S. 1563, Retired Law Enforcement Officers Continuing Service Act

S. 1563 would authorize a new grant program for the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies hire retired officers to provide training and to conduct civilian tasks. Those tasks would include assisting with certain investigations, conducting forensic analysis, and reviewing camera footage. The bill would require the inspector general within DOJ to audit recipients of grants and report to the Congress annually on its findings.

CBO estimates that, in total, implementing S. 1563 would cost $2 million over the 2025-2030 period. Using information from DOJ about similar grant programs, CBO estimates that 10 law enforcement agencies would receive an annual grant of about $50,000 each. CBO expects that each grant would, on average, support the hiring of two retired officers. On that basis and based on the historical spending patterns of similar programs, CBO estimates that implementing the grant program would cost $2 million over the 2025-2030 period. CBO expects that the auditing and reporting requirements would cost less than $500,000 over the same period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeremy Crimm. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.