Sponsors (2)
The bill shifts power to local chief executives to limit federal deputization and narrows DOJ enforcement roles to drug investigations, strengthening local control and civil-liberties protections but risking slower or reduced federal assistance in fast-moving incidents, emergencies, and complex multi-jurisdiction drug cases.
State, tribal, territorial, and D.C. chief executives gain authority to approve or deny federal deputization/designation of additional officers in their jurisdictions, increasing local control over federal law-enforcement presence.
The Department of Justice is limited to assigning enforcement personnel for drug-related investigative functions, narrowing federal law-enforcement scope and reducing potential federal overreach into non-drug matters.
Reduced risk that federal personnel will be deployed into local protests without local consent, helping preserve local authority and lowering the chance of escalation from additional federal presence.
Local, tribal, and federal law enforcement may receive slower or reduced federal support during large, fast-moving incidents if chief executives do not or cannot quickly approve deputization, potentially degrading response effectiveness.
Victims of multi-jurisdictional drug crimes could experience weaker federal investigative responses because DOJ enforcement personnel are constrained to narrowly defined drug-investigation duties.
Public safety could be strained in jurisdictions where a chief executive is uncooperative or incapacitated (for example during emergencies), since federal agencies may be barred from acting without a formal request.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires a State/tribal/territorial/D.C. chief executive request before federal deputization or DHS designation and narrows one federal enforcement duty to drug investigations.
Limits when federal law-enforcement authority can be imposed on or used inside a State, tribal area, territory, or the District of Columbia by requiring a formal request from the relevant chief executive before certain federal deputizations or DHS designations take effect. Also narrows one federal enforcement provision so related duties are limited to drug investigations. Applies specifically to U.S. Marshals Service deputizations, Department of Homeland Security designations of employees as officers/agents for protecting federal property during protests, and a statutory enforcement-personnel provision to restrict duties to drug-related investigations. Keeps existing status for employees transferred from the Federal Protective Service under prior law.
Introduced April 22, 2026 by Ted Lieu · Last progress April 22, 2026