Utah Congressional Delegation Push to Strip Police Powers From Feds. Read the Bill Here
This map shows land owned by different federal government agencies. The yellow represents the Bureau of Land Management’s holdings. en.wikipedia.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In response to concerns expressed by local law enforcement and elected officials, Utah’s Congressional delegation today introduced H.R. 4751, the Local Enforcement for Local Lands Act of 2016. This bill eliminates law enforcement functions of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service on federal land, and instead grants authority to local law enforcement.
Congressmen Rob Bishop (UT-01), Jason Chaffetz (UT-03), Chris Stewart (UT- 02), and Congresswoman Mia Love (UT-04) released the following statement upon introduction of the bill:
“Federal agencies do not enjoy the same level of trust and respect as local law enforcement that are deeply rooted in local communities. This legislation will help deescalate conflicts between law enforcement and local residents while improving transparency and accountability. The BLM and U.S. Forest Service will be able to focus on their core missions without the distraction of police functions. This is a win all around.”
Click here to view full bill text.
Click here to view a letter of support from the Utah Sheriffs’ Association.
What the Bill Does:
- Terminates the law enforcement function within BLM and Forest Service.
- Provides block granted funding to local law enforcement.
- Deputizes local law enforcement to defend federal land.
- Establishes a formula to reimburse local governments for law enforcement on public lands based on the percentage of public land in each state.
- Restores responsibility for law enforcement to elected officials who are accountable to the local community.
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Comments - 4 Responses to “Utah Congressional Delegation Push to Strip Police Powers From Feds. Read the Bill Here”
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This legislation is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled in Printz v. United States that local law enforcement cannot be used to enforce federal law. In that case, it was local law enforcement that was being used to complete federal gun application background investigations. That case set the legal precedent here.
It also violates the Utah Enabling Act, the law that created the State of Utah, in which the State forever abandons all claim to federal land within its borders. This legislation is a chess move in the battle to seize federal land, along with their co-conspirator Ken Ivory and his American Lands Council.
Your first point seems like it may be valid, and does seem to pose a number of dangers to the state itself. I mean, what “laws” would they be enforcing? Would they have authority, jurisdiction, or desire to enforce BLM rulings as if they were actually valid laws? Probably not.
I don’t think your assertion that “It also violates the Utah Enabling Act” is quite so clear, as the enabling act actually contains one of the central arguments the state makes in supporting its claim that the feds do not have a valid claim to the land. It states that the remaining lands “shall be sold by the United States subsequent to the admission of said State into the Union.”, and that Utah is to receive 5% of the proceeds from said sales. Since the feds have not done this, it seems that they could only claim ownership of the land if it fell under the federal “Enclave Clause”, which would require that some compelling federal need is being satisfied on the land, or through eminent domain, which the feds have never asserted.
IN that case it was the Federal government attempting to FORCE the locals into compliance. However, local law enforcement regularly enforces Federal law when both State and Federal gov law’s coincide, or the State agree’s to have its officers do it.
The local officers will be called upon citizens matters not federal law enforcement so it shouldn’t conflict.