2012 Utah Code
Title 53 - Public Safety Code
Article 13 - Peace Officer Classifications
Section 106.5 - State limitations on functions of federal law enforcement officers.

(1) As used in this section:

(a) "Exercise law enforcement authority" means:

(i) to take any action on private land, state-owned land, or federally managed land, to investigate, stop, serve process, search, arrest, cite, book, or incarcerate a person for a violation of a federal, state, or local criminal justice system when the action is based on:

(A) a federal statute, regulation, or rule;

(B) a state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or rule; or

(C) a state or local statute, ordinance, regulation, or rule that has been assimilated into federal law under a federal assimilation statute; or

(ii) to gain access to or use the correctional or communication facilities and equipment of any state or local law enforcement agency.

(b) "Federal agency" means a federal agency that manages federally managed land or regulates activities on that land, including:

(i) the United States Bureau of Land Management;

(ii) the United States Forest Service;

(iii) the National Park Service;

(iv) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service;

(v) the United States Bureau of Reclamation;

(vi) the United States Environmental Protection Agency; and

(vii) the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

(c) "Federal employee" means an employee or other agent of a federal agency, but does not include:

(i) a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

(ii) a special agent of the United States Secret Service;

(iii) a special agent of the United States Department of Homeland Security, excluding a customs inspector or detention removal officer;

(iv) a special agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives;

(v) a special agent of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration;

(vi) a United States marshal, deputy marshal, or special deputy United States marshal; or

(vii) a United States postal inspector of the United States Postal Inspection Service.

(d) "Federally managed land" means land managed by the following federal agencies:

(i) the United States Bureau of Land Management;

(ii) the United States Forest Service;

(iii) the National Park Service;

(iv) the United States Fish and Wildlife Service; and

(v) the United States Bureau of Reclamation.

(2) Unless otherwise provided by Utah law, federal employees performing their duties in Utah:

(a) may not exercise law enforcement authority solely because the land on which they exercise the authority is federally managed; and

(b) may exercise only law enforcement authority:

(i) expressly granted by federal statute; and

(ii) consistent with the Constitution of the United States.

(3) Utah does not authorize federal employees to exercise law enforcement powers to enforce the laws of Utah, either on or off federally managed land except as authorized under this section or other provisions of state statute.

(4) (a) Utah does not recognize the authority of employees or agents of the United States Department of Interior to exercise law enforcement powers in any county when the exercise of the authority:

(i) occurs before the United States Secretary of the Interior has achieved the maximum feasible reliance upon the county's law enforcement officials in enforcing federal laws and regulations for the management, use, and protection of lands managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management, as required under 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1733(c)(2); or

(ii) goes beyond those powers strictly necessary for the management, use, and protection of federally managed lands, including property located on these lands, as limited by 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1733(a).

(b) As required by Congress in 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1733(c)(1), when the Secretary of Interior determines that state or local assistance is necessary in enforcing federal laws and regulations relating to federally managed lands or the resources on those lands, the secretary shall offer a contract to appropriate state or local law enforcement agencies of the state with the purpose of achieving maximum feasible reliance upon state or local law enforcement officials in enforcing the federal laws and regulations.

(5) Utah does not authorize federal employees to take action based on the Utah Code, Utah Administrative Rules, or county or municipal ordinances as a basis to stop, detain, arrest, or cite persons for prosecution in the federal criminal justice system, unless the action:

(a) has been expressly granted by federal statute; and

(b) is consistent with the Constitution of the United States.

(6) The authority of a United States Forest Service employee who is not a trained and certified law enforcement officer and the authority of any employee of the United States Bureau of Land Management to take action based on the Utah Code, Utah Administrative Rules, or county or municipal ordinances, or a federal assimilation of any of these provisions, as a basis to stop, detain, arrest, or cite persons for prosecution in the federal criminal justice system, is not recognized, unless:

(a) (i) the authority for the action has been expressly granted by an enacted federal statute and not by assimilation of any state laws or ordinances; and

(ii) is consistent with the Constitution of the United States; or

(b) (i) the offense is an emergency and poses an immediate risk of bodily injury or damage to property;

(ii) a state, county, or municipal law enforcement officer is not reasonably available to take action; and

(iii) (A) the action is within the scope of the employee's or official's law enforcement power under a federal law that is enacted and that is not an assimilation of a state law or ordinance; and

(B) the authorizing federal law is consistent with the Constitution of the United States.

(7) State and local government agencies may not allow any federal agency access to or use of the correctional and communication facilities and equipment of any state or local law enforcement agency without the express written consent of the appropriate responsible official of the state or local law enforcement agency.

(8) (a) Local law enforcement agencies may enter into agreements with federal agencies granting limited authority to specific federal employees to exercise law enforcement powers to enforce federal laws and state and local laws, provided the agreements are limited to a term not to exceed two years and the officers granted authority have completed a 20-hour course focusing on Utah law and process approved by the director of the Peace Officer Standards and Training Division.

(b) State law enforcement agencies may, with the consent of the local county sheriff, enter into agreements as described in Subsection (8)(a), provided that the agreements may not exceed a duration of two years.

(9) County sheriffs shall regularly review the duties and activities of federal agencies that have law enforcement responsibilities and that are acting within the jurisdictional area of the county to determine if the federal agencies are acting consistently with this section.

Amended by Chapter 115, 2013 General Session

Amended by Chapter 475, 2013 General Session