VIEW PDFNominate a TOP COP Today!
Don’t let your TOP COPS nominations get lost in the holiday shuffle! The January 9th deadline for nominations is just 3 weeks away.
With only weeks left, please take the time to nominate examples of outstanding police work for this prestigious award. We count on you, our members, to help us get the word about TOP COPS out and obtain nominations for officers nationwide. Join us in honoring America’s Finest by nominating a case today. The nomination form is attached and can be found on our website, and it must be postmarked or faxed to (703) 684-0515 by January 9, 2026. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact NAPO’s Director of Events, Elizabeth Loranger, at eloranger@napo.org or (703) 549–0775.
2026 will mark the 33rd year that NAPO has hosted the TOP COPS Awards®. The TOP COP Awards® Dinner will take place May 12, 2026, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, again coinciding with National Police Week. With your help and partnership, the TOP COPS Awards® will continue to be a tremendous success!
NDAA, Including NAPO Priorities, Signed into Law
Before adjourning for the two-week holiday recess, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which incorporated much of NAPO’s priority legislation that we have been working to include: the Honoring our Fallen Heroes Act, the Improving Police CARE Act, the PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act, the Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act, and comprehensive counter-UAS authorities for state and local law enforcement and corrections.
The Honoring Our Fallen Heroes Act, recognizes exposure-related cancers as line of duty injuries and would cover them under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program for death and disability benefits.
The Improving Police Critical Aid for Responding to Emergencies (CARE) Act establishes baseline standards for trauma kits purchased using grant funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) and requires the development of best practices for training law enforcement officers to use trauma kits, and for deployment and maintenance of the kits in vehicles and government facilities.
The PROTECT Our Children Reauthorization Act reauthorizes and improves the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program to combat child exploitation and abuse.
The Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act covers retired law enforcement officers who are killed or permanently and catastrophically disabled due to their previous work in the line of duty under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) Program.
It also includes comprehensive counter-UAS authority for state and local law enforcement and corrections, giving state and local agencies the authority to detect, track, identify, and mitigate drones that threaten public safety. Under the NDAA, agencies will be allowed to detect and track a drone, identify who is operating it, and disrupt, or bring it down if it poses a credible threat. These authorities are allowed when drones threaten large public events or venues, critical infrastructure, public spaces, or prisons, jails, and detention centers. It also includes provisions to allow Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne JAG) and Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant funding to be used by state and local law enforcement agencies to purchase drones and authorized counter-UAS systems.
NAPO thanks the sponsors of these bills - Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Representatives Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Andy Barr (R-KY) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) - for their support and efforts to help us get them included in the FY26 NDAA.
President Trump Declares Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction
On December 15, President Trump signed an executive order designating fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction. The Order directs an Administration-wide approach to fighting the scourge of fentanyl in our country, with a focus on cartels and foreign criminal organizations and networks, including ordering the Attorney General to pursue criminal charges, sentencing enhancements, and sentencing adjustments in fentanyl trafficking cases. It also directs the Secretaries of State and Treasury pursue appropriate actions against relevant assets and financial institutions for those involved in or supporting the manufacture, distribution, and sale of illicit fentanyl and its fundamental precursor chemicals.
Fentanyl is now the drug most associated with overdoses in the United States. It is being mixed with already deadly illicit drugs and hidden in counterfeit drugs with deadly results. 5 out of 10 counterfeit prescription drugs seized by law enforcement in 2024 were laced with a deadly dose of fentanyl. The amount of fentanyl the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized in 2024 – nearly 8,000 pounds of fentanyl – represents over 367 million deadly doses.
Law enforcement officers are out in our communities fighting the spread of fentanyl. They are responding to fentanyl overdoses and deaths, trying to save lives and take fentanyl off our streets. We welcome the additional federal resources and support provided by this executive order, which will help deter the spread of fentanyl across our borders and in our communities.
Register Today for NAPO’s 37th Annual Pension & Benefits Seminar
Don’t miss out on the chance to take an active role in safeguarding the future of your plan and retirement by registering for NAPO’s Annual Pension & Benefits Seminar at Ceasar’s Place in Las Vegas, Nevada January 25 – 27.
The purpose of this Seminar is to educate pension system and employee representatives along with their providers and vendors on the latest issues surrounding the pension and benefits industry. It will focus on the policies of the second Trump Administration, Executive Orders, lawsuits, and the new Congress. Slow but steady progress appears to be being made regarding inflation and the cost of living. Growing concern about our National Debt and the logjam in Congress, though, have threatened the U.S. credit rating and public confidence as a whole. The desire for stability and some sort of predictability remain vital in equity markets, and the battle over foreign policy and trade and tariffs continues.
