HB1643 - SAFE Zone Act Summary

• Creates Safe and Full Employment Zones (SAFE Zones) in geographic areas with high gun violence and economic destabilization, with zones to be identified within 60 days and re-evaluated every 4 years.

• Establishes a Safe and Full Employment Coordinating Board composed of state agency directors, legislative members, local officials, service providers, and community members to develop and implement plans for SAFE Zones using a public health approach.

• Requires state agencies to prioritize 5-20% of eligible federal and state funding for violence reduction, job creation, housing, education, healthcare, and other services in designated SAFE Zones beginning in the first full fiscal year after enactment.

• Creates Local Economic Growth Councils in each SAFE Zone (20-25 community residents) to develop 2-year plans addressing violence reduction, reducing incarceration, and expanding economic opportunity within 6 months of establishment.

• Transfers implementation of the First Time Weapon Offender Program (18-24 month diversion program for first-time, non-violent weapons offenders under age 21) to the Safe and Full Employment Coordinating Board.