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 REC-
LAMATION 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 know-
ingly 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 Sec-
retary of the Interior may—
(1) authorize law enforcement personnel from the Depart-
ment 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 Fed-
eral agency that has law enforcement authority (with the excep-
tion of the Department of Defense) or law enforcement per-
sonnel 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 connec-
tion with activities under paragraph (2).
H. R. 2925—2
(d) POWERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.—A law enforce-
ment officer authorized by the Secretary of the Interior under
subsection (c) may—
(1) carry firearms within a Reclamation project or on Rec-
lamation 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 Rec-
lamation 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 investiga-
tive jurisdiction over the offense committed declines to inves-
tigate 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 pur-
poses 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 respon-
sibilities, be considered a Federal employee.
(3) AVAILABILITY
OF
WORKERS
COMPENSATION.—For pur-
poses 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 govern-
ment, including an Indian tribe, shall, when acting as a law
enforcement officer under subsection (c) and while under Fed-
eral supervision and control, and only when carrying out Fed-
eral 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
H. R. 2925—3
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 jurisdic-
tion 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 Sec-
retary of the Interior and approved by the Attorney General.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘law enforce-
ment 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.