Nevada assemblyman seeks to limit BLM, Forest Service police powers

Assemblyman Ira Hansen has concerns about the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service overreaching their policing powers. Spurred in part by the BLM’s April roundup of Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy’s cattle that brought an armed confrontation between federal agents and Bundy supporters, the Sparks Republican is pushing for a bill that would prohibit BLM and Forest Service law officers from enforcing state laws. He is trying to get Nevada’s 17 counties, including Clark County, to take an interest in the issue that would be considered by the 2015 Legislature. Hansen’s concerns are tied in part to a variety of high-profile law enforcement incidents involving the BLM, including the roundup of Bundy cattle on public land and a fatal shooting at Red Rock that involved BLM law enforcement. Clark County commissioners will discuss the matter Tuesday at the request of Commissioner Tom Collins. Hansen said the legislation would expand existing Nevada law that outlines arrest powers within the state for the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, U.S. postal inspectors and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In his letter to county commissioners, Hansen stressed that a locally elected sheriff is meant to be the highest law enforcement authority in Nevada counties. “Bottom line: You need to make sure your citizens are safeguarded with all of their traditional constitutional and statutory protections: Local government, local control — especially when it comes to possible criminal charges from a federal land management agency,” Hansen said in his letter to commissioners. Hansen’s legislation would require federal agencies to get approval from sheriffs if they want to enforce state laws. Hansen said he is concerned about BLM enforcement activities, including traffic citations, that fall under state law. Eric Boik, chief ranger of the BLM’s Nevada operation, said BLM law enforcement officers “only enforce federal law. We do not enforce any state law.” However, federal laws do allow BLM rangers to stop vehicles that are speeding on BLM lands, or county and state roads that have BLM property on both sides. There is a federal law for speeding that BLM law enforcement can use when citing drivers. Hansen said the shooting death of a 20-year-old man in Clark County by BLM agents “gives a sense of the worst case possibilities.” Collins said state law needs clear language that includes the BLM and Forest Service, agencies that were overlooked in prior legislation. He said someone who is walking along a state road shouldn’t be stopped by BLM officers. “They’ve got no business stopping someone walking down the street,” Collins said...more