overarching aim is to deter police defunding by tying federal development funds to the presence and level of police funding.
Key Points
- 1Definition of defunding:
- 2- Defunding state – a state that abolishes/disbands its state police with no plan to reconstitute it, or significantly reduces its police budget without a corresponding revenue decrease in the prior year.
- 3- Defunding locality – an urbanized locality that (a) abolishes/disbands its police department with no plan to reconstitute it, or (b) significantly reduces police funding without a prior year revenue decrease.
- 4Ineligibility for Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants:
- 5- Projects funded by EDA public works/economic development must be located in a non-defunding state/locality.
- 6- Planning/administrative grants cannot be awarded to defunding jurisdictions.
- 7- Supplementary grants must be carried out in areas that do not contain defunding states/localities.
- 8- Training, research, and technical assistance funds may not be used to assist defunding states or localities, and funds already awarded to a defunding jurisdiction must be returned and reallocated to non-defunding localities within the same state.
- 9Ineligibility for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG):
- 10- The law would add defunding status to the terms used in CDBG, making no funds obligated or expended for defunding states/localities.
- 11- If a state or locality is defunding during a grant period, amounts must be returned and reallocated to non-defunding jurisdictions within the same state (or to other states/localities in the case of non-entitlement areas), following specified reallocation formulas and excluding all defunding jurisdictions.
- 12Reallocation and administration:
- 13- The Secretary would handle returns and reallocation, directing states to return funds and reallocating to non-defunding localities or states as applicable.
- 14- Reallocation would use the existing allocation formulas, with defunding jurisdictions excluded, and would not follow the usual 106(c) reallocation rules.
- 15Short title and scope:
- 16- The act is titled “Defund Cities that Defund the Police Act of 2025” and targets only certain federal development funds (EDA and CDBG programs and related activities).