I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4948

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.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 25, 2000

Mr. DOOLEY of California (by request) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Resources

A BILL

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.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 That section 2805(a) of the Act of October 30, 1992 (106

4 Stat. 4692; 16 U.S.C. 460l–33(a)), is amended by adding

5 at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(3) Any person who violates any such regulation

7 which is lawfully issued pursuant to this Act shall be fined

8 under title 18, United States Code, imprisoned not more
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1 than 6 months, or both. Any person charged with a viola2 tion of such regulation may be tried and sentenced by any

3 United States magistrate judge designated for that pur4 pose by the court by which he was appointed, in the same

5 manner and subject to the same conditions and limitations

6 as provided for in section 3401 of title 18, United States

7 Code.

8 ‘‘(4) The Secretary may—

9 ‘‘(A) authorize law enforcement personnel from

10 the Department of the Interior to act as law enforce11 ment officers to maintain law and order and protect

12 persons and property within a Reclamation project

13 or on Reclamation lands;

14 ‘‘(B) authorize law enforcement personnel of

15 any other Federal agency that has law enforcement

16 authority, with the exception of the Department of

17 Defense, or law enforcement personnel of any State

18 or local government, including Indian tribes, when

19 deemed economical and in the public interest, and

20 with the concurrence of that agency or that State or

21 local government, to act as law enforcement officers

22 within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation

23 lands with such enforcement powers as may be so

24 assigned them by the Secretary to carry out the reg25 ulations promulgated under paragraph (2);
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1 ‘‘(C) cooperate with any State or local govern2 ment, including Indian tribes, in the enforcement of

3 the laws or ordinances of that State or subdivision;

4 and

5 ‘‘(D) provide reimbursement to a State or local

6 government, including Indian tribes, for expendi7 tures incurred in connection with activities under

8 subparagraph (B).

9 ‘‘(5) Officers or employees designated or authorized

10 by the Secretary under paragraph (4) are authorized to—

11 ‘‘(A) carry firearms within a Reclamation

12 project or on Reclamation lands and make arrests

13 without warrants for any offense against the United

14 States committed in their presence, or for any felony

15 cognizable under the laws of the United States if

16 they have reasonable grounds to believe that the per17 son to be arrested has committed or is committing

18 such a felony, and if such arrests occur within a

19 Reclamation project or on Reclamation lands or the

20 person to be arrested is fleeing therefrom to avoid

21 arrest;

22 ‘‘(B) execute within a Reclamation project or

23 on Reclamation lands any warrant or other process

24 issued by a court or officer of competent jurisdiction

25 for the enforcement of the provisions of any Federal
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1 law or regulation issued pursuant to law for an of2 fense committed within a Reclamation project or on

3 Reclamation lands; and

4 ‘‘(C) conduct investigations within a Reclama5 tion project or on Reclamation lands of offenses

6 against the United States committed within a Rec7 lamation project or on Reclamation lands in the ab8 sence of investigation thereof by any other Federal

9 law enforcement agency having investigative jurisdic10 tion over the offense committed or with the concur11 rence of such other agency.

12 ‘‘(6)(A) Except as otherwise provided in this para13 graph, a law enforcement officer of any State or local gov14 ernment, including Indian tribes, designated to act as a

15 law enforcement officer under paragraph (4) shall not be

16 deemed a Federal employee and shall not be subject to

17 the provisions of law relating to Federal employment, in18 cluding, but not limited to, those relating to hours of work,

19 rates of compensation, leave, unemployment compensa20 tion, and Federal benefits.

21 ‘‘(B) For purposes of chapter 171 of title 28, United

22 States Code, popularly known as the Federal Tort Claims

23 Act, a law enforcement officer of any State or local govern24 ment, including Indian tribes, shall, when acting as a des25 ignated law enforcement officer under paragraph (4) and
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1 while under Federal supervision and control, and only

2 when carrying out Federal law enforcement responsibil3 ities, be considered a Federal employee.

4 ‘‘(C) For purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of

5 title 5, United States Code, relating to compensation to

6 Federal employees for work injuries, a law enforcement

7 officer of any State or local government, including Indian

8 tribes, shall, when acting as a designated law enforcement

9 officer under paragraph (4) and while under Federal su10 pervision and control, and only when carrying out Federal

11 law enforcement responsibilities, be deemed a civil service

12 employee of the United States within the meaning of the

13 term ‘employee’ as defined in section 8101 of title 5, and

14 the provisions of that subchapter shall apply. Benefits

15 under this subchapter shall be reduced by the amount of

16 any entitlement to State or local workers’ compensation

17 benefits arising out of the same injury or death.

18 ‘‘(7) Nothing in paragraphs (3) through (9) shall be

19 construed or applied to limit or restrict the investigative

20 jurisdiction of any Federal law enforcement agency, or to

21 affect any existing right of a State or local government,

22 including Indian tribes, to exercise civil and criminal juris23 diction within a Reclamation project or on Reclamation

24 lands.
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1 ‘‘(8) For the purposes of this subsection, the term

2 ‘law enforcement personnel’ means employees of a Fed3 eral, State, or local government agency, including an In4 dian tribal agency, who have successfully completed law

5 enforcement training and are authorized to carry firearms,

6 make arrests, and execute services of process to enforce

7 criminal laws of their employing jurisdiction.

8 ‘‘(9) The law enforcement authorities provided for in

9 this subsection may be exercised only pursuant to rules

10 and regulations promulgated by the Secretary and ap11 proved by the Attorney General.’’.

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