(1) A law enforcement officer, state employee, or employee of a political subdivision is prohibited from implementing, enforcing, assisting, or cooperating in the enforcement of a federal regulation on firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition.
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Terms Used In Utah Code 53-5a-203

  • Assistant U.S. Attorney: A federal prosecutor who represents the U.S. government and its citizens when a federal statute has been violated.
  • Department: means the Department of Public Safety created in Section 53-1-103. See Utah Code 53-1-102
  • Federal regulation: means a federal executive order, rule, or regulation that infringes upon, prohibits, restricts, or requires individual licensure for, or registration of, the purchase, ownership, possession, transfer, or use of a firearm, ammunition, or firearm accessory. See Utah Code 53-5a-202
  • Firearm: means the same as that term is defined in Section 76-10-501. See Utah Code 53-5a-202
  • Law enforcement agency: means an entity or division of:
              (1)(e)(i)
                   (1)(e)(i)(A) the federal government, a state, or a political subdivision of a state;
                   (1)(e)(i)(B) a state institution of higher education; or
                   (1)(e)(i)(C) a private institution of higher education, if the entity or division is certified by the commissioner under Title 53, Chapter 19, Certification of Private Law Enforcement Agency; and
              (1)(e)(ii) that exists primarily to prevent and detect crime and enforce criminal laws, statutes, and ordinances. See Utah Code 53-1-102
  • Law enforcement officer: means the same as that term is defined in Section 53-13-103. See Utah Code 53-5a-202
  • Peace officer: means any officer certified in accordance with Title 53, Chapter 13, Peace Officer Classifications. See Utah Code 53-1-102
  • Political subdivision: means a city, town, county, special district, or water conservancy district. See Utah Code 53-5a-202
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(2) An employee of the state or a political subdivision may not expend public funds or allocate public resources for the enforcement of a federal regulation on firearms, firearm accessories, or ammunition.
(3) Notwithstanding Subsection (1) or (2), this section does not prohibit or otherwise limit a law enforcement officer, state employee, or employee of a political subdivision from:

     (3)(a) cooperating, communicating, or collaborating with a federal agency if the primary purpose of the cooperation is not the investigation or enforcement of a federal regulation on firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories;
     (3)(b) serving on or participating in:

          (3)(b)(i) a federal law enforcement task force or program if:

               (3)(b)(i)(A) investigation and prosecution of state or federal firearms regulations are part of the duties of the task force or program; or
               (3)(b)(i)(B) the law enforcement officer, state employee, or employee of the political subdivision is compensated by federal funds; or
          (3)(b)(ii) a state law enforcement task force or program that:

               (3)(b)(ii)(A) receives federal funding; or
               (3)(b)(ii)(B) has participation from federal law enforcement officials; or
     (3)(c) referring an investigation to a federal law enforcement agency if the law enforcement officer, state employee, or political subdivision employee reasonably believes that a federal law regarding firearms, ammunition, or firearm accessories has been violated.
(4) This section does not apply to:

     (4)(a) a law enforcement officer or state employee employed by or assisting:

          (4)(a)(i) the Bureau of Criminal Identification of the Department of Public Safety established in Section 53-10-201;
          (4)(a)(ii) the Peace Officer Standards and Training Division created in Section 53-6-103; or
          (4)(a)(iii) the Utah National Guard or the Utah State Defense Force created in Title 39A, National Guard and Militia Act; or
     (4)(b) an individual who:

          (4)(b)(i) is appointed as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney under 18 U.S.C. § 925D; or
          (4)(b)(ii) is assisting another individual that is appointed as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney under 18 U.S.C. § 925D.
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