Title: Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act
This bill declares that, by September 30, 2017, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) shall terminate the Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations unit and cease using Forest Service employees to perform law enforcement functions on federal lands.
Also by such date, the Department of the Interior shall terminate the Bureau of Land Management Office of Law Enforcement and cease using Interior employees to perform law enforcement functions on federal lands.
Interior shall make a grant to each state to permit the state to maintain law and order on federal land, protect individuals and property on federal lands, and enforce federal law.
Any state or local government receiving the grant or subgrant shall enter into an agreement with Interior or USDA, as appropriate, to address the maintenance of law and order and the protection of individuals and property on federal land.
In any such agreement, Interior or USDA must waive all civil claims against the state or local government and indemnify that government and save it harmless from all claims by third parties for property damage or personal injury that may arise out of law enforcement functions performed under the agreement.
A state or local law enforcement officer performing law enforcement functions pursuant to such an agreement shall not generally be deemed a federal employee with respect to hours of work, compensation rates, leave, unemployment compensation, and federal benefits, among other things.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 622 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 622

 To terminate the law enforcement functions of the Forest Service and 
the Bureau of Land Management and to provide block grants to States for 
 the enforcement of Federal law on Federal land under the jurisdiction 
               of these agencies, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 24, 2017

  Mr. Chaffetz (for himself, Mr. Stewart, Mrs. Love, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. 
 Amodei, Mr. McClintock, and Mr. Gosar) introduced the following bill; 
   which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 
     addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To terminate the law enforcement functions of the Forest Service and 
the Bureau of Land Management and to provide block grants to States for 
 the enforcement of Federal law on Federal land under the jurisdiction 
               of these agencies, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Local Enforcement for Local Lands 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Covered law enforcement agency.--The term ``covered law 
        enforcement agency'' means--
                    (A) the Forest Service Law Enforcement and 
                Investigations unit; and
                    (B) the Bureau of Land Management Office of Law 
                Enforcement.
            (2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
                    (A) any land and interest in land owned by the 
                United States within a State and included within the 
                National Forest System, including the National 
                Grasslands; and
                    (B) the public lands (as defined in section 103(e) 
                of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
                (43 U.S.C. 1702(e)).
            (3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to 
                Federal land described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph 
                (2); and
                    (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to 
                Federal land described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph 
                (2).
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
            (5) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
        government'' means--
                    (A) any city, county, township, town, borough, 
                parish, village, or other general purpose political 
                subdivision of a State; or
                    (B) an Indian tribe which performs law enforcement 
                or emergency response functions as determined by the 
                Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 3. TERMINATION OF FOREST SERVICE AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 
              AGENCY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND LAW ENFORCEMENT 
              FUNCTIONS.

    (a) Forest Service.--Not later than September 30, 2017, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall terminate the Forest Service Law 
Enforcement and Investigations unit and cease using employees of the 
Forest Service to perform law enforcement functions on Federal land.
    (b) Department of the Interior.--Not later than September 30, 2017, 
the Secretary of the Interior shall terminate the Bureau of Land 
Management Office of Law Enforcement and cease using employees of the 
Department of the Interior to perform law enforcement functions on 
Federal land.
    (c) Termination of Authorization of Appropriations.--Beginning with 
fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal year thereafter, no amounts are 
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary concerned for a covered 
law enforcement agency or for Federal law enforcement functions on 
Federal land.
    (d) No Effect on Authority To Carry Firearms.--Nothing in this Act 
shall be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary concerned to 
authorize an employee of the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land 
Management to carry a firearm for protection while in the field.

SEC. 4. BLOCK GRANTS TO STATES FOR ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL LAW ON 
              FEDERAL LAND.