We will continue to address the growing use of AI as well as liability risks & practical advice for fiduciaries. Benefits themselves continue to be viewed as a key component of recruitment and retention. We will examine these areas and more as we evaluate the effect of these trends on public employment benefits and security, and the near- and mid-term future for U.S. and world economic conditions.
For information, contact NAPO’s Director of Events, Elizabeth Loranger, at 800-322-6276 or eloranger@napo.org.
NAPO Backed Bill to Track Sales of Fentanyl on Social Media Moves in House
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade marked up and unanimously approved the No Fentanyl on Social Media Act (H.R. 6259) on December 11.
The spread of fentanyl in our communities is devastating, and it is being peddled at alarmingly high rates to our youth through social media. The data that will be produced due to No Fentanyl on Social Media Act would ensure the right resources and tools are being provided to law enforcement, government entities and private sector organizations to combat and deter sales of fentanyl on social media. With 76 percent of teen overdose deaths in 2023 linked to fentanyl, the time to act to protect our children is now. NAPO supports this important bill and thanks Representatives Gabe Evans (R-CO) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) for their advocacy and leadership.
FISA Oversight Hearing Signals Re-Emergence of 4th Amendment’s Not For Sale Act
The House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) on December 11. While the hearing focused on the federal government’s ability to surveil foreign nationals for the sake of national security and the merits of such power, many committee members, including Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), also emphasized the need to restrict law enforcement’s access to publicly accessible data. The hearing signaled that lawmakers will make a strong push to move the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act (FANFSA), which NAPO opposes, next year.
FANFSA would require law enforcement to obtain a probable cause warrant to access commercially available records held by third parties. This would restrict law enforcement access to critical, publicly available investigative information that is utilized every day to combat violent and serious crimes such as murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, human trafficking, child sexual exploitation, terrorism, and threats of mass violence.
Publicly available data helps law enforcement focus its investigative resources on the most dangerous criminals. Publicly available data helps rule out suspects, find exculpatory evidence, and ensure that it focuses its resources and authorities on those who committed crimes. If enacted into law, FANFSA would hamstring law enforcement’s ability to aid victims, solve crimes, illuminate and investigate drug trafficking networks, and intervene in overt threats of mass violence as quickly as possible.
NAPO will work with the Committee, House leadership, and lawmakers to ensure law enforcement continues to have access to this important data for criminal investigations.
Administration Outlines Changes to 1033 Program
The Defense Logistics Agency’s Law Enforcement Support Office (LESO), which runs the Department of Defense 1033 Program, has outlined programmatic changes stemming from President Trump’s January 2025 Executive Order 14148, “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions.” This Order repealed President Biden’s May 2022 Executive Order that placed significant restrictions on state and local law enforcements’ ability to acquire surplus military equipment through the 1033 Program.
The changes to the program that LESO outlined include suppressors being removed from the prohibited property listing as well as the removal of all restrictions and certifications that were placed on non-commercial vehicles, including tracked and armored vehicles, and Long-Range Acoustic Devices. Additionally, the acquisition of drones is once again allowed through the 1033 Program.
Below are helpful resources regarding the LESO and the 1033 Program:
LESO Program website: https://www.dla.mil/Disposition-Services/Offers/Law-Enforcement/
LESO Program State Coordinator Information: https://www.dla.mil/Disposition-Services/Offers/Law-Enforcement/State-Coordinators/
Ready to Join the LESO Program? https://www.dla.mil/Disposition-Services/Offers/Law-Enforcement/Join-The-Program/
NAPO Supports Blue Envelope Programs Act
NAPO endorsed the Supporting Blue Envelope Programs Act, introduced by Representatives Norma Torres (D-CA) and John Rutherford (R-FL). This legislation would provide federal funding to support, expand, and create Blue Envelope Programs across the country. Currently, 29 states have Blue Envelope Programs, which help improve communications and interactions between law enforcement and public safety personnel and individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD), or other disabilities that may affect communication with first responders.
NAPO has long supported programs that give state and local law enforcement officers practical tools to support officers and individuals with developmental disabilities experience safer, more effective interactions. Blue Envelope Programs are an important effort to provide officers with the tools and training necessary to identify and respond to mental health issues and developmental disabilities in the communities they serve.
President Reclassifies Marijuana as a Schedule III Drug
On December 18, President Trump signed an executive order reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act. The purpose of the Order is to remove barriers to research on medical marijuana and its current and potential uses as well as to expand access to full spectrum CBD products.
The reclassification of marijuana as a Schedule III drug will make it easier for medical researchers to apply for grants to run clinical trials and for pharmaceutical companies to apply for Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval for medical marijuana and CBD products. Marijuana will remain illegal for all unauthorized uses under federal law.
View the White House Fact Sheet on the Order here.