1f69
[DOCID: f:h2925enr.txt]
H.R.2925
One Hundred Seventh Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and one
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).
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
0