    (a) Grants Required; Purpose.--For fiscal year 2018 and each fiscal 
year thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior shall make a grant to 
each State for the purpose of permitting the State, directly or through 
subgrants with units of local government in that State, to maintain law 
and order on Federal land, protect individuals and property on Federal 
land, and enforce Federal law. Grant funds shall be used only to carry 
out law enforcement functions on Federal land.
    (b) Determination of Grant Amount.--
            (1) Grant formula.--A State shall receive a grant under 
        subsection (a) for a fiscal year in an amount equal to the 
        product of--
                    (A) the percentage determined under paragraph (2) 
                for that State; and
                    (B) the total amount appropriated to the Secretary 
                of the Interior for that fiscal year pursuant to the 
                authorization of appropriations in subsection (d).
            (2) State percentage.--The percentage for a State for 
        purposes of paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall be equal to 
        the sum of the following:
                    (A) Thirty percent of the percentage determined by 
                comparing the total acreage of Federal land in that 
                State at the end of the preceding fiscal year and the 
                total acreage of Federal land in all States at the end 
                of the preceding fiscal year.
                    (B) Seventy percent of the percentage determined by 
                comparing the total number of employees of the covered 
                law enforcement agencies assigned to that State as of 
                September 30, 2016, and the total number of all 
                employees of the covered law enforcement agencies as of 
                that date.
    (c) Report on Expenditures.--A State or unit of local government 
receiving a grant or subgrant under this section shall submit to the 
Secretary of the Interior an annual report--
            (1) certifying that the grant funds were used only for the 
        Federal land law enforcement functions specified in subsection 
        (a);
            (2) accounting for all expenditures incurred by the State 
        or unit of local government in connection with performing such 
        law enforcement functions on Federal land; and
            (3) indicating whether grant funds were sufficient or 
        insufficient to cover such expenditures.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--On account of the reduced 
costs to be incurred by the Secretary concerned as a result of the 
termination of the covered law enforcement agencies, for fiscal year 
2018 and each fiscal year thereafter, there is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior to make grants under this 
section--
            (1) an amount equal to seven percent of the Forest Service 
        budget for fiscal year 2016;
            (2) an amount equal to five percent of the Bureau of Land 
        Management budget for fiscal year 2016; and
            (3) such additional amounts as the Secretary concerned 
        considers to be necessary for law enforcement functions on 
        Federal land for a fiscal year, to be included in the materials 
        submitted to Congress by the Secretary concerned in support of 
        the budget of the President for that fiscal year under section 
        1105(a) of title 31, United States Code.

SEC. 5. STATE AND LOCAL AGREEMENTS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT FUNCTIONS ON 
              FEDERAL LAND.

    (a) Agreement Required.--As a condition of a grant or subgrant 
under section 4, the State or unit of local government receiving the 
grant or subgrant and the Secretary concerned shall enter into an 
agreement, consistent with this section, to address the maintenance of 
law and order and the protection of individuals and property on Federal 
land.
    (b) Powers and Duties of Law Enforcement Personnel.--The agreement 
under subsection (a) between a State or unit of local government 
receiving a grant or subgrant and the Secretary concerned shall 
authorize designated law enforcement officers of the State or unit of 
local government--
            (1) to carry firearms on Federal land;
            (2) make arrests without warrant for any offense against 
        the United States committed in the presence of the law 
        enforcement officer, or for any felony cognizable under the 
        laws of the United States if the law enforcement officer has 
        reasonable grounds to believe that the individual to be 
        arrested has committed or is committing the felony, provided 
        the arrests occur on Federal land or within the State or local 
        jurisdiction of the law enforcement officer or the individual 
        to be arrested is fleeing from the Federal land;
            (3) execute 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 arising out of an offense committed on Federal land or, 
        where the individual subject to the warrant or process is on 
        Federal land, in connection with any Federal offense; and
            (4) conduct investigations of offenses against the United 
        States committed on Federal land in the absence of 
        investigation of the offenses by any other Federal law 
        enforcement agency having investigative jurisdiction over the 
        offense committed or with the concurrence of the other agency.
    (c) Indemnify and Save Harmless.--The Secretary concerned shall 
waive, in any agreement under subsection (a) with a State or unit of 
local government, all civil claims against the State or unit of local 
government and, subject to available appropriations, indemnify and save 
harmless the State or unit of local government from all claims by third 
parties for property damage or personal injury, that may arise out of 
law enforcement functions performed under the agreement.
    (d) Law Enforcement Personnel Not Deemed Federal Employees.--
            (1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, a law enforcement officer of a State or unit of 
        local government performing law enforcement functions pursuant 
        to an agreement under subsection (a) shall not be deemed 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, leave, unemployment 
        compensation, and Federal benefits.
            (2) Exceptions.--A law enforcement officer of a State or 
        unit of local government performing law enforcement functions 
        pursuant to an agreement under subsection (a) is deemed to be--
                    (A) a Federal employee for purposes of sections 
                1346(b) and 2401(b) and chapter 171 of title 28, United 
                States Code; and
                    (B) a civil service employee of the United States 
                within the meaning of the term ``employee'' as defined 
                in section 8101 of title 5, United States Code, for 
                purposes of subchapter I of chapter 81 of such title, 
                relating to compensation to Federal employees for work 
                injuries, and the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 
                81 of such title shall apply.
    (e) Federal Investigative Jurisdiction and State Civil and Criminal 
Jurisdiction Not Preempted.--This section shall not be construed or 
applied--
            (1) to limit or restrict the investigative jurisdiction of 
        any Federal law enforcement agency other than a covered law 
        enforcement agency; and
            (2) to affect any right of a State or unit of local 
        government to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction on 
        Federal land.
    (f) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Forest service.--Section 15003 of the National Forest 
        System Drug Control Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 559c) is repealed.
            (2) Bureau of land management.--Section 303(c)(2) of the 
        Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
        1733(c)(2)) is amended by striking ``may authorize Federal 
        personnel or'' and inserting ``shall authorize''.
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