The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program

The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program is a Department of Justice (DOJ) formula grant program. The JAG program allocates funds to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, America Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands (collectively referred to as “states” hereinafter) for a variety of state and local criminal justice initiatives. The program is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). Calculating Allocations Under the JAG formula, each state’s allocation is based on its population and the number of reported violent crimes in the state. Specifically, half of a state’s allocation is based on the state’s respective share of the U.S. population, using the most recent population figures published by the Census Bureau. The other half is based on the state’s respective share of the average number of violent crimes reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the three most recent years for which data are available. Under current law, each state is guaranteed to receive no less than 0.25% of the amount appropriated for the JAG program in a given fiscal year (i.e., the minimum allocation). Therefore, after each state’s initial allocation is calculated using the JAG formula, states that would have received less than 0.25% of the total amount appropriated for the JAG program are funded at the minimum allocation. Non-minimum allocation states receive the minimum allocation plus a share of the funds remaining after all states receive the minimum allocation. The remaining funds are allocated among the non-minimum allocation states using the JAG formula, except that both population and violent crime data for the states that received the minimum allocation as their award are excluded when allocating the remaining funds. After each state’s allocation is determined, 40% of it is directly awarded to units of local government in the state (this does not occur in the District of Columbia or the territories). Awards to units of local government, which includes Indian tribes that have law enforcement responsibilities, are based on the jurisdiction’s proportion of the three-year average number of violent crimes committed in its respective state. Only units of local government that would receive $10,000 or more are eligible for a direct allocation. The balance of funds not awarded directly to units of local government is administered by the state and must be distributed to the state police department or to units of local government that were not eligible to receive a direct award from BJA. Also, each state is required to “pass through” to units of local government a certain percentage of the funds directly awarded to the state. The pass-through percentage is calculated using data on criminal justice expenditures collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. A state is allowed to retain a portion of its funding equal to the ratio of the total amount of state expenditures on criminal justice to the total amount of expenditures on criminal justice by both the state and all units of local government. Disparate Allocation In some instances, a unit of local government or multiple units of local government are required to collaborate on a single joint award with the county. This happens when BJA certifies that there is a “disparate allocation,” meaning that one city qualifies for an amount that is one-and-a-half times more than the amount for the county with concurrent jurisdiction, or when the total amount for which cities in a single county qualify is four times more than the amount for the county. The unit or units of local government and county representatives must sign and submit a memorandum of understanding stating that they all agree on how the joint award, which is the sum of all of the individual awards, will be allocated and used. Program Purpose Areas Grant recipients can use their JAG funds for state and local initiatives, technical assistance, training, personnel, equipment, supplies, contractual support, and criminal justice information systems for law enforcement; prosecution and courts; prevention and education; corrections and community corrections; drug treatment; planning, evaluation, and technology improvement; crime victim and witness assistance (other than compensation); mental health and related law enforcement and corrections programs, including behavioral programs and crisis intervention teams; and state crisis intervention court proceedings and related programs or initiatives, including mental health, drug, and veterans courts, and extreme risk protection order programs. JAG’s nine program purpose areas are intended to give states and local units of government flexibility in creating programs to address local needs. Appropriations There are two numbers to consider when evaluating changes in appropriations for the JAG program: the total (or top-line) appropriation, and the amount available to be allocated through the JAG program after set-asides. Traditionally, Congress has dedicated some of the annual JAG appropriation for other purposes, as specified in the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act. In many fiscal years, as a part of its annual budget submission, the Administration has also requested that Congress set aside a portion of the annual JAG funding for specific purposes. Table 1 provides information on JAG appropriations for the past 15 fiscal years. Top-line funding for JAG since FY2012 has ranged from a low of $365 million in FY2013 to a high of $964 million in FY2026, and has averaged $545 million per fiscal year. The post set-aside appropriation for JAG has ranged from a low of $333 million in FY2015 to a high of $412 million in FY2023, and averaged $354 million over the past 15 fiscal years. Table 1. Appropriations for the JAG Program, FY2012-FY2026 (appropriations in millions of dollars) Fiscal Year Top-Line Appropriation Appropriation after Set-Asides Percent Set Aside 2012 470 352 25% 2013 365 345 5% 2014 376 345 8% 2015 376 333 12% 2016 476 347 27% 2017 403 335 17% 2018 416 340 18% 2019 424 330 22% 2020 547 349 36% 2021 484 360 26% 2022 675 382 43% 2023 771 412 47% 2024 924 346 63% 2025 499 396 21% 2026 964 346 64% Source: Appropriations were taken from the conference report or explanatory statement to accompany the annual Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act for each fiscal year, with the exception of FY2013 and FY2025. The FY2013 appropriation was provided by DOJ. FY2025 appropriations are based on a CRS analysis of the text of the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4). Notes: Amounts shown in the table are in nominal, not inflation-adjusted, dollars. The FY2013 appropriation is post-sequestration as implemented per the Budget Control Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-25). The top-line appropriation for JAG decreased from $470 million in FY2012 to $365 million in FY2013. The top-line appropriation has trended upwards since FY2013, but there have been annual fluctuations over the past 13 fiscal years. In comparison, the appropriation after set-asides has generally been in the range of $330 million to $350 million since FY2012 (though it was somewhat higher in FY2021, FY2022, FY2023, and FY2025). Congress has increased the top-line figure for JAG as more funding has been set aside for non-JAG programs. For example, in FY2012, there were five programs funded through set-asides along with $100 million provided to reimburse cities that hosted presidential nominating conventions for security costs. In FY2026, 15 programs were funded through set-asides from the JAG program. Since FY2017, Congress has funded several DOJ grant programs (e.g., Project Safe Neighborhoods, the John R. Justice program, programs authorized under the Prison Rape Elimination Act, and the Capital Litigation Improvement and Wrongful Conviction Review program), which had traditionally received their own line item appropriation in the annual CJS appropriations act, through set-asides from JAG. In addition, since FY2017 Congress started funding an increasing number of programs that did not traditionally have their own line-item appropriation but rather exist solely as a set-aside from the JAG program. This includes funding for Byrne Discretionary Community Project grants (i.e., congressionally directed spending), which were first included in FY2022. For FY2025, under the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (CR; P.L. 119-4), most of the set-asides for JAG were the same as they were in FY2024, though the CR zeroed out funding for Byrne Discretionary Community Project grants and reimbursing cities for security at the presidential nominating conventions. The CR reduced top-line funding for JAG to reflect that these two programs were not funded through set-asides, hence the decrease in top-line JAG funding for FY2025. The Byrne Discretionary Community Project grants were included for FY2026, hence the increase in the top line appropriation for JAG and the percentage of JAG funds that were set aside for other purposes relative to FY2025.