I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 498 
To amend section 1502 of title 5, United States Code, to permit law 
enforcement officers to be candidates for sheriff, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 26, 2011 
Mr. LATTA (for himself, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, Mr. AUS-
TRIA, Mr. ROONEY, Mr. PASCRELL, Mrs. LUMMIS, Mr. LEE of New York, 
Mr. WESTMORELAND, and Mr. DENT) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 
A BILL 
To amend section 1502 of title 5, United States Code, to 
permit law enforcement officers to be candidates for 
sheriff, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘State and Local Law 
Enforcement Hatch Act Reform Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. HATCH ACT REFORM. 
(a) PERMITTING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS TO 
BE CANDIDATES FOR SHERIFF.—Section 1502(c) of title 
5, United States Code, is amended— 
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(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or’’ after the 
semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 
inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) a law enforcement officer who is a can-
didate for sheriff.’’. 
(b) POLITICAL ACTIVITIES.—Section 1502 of title 5, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(d) Subsection (a)(1) of this section does not pro-
hibit a sheriff from participating in political campaigns 
for, or endorsing, political candidates running for elective 
office by— 
‘‘(1) attending or speaking at political cam-
paign rallies or events; 
‘‘(2) holding or sponsoring political fundraisers; 
or 
‘‘(3) appearing on political advertisements, in-
cluding print, radio, television, or any other form of 
advertising.’’. 
(c) AMENDMENT TO DEFINITIONS.—Section 1501 of 
title 5, United States Code, is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 
the semicolon; 
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(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and 
inserting a semicolon; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) ‘law enforcement officer’ means a State or 
local officer or employee whose duties are primarily 
the investigation, apprehension, or detention of indi-
viduals suspected or convicted of offenses against 
the criminal laws of a State or local jurisdiction, in-
cluding an officer or employee engaged in this activ-
ity who is transferred to a supervisory or adminis-
trative position; and 
‘‘(6) ‘sheriff’ means an individual who holds the 
elected Office of Sheriff, as defined by State con-
stitution or State statute, of a county, town, town-
ship, parish, village, or other general purpose polit-
ical subdivision of a State.’’. 
SEC. 3. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS. 
Section 1504 of title 5, United States Code, is 
amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 
‘‘When’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(b) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR LAW ENFORCE-
MENT OFFICERS.—With respect to paragraphs (1) and 
(3) of section 1502(a), the Special Counsel may not 
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present any charges against a law enforcement officer 
under subsection (a) after the end of the 6-month period 
beginning on the later of— 
‘‘(1) the date of the alleged violation of para-
graph (1) or (3) of section 1502(a), as the case may 
be; or 
‘‘(2) the date of the enactment of the State and 
Local Law Enforcement Hatch Act Reform Act of 
2011.’’. 
Æ 
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