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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah lawmakers on Wednesday moved to stash away $4.5 million to be used for a potential lawsuit to try to force the federal government to give up control of more than 30 million acres of public land.
House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said the decision to pursue the lawsuit still rests with the Utah attorney general's office, but lawmakers want to show they're serious about the effort by starting to set money aside.
"I just think the legislative will to move forward needs to be expressed now," he said.
Democratic and environmental groups are critical of the potential lawsuit, which is expected to cost up to $14 million. They argue the state has no legal claim to the lands and will lose the case.
Proponents of the lawsuit argue that the state's claim lies in the Utah Enabling Act, which led to Utah's statehood. Supporters, mainly Republicans, contend that the state would be a better manager and that local control would allow Utah to make money from taxes and development rights on those acres.
Sen. Jim Dabakis and Rep. Joel Briscoe, the two Democrats on a public lands commission studying the push, say lawmakers are only being presented with positive arguments for pursuing the lawsuit. The commission hired a law firm that recommended Utah pursue the case, but Dabakis and Briscoe said the firm has refused to disclose downsides to the lawsuit.
The firm has defended the work, saying it researched and analyzed counter points.
Dabakis said Wednesday it's a sad day for taxpayers to set money aside for a "hair-brained" lawsuit.
"There goes taxpayers' money when the taxpayers, and even the members of the commission, have not been allowed to see both sides of that report," he said.
The money is coming from a state fund that collects royalties off oil and gas development on public lands.
A budget committee signed off on the measure in the evening, setting it up for final approval by lawmakers Thursday.
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