43 U.S.C. § 373b — Law enforcement authority at Bureau of Reclamation facilities

submitted 25 years ago by Pub. L. 107-69 to r/title-43-PUBLIC-LANDS · 890 words · no verdicts yet

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The Secretary of the Interior must set safety rules for Bureau of Reclamation sites, with fines and up to six months in jail for willful violations. The Secretary can authorize federal, state, local, or tribal officers to enforce federal law there, cooperate with local governments, and reimburse them for costs. Authorized officers can carry firearms, arrest, execute warrants, and investigate, and the section spells out how state and local officers are treated for employment, tort, and workers' comp purposes.

(a) Public safety regulations. The Secretary of the Interior must issue regulations needed to keep order and protect people and property on Reclamation projects and lands. (b) Violations; criminal penalties. Anyone who knowingly and willfully violates a regulation issued under (a) can be fined under a specific part of title 18, imprisoned up to 6 months, or both. Someone charged this way can be tried and sentenced by a U.S. magistrate judge assigned by the appointing court, the same way section 3401 of title 18 allows. (c) Authorization of law enforcement officers. The Secretary may: (1) let Interior Department staff act as law enforcement officers to enforce federal law on Reclamation projects and lands; (2) through a cooperative agreement or contract, let staff from another federal agency (except the Defense Department), or from a state or local government including a tribe, act as law enforcement officers there too, when that's economical and in the public interest, with whatever powers the Secretary assigns; (3) cooperate with a state or local government, including a tribe, in enforcing that government's own laws; and (4) reimburse a state or local government, including a tribe, for costs it incurs under (2). (d) Powers of law enforcement officers. An officer authorized under (c) may: (1) carry firearms on Reclamation projects and lands; (2) make warrantless arrests for a federal offense committed in the officer's presence, or for a federal felony if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person committed or is committing it and the arrest happens on Reclamation land or while the person is fleeing from it; (3) execute warrants or other court process there for enforcing federal law; and (4) investigate federal offenses committed there if the agency that normally has jurisdiction declines to investigate. (e) Legal status of state or local law enforcement officers. (1) A state or local officer (including a tribal officer) authorized under (c) is not treated as a federal employee and is not subject to federal-employment laws like work hours, pay rates, discrimination rules, leave, unemployment benefits, or federal benefits. (2) For the Federal Tort Claims Act, such an officer is treated as a federal employee while acting under (c), under federal supervision, and carrying out federal law enforcement duties. (3) For federal workers' compensation law (title 5), such an officer is likewise treated as a federal civil service employee while acting under (c), under federal supervision, and carrying out federal duties — but those benefits are reduced by any state or local workers' comp benefits paid for the same injury or death. (f) Concurrent jurisdiction. Nothing here limits any federal agency's investigative authority, or takes away any state or local government's (including a tribe's) existing right to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction on Reclamation projects or lands. (g) Regulations. Except for one specific authority noted in the law, the powers in this section can only be used under regulations the Secretary issues and the Attorney General approves.

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(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, 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.

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 (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, 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),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.

Source credit: (Pub. L. 107–69, § 1, Nov. 12, 2001, 115 Stat. 593.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

2001Enacted · Pub. L. 107-69 · 115 Stat. 593

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 107-69 on 2001-11-12.

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