High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program

There is established in the Office a program to be known as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program (in this section referred to as the “Program”). The purpose of the Program is to reduce drug trafficking and drug production in the United States by— The Director, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, heads of the National Drug Control Program agencies, and the Governor of each applicable State, may designate any specified area of the United States as a high intensity drug trafficking area. After making a designation under paragraph (1) and in order to provide Federal assistance to the area so designated, the Director may— The Director shall establish regulations under which a coalition of interested law enforcement agencies from an area may petition for designation as a high intensity drug trafficking area. Such regulations shall provide for a regular review by the Director of the petition, including a recommendation regarding the merit of the petition to the Director by a panel of qualified, independent experts. In considering whether to designate an area under this section as a high intensity drug trafficking area, the Director shall consider, in addition to such other criteria as the Director considers to be appropriate, the extent to which— To be eligible for funds appropriated under this section, each high intensity drug trafficking area shall be governed by an Executive Board. The Executive Board shall designate a chairman, vice chairman, and any other officers to the Executive Board that it determines are necessary. The Executive Board of a high intensity drug trafficking area shall be responsible for— None of the funds appropriated under this section may be expended for any high intensity drug trafficking area, or for a partnership or region of a high intensity drug trafficking area, if the Executive Board for such area, region, or partnership, does not apportion an equal number of votes between representatives of participating Federal agencies and representatives of participating State, local, and tribal agencies. Where it is impractical for an equal number of representatives of Federal agencies and State, local, and tribal agencies to attend a meeting of an Executive Board in person, the Executive Board may use a system of proxy votes or weighted votes to achieve the voting balance required by this paragraph. The eligibility requirements of this section are intended to ensure the responsible use of Federal funds. Nothing in this section is intended to create an agency relationship between individual high intensity drug trafficking areas and the Federal Government. The Director shall ensure that not more than a total of 5 percent of Federal funds appropriated for the Program are expended for substance use disorder treatment programs and drug prevention programs. The Director may authorize use of resources available for the Program to assist Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in investigations and activities related to terrorism and prevention of terrorism, especially but not exclusively with respect to such investigations and activities that are also related to drug trafficking. The Director shall ensure— The Director, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall ensure that a representative of the Drug Enforcement Administration is included in the Intelligence Support Center for each high intensity drug trafficking area. As part of the documentation that supports the President’s annual budget request for the Office, the Director shall submit to Congress a budget justification that includes— a detailed justification that explains— Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Director may expend up to 10 percent of the amounts appropriated under this section on a discretionary basis, to respond to any emerging drug trafficking threat in an existing high intensity drug trafficking area, or to establish a new high intensity drug trafficking area or expand an existing high intensity drug trafficking area, in accordance with the criteria established under paragraph (2). In allocating funds under this subsection, the Director shall consider— Not later than 90 days after December 29, 2006, the Director shall, after consulting with the Executive Boards of each designated high intensity drug trafficking area, submit a report to Congress that describes, for each designated high intensity drug trafficking area— For each designated high intensity drug trafficking area, the Director shall submit, as part of the annual National Drug Control Strategy report, a report that— describes— Not later than 1 year after December 29, 2006, and as part of each subsequent annual National Drug Control Strategy report, the Director shall submit to Congress a report— describing— Not later than 180 days after December 29, 2006, and as part of each subsequent annual National Drug Control Strategy report, the Director, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, shall submit to Congress a report— The Director, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall ensure that any drug enforcement intelligence obtained by the Intelligence Support Center for each high intensity drug trafficking area is shared, on a timely basis, with the drug intelligence fusion center operated by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force of the Department of Justice. As part of the documentation that supports the President’s annual budget request for the Office, the Director shall submit to Congress a report describing the use of HIDTA funds to investigate and prosecute organizations and individuals trafficking in methamphetamine in the prior calendar year. The report shall include— Before the Director awards any funds to a high intensity drug trafficking area, the Director shall certify that the law enforcement entities participating in that HIDTA are providing laboratory seizure data to the national clandestine laboratory database at the El Paso Intelligence Center. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy to carry out this section— The Director shall ensure that, of the amounts appropriated for a fiscal year for the Program, at least $7,000,000 is used in high intensity drug trafficking areas with severe neighborhood safety and illegal drug distribution problems. The funds used under paragraph (1) shall be used to ensure the safety of neighborhoods and the protection of communities, including the prevention of the intimidation of witnesses of illegal drug distribution and related activities and the establishment of, or support for, programs that provide protection or assistance to witnesses in court proceedings. The Director shall work with HIDTAs to develop and maintain best practice models to assist State, local, and Tribal governments in addressing witness safety, relocation, financial and housing assistance, or any other services related to witness protection or assistance in cases of illegal drug distribution and related activities. The Director shall ensure dissemination of the best practice models to each HIDTA. The Director may use funds appropriated to carry out this section to implement a drug overdose response strategy in high intensity drug trafficking areas on a nationwide basis by— The Director is authorized to use not more than $10,000,000 of the amounts otherwise appropriated to carry out this section to provide supplemental competitive grants to high intensity drug trafficking areas that have experienced high seizures of fentanyl and new psychoactive substances for the purposes of—