Senate Bill No. 187
(By Senators Wooton, Snyder, Ross, Ball, Schoonover, Anderson,
Sharpe and Sprouse)
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[Introduced January 21, 1998; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article ten, chapter fifteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section five,
relating to federal law-enforcement officers having
authority to enforce state, county and municipal laws while
in active service; and providing immunity from liability in
certain situations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article ten, chapter fifteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section five,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 10. COOPERATION BETWEEN LAW-ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
§15-10-5. Federal officers peace-keeping authority.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the
contrary, any person who is employed by the United States
government as a law-enforcement officer as enumerated in
subsections (b) and (c) of this section has the authority to
enforce violations of the laws of this state granted to
law-enforcement officers as are defined in section one, article
twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code, with the exception of
state or local traffic laws or parking ordinances if the
violation of law is committed in the presence of the
law-enforcement officer or the law-enforcement officer who is
rendering assistance to a duly authorized law-enforcement officer
of the state of West Virginia in an emergency or at the request
of that officer.
(b) This section applies to the following federal law- enforcement officers who are: (i) Employed full time;
(ii)empowered to effect an arrest with or without a warrant for
violations of the United States code; and (iii) authorized to
carry firearms in the performance of their duties:
(1) Department of justice: -- (i) Special agents of the drug
enforcement administration; (ii) special agents of the federal
bureau of investigation; (iii) inspectors and special agents of
the immigration and naturalization service; and (iv) marshals and
deputy marshals of the United States marshals service.
(2) Department of treasury: -- (i) Special agents of the
bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms; (ii) inspectors and
special agents of the Internal Revenue Service; (iii) inspectors
and special agents of the United States customs service; and (iv)
special agents of the United States secret service.
(3) United States postal service: -- Inspectors of the
United States postal inspection service.
(4) Special agents of the offices of the inspector general
and other criminal investigative components of United States
departments and agencies while conducting official business in
the state of West Virginia.
(c) This section applies to the following federal police
officers who are: (i) Employed full time; (ii) empowered to
effect an arrest with or without a warrant for violations of the
United States code while on duty; (iii) authorized to carry
firearms while on duty in the performance of their duties; and
(iv) are on duty in the performance of their official duties when
a violation of law is committed in the presence of the police
officer or the on-duty police officer is rendering assistance to
a duly authorized law-enforcement officer of the state of West
Virginia in an emergency or at the request of that officer; and
police officers empowered under Title 40, United States code,
employed at the federal bureau of investigation criminal justice
information services division facility at Clarksburg.
(d) When acting under the authority of this section, those
persons who are employed by the United States government as
law-enforcement officers enumerated in subsections (b) and (c) of
this section shall have the same immunities from liability as
law-enforcement officers as defined in section one, article
twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to grant federal
law-enforcement officers the power to enforce the laws of this
state while engaged in law-enforcement activities. It also
provides for immunity from liability when so acting under certain
situations.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.