I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7906 

To amend title 40, United States Code, to include certain requirements 

for officers protecting Federal property, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 31, 2020 

Mr. DEFAZIO (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

and Ms. BONAMICI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 40, United States Code, to include certain 

requirements for officers protecting Federal property, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Prevent Federal Law 

5 Enforcement Abuse in the Protection of Federal Property 

6 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF 

2 HOMELAND SECURITY FOR PROTECTION OF 

3 PUBLIC PROPERTY. 

4 Section 1315 of title 40, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘of the Department of 

8 Homeland Security, including employees trans9 ferred to the Department’’ and insert ‘‘trans10 ferred to the Department of Homeland Secu11 rity’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘2002,’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘2002’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘While engaged in the per16 formance of official duties,’’ and inserting ‘‘To 

17 the extent necessary to protect the property de18 scribed in subsection (a) and persons on such 

19 property,’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘fire21 arms’’ and inserting ‘‘a firearm’’; 

22 (C) in subparagraph (C) by striking ‘‘if the 

23 officer or agent has reasonable grounds to be24 lieve that the person to be arrested has com25 mitted or is committing a felony;’’ and inserting 

26 the following: ‘‘if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the officer or agent has probable 

2 cause to believe that the person to be ar3 rested has committed, is committing, or is 

4 about to commit a felony on or related to 

5 property owned or occupied by the Federal 

6 Government; 

7 ‘‘(ii) the arrest— 

8 ‘‘(I) occurs on the Federal prop9 erty or an area in the immediate vi10 cinity of the property and does not ex11 tend beyond any adjacent sidewalk, 

12 public street, or other adjacent areas; 

13 ‘‘(II) in the case of an agreement 

14 under subsection (e), occurs in an 

15 area in which arrests are permitted 

16 under the parameters established in 

17 such agreement; or 

18 ‘‘(III) is carried out in an area 

19 not covered under subclause (I) or 

20 (II) only if— 

21 ‘‘(aa) the officer or agent is 

22 in active pursuit of a person who 

23 is otherwise subject to arrest 

24 under this subparagraph; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) such person exits the 

2 area covered by subclause (I) or 

3 (II), as applicable, during such 

4 pursuit; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) there are specific and articulable 

6 facts to support a reasonable belief that 

7 the person may— 

8 ‘‘(I) escape before a warrant can 

9 be obtained for his or her arrest; 

10 ‘‘(II) destroy evidence; or 

11 ‘‘(III) continue the commission of 

12 a felony on or related to property 

13 owned or occupied by the Federal 

14 Government;’’; 

15 (D) in subparagraph (E) by striking ‘‘; 

16 and’’ and inserting ‘‘, except that such inves17 tigations and any associated surveillance are re18 stricted solely to offenses that may have been 

19 committed against property owned or occupied 

20 by the Federal Government; and’’; and 

21 (E) by striking subparagraph (F) and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(F) carry out such other activities nec24 essary to protect the property described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 Aug 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7906.IH H7906

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1 section (a) and persons on such property as the 

2 Secretary may prescribe.’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (e)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘the Secretary may enter 

5 into agreements’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary 

6 shall enter into agreements, including memo7 randa of understanding,’’; and 

8 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘Any agreement, including memoranda of un10 derstanding, entered into under this subsection 

11 shall include a requirement that all officers and 

12 agents designated under this subsection and 

13 subject to such agreement wear body cameras 

14 while on duty.’’; 

15 (4) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

16 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and 

17 (5) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(f) IDENTIFICATION AS FEDERAL OFFICER.—An of20 ficer or agent designated under this subsection shall, while 

21 engaged in the performance of official duties, display— 

22 ‘‘(1) appropriate insignia identifying the depart23 ment or agency of the Department of Homeland Se24 curity from which such officer or agent has been 

25 designated; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the full name of the officer or agent. 

2 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON ARRESTS.—With respect to any 

3 arrest carried out under subsection (b)(2)(C), the officer 

4 or agent shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) identify himself or herself and the depart6 ment or agency in which such officer or agent is em7 ployed; 

8 ‘‘(2) inform the individual being arrested of the 

9 cause for such arrest; 

10 ‘‘(3) in the case of an arrest carried out pursu11 ant to an agreement under subsection (e), notify any 

12 State or local government that is party to such 

13 agreement of the arrest; and 

14 ‘‘(4) document the details of the arrest and the 

15 cause for such arrest.’’. 

Æ 


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