Legislative

The National Troopers Coalition (NTC) is a national law enforcement organization representing approximately 47,000 state troopers across 43 member states.

Our state police and highway patrol agencies produce among the best trained police officers in the country who work in their states and lead enforcement efforts across all facets of law enforcement including criminal investigations, narcotic interdiction and trafficking, cyber-crime and computer forensics, traffic patrol, and traditional physical laboratory services.

The National Trooper Coalition tackle a broad range of issues that are important to the law enforcement community and advance our commitment to maintaining and increasing the security of our communities, our states and the nation. NTC is committed to working with our elected leaders at all levels of government to improve relations between law enforcement and the communities we serve. NTC is committed to ensuring that all levels of law enforcement can benefit from federal programs to lower crime and to increase recruitment and retention of law enforcement personnel.

Our priorities for the 118th Congress include:

  • H.R.82 / S.597 Social Security Fairness Act of 2023: To Repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision/Government Pension Offset (WEP/GPO). WEP and GPO unfairly penalize law enforcement retirees and their spouses and should be repealed.

  • H.R.130 / S.459 Thin Blue Line Act of 2023: To increase the penalties for those who murder or attempt to murder law enforcement officers. Federal law establishes sixteen aggravating factors for a jury to consider when hearing a legal case involving the death penalty including an aggravating factor for attacks on elected officials, judges, and federal law enforcement, but attacks on state law enforcement officers are not held to the same standard. The Thin Blue Line Act provides the same level of justice to local law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and first responders.

  • H.R.233 Qualified Immunity Act of 2023: To amend the Revised Statutes to codify the defense of qualified immunity, a court-created rule that protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff's rights and in the case of any action under section 1979, into law. This bill would provide additional aggravating factors for the imposition of the death penalty based on the status of the victim and extend protection to first responders.

  • H.R.847 Auto Theft Prevention Act: To provide funding to State and local law enforcement agencies to combat auto theft and stolen automobile trafficking, and for other purposes. This legislation will provide federal funding to state and local law enforcement agencies to help them successfully crack down on car thefts and keep our communities safe. Funding through the legislation can be used by law enforcement agencies to hire additional officers, pay overtime compensation, purchase specialized equipment such as automated license plate readers, and participate in auto theft task forces. Almost 500,000 vehicles, worth an estimated $4.5 billion, were stolen nationally in the first half of 2022, representing a 25 percent increase in thefts compared to the first half of 2019 before the pandemic.

  • H.R.957 The Public Safety Retirees Healthcare Protection Act: To increase the pre-tax distribution public safety officers can take from their pension plans to pay health or long- term care insurance premiums from $3,000 to $6,000 per year.

  • HELPER Act: Expected to be reintroduced in 2023 to establish a program administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide mortgage assistance to law enforcement officers, elementary and secondary school teachers, firefighters, or other first responders. Specifically, these individuals may be eligible for a one-time mortgage on a primary family residence with no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance premium. The following financial obstacles would be removed when First Responders finance their new homes: no down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance premium (PMI or MIP), could be reauthorized after 5 years, only pay 3.6% upfront mortgage insurance premium (UFMI). This program is similar to VA Loan home programs.