[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2925 Received in Senate (RDS)]
1st Session
H. R. 2925
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 24, 2001
Received
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Reclamation Recreation Management Act of 1992 in order to
provide for the security of dams, facilities, and resources under the
jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION. 1. LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY AT BUREAU OF RECLAMATION
FACILITIES.
(a) Public Safety Regulations.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
issue regulations necessary to maintain law and order and protect
persons and property within Reclamation projects and on Reclamation
lands.
(b) Violations; Criminal Penalties.--Any person who knowingly and
willfully violates any regulation issued under subsection (a) shall be
fined under chapter 227, subchapter C of title 18, United States Code,
imprisoned for not more than 6 months, or both. Any person charged with
a violation of a regulation issued under subsection (a) may be tried
and sentenced by any United States magistrate judge designated for that
purpose by the court by which he was appointed, in the same manner and
subject to the same conditions and limitations as provided for in
section 3401 of title 18, United States Code.
(c) Authorization of Law Enforcement Officers.--The Secretary of
the Interior may--
(1) authorize law enforcement personnel from the Department
of the Interior to act as law enforcement officers to enforce
Federal laws and regulations within a Reclamation project or on
Reclamation lands;
(2) authorize law enforcement personnel of any other
Federal agency that has law enforcement authority (with the
exception of the Department of Defense) or law enforcement
personnel of any State or local government, including an Indian
tribe, when deemed economical and in the public interest,
through cooperative agreement or contract, to act as law
enforcement officers to enforce Federal laws and regulations
within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands with such
enforcement powers as may be so assigned to them by the
Secretary;
(3) cooperate with any State or local government, including
an Indian tribe, in the enforcement of the laws or ordinances
of that State or local government; and
(4) provide reimbursement to a State or local government,
including an Indian tribe, for expenditures incurred in
connection with activities under paragraph (2).
(d) Powers of Law Enforcement Officers.--A law enforcement officer
authorized by the Secretary of the Interior under subsection (c) may--
(1) carry firearms within a Reclamation project or on
Reclamation lands;
(2) make arrests without warrants for--
(A) any offense against the United States committed
in his presence; or
(B) any felony cognizable under the laws of the
United States if he has--
(i) reasonable grounds to believe that the
person to be arrested has committed or is
committing such a felony, and
(ii) such arrest occurs within a
Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands or
the person to be arrested is fleeing therefrom
to avoid arrest;
(3) execute within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation
lands any warrant or other process issued by a court or officer
of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of the provisions
of any Federal law or regulation issued pursuant to law for any
offense committed within a Reclamation project or on
Reclamation lands; and
(4) conduct investigations within a Reclamation project or
on Reclamation lands of offenses against the United States
committed within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands
if the Federal law enforcement agency having investigative
jurisdiction over the offense committed declines to investigate
the offense.
(e) Legal Status of State or Local Law Enforcement Officers.--
(1) State or local officers not federal employees.--Except
as otherwise provided in this section, a law enforcement
officer of any State or local government, including an Indian
tribe, authorized to act as a law enforcement officer under
subsection (c) shall not be deemed to be a Federal employee and
shall not be subject to the provisions of law relating to
Federal employment, including those relating to hours of work,
rates of compensation, employment discrimination, leave,
unemployment compensation, and Federal benefits.
(2) Application of federal tort claims act.--For purposes
of chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (commonly known
as the Federal Tort Claims Act), a law enforcement officer of
any State or local government, including an Indian tribe,
shall, when acting as a law enforcement officer under
subsection (c) and while under Federal supervision and control,
and only when carrying out Federal law enforcement
responsibilities, be considered a Federal employee.
(3) Availability of workers compensation.--For purposes of
subchapter I of chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code,
relating to compensation to Federal employees for work
injuries, a law enforcement officer of any State or local
government, including an Indian tribe, shall, when acting as a
law enforcement officer under subsection (c) and while under
Federal supervision and control, and only when carrying out
Federal law enforcement responsibilities, be deemed a civil
service employee of the United States within the meaning of the
term employee as defined in section 8101 of title 5, and the
provisions of that subchapter shall apply. Benefits under such
subchapter shall be reduced by the amount of any entitlement to
State or local workers compensation benefits arising out of the
same injury or death.
(f) Concurrent Jurisdiction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed or applied to limit or restrict the investigative
jurisdiction of any Federal law enforcement agency, or to affect any
existing right of a State or local government, including an Indian
tribe, to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction within a Reclamation
project or on Reclamation lands.
(g) Regulations.--Except for the authority provided in section
2(c)(1), the law enforcement authorities provided for in this section
may be exercised only pursuant to regulations issued by the Secretary
of the Interior and approved by the Attorney General.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Law enforcement personnel.--The term ``law enforcement
personnel'' means an employee of a Federal, State, or local
government agency, including an Indian tribal agency, who has
successfully completed law enforcement training approved by the
Secretary and is authorized to carry firearms, make arrests,
and execute service of process to enforce criminal laws of his
or her employing jurisdiction.
(2) Reclamation project; reclamation lands.--The terms
``Reclamation project'' and ``Reclamation lands'' have the
meaning given such terms in section 2803 of the Reclamation
Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 (16 U.S.C.
460l 32).
Passed the House of Representatives October 23, 2001.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.