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SALT LAKE CITY — Democratic and Republican state lawmakers unleashed on each other Wednesday over whether Utah should sue the federal government to gain control of millions of acres of federal land in the state.
More specifically, Salt Lake Democrats Sen. Jim Dabakis and Rep. Joel Briscoe railed on the GOP leaders of the Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands for not sharing legal advice they say is key to making an informed decision.
"It's not a priesthood meeting. It is a public hearing and it's the public's money, and we have a right to know all the information," Dabakis said. "We want to know what the hell is going on. We're on the commission."
It's not a priesthood meeting. It is a public hearing and it's the public's money, and we have a right to know all the information.
–Sen. Jim Dabakis
Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, said the information the Democrats want from a Louisiana law firm the state hired to evaluate suing the federal government is protected by attorney-client privilege. Stratton said only he and Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville, as commission co-chairmen, are entitled to the law firm's full report.
Waiving attorney-client privilege and revealing discussion among attorneys would be a "very dangerous place for us to go," Stratton said.
The state paid Davillier Law Group more than $600,000 to assess the state's ability to sue the federal government over ownership of millions of acres of public land in the state. It concluded Utah has a sound case and could appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, estimating it could cost the state as much as $14 million for the litigation to run its course.
Dabakis and Briscoe say the lands commission chairmen are withholding an analysis of any defenses and counterarguments to the litigation Davillier included in its report. Dabakis said it's "reprehensible" the information is being kept secret under the guise of attorney-client privilege.
Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, said the Democrats want to disrupt the state's effort to control the lands, and he doesn't want them seeing "our plan, see our strategy."
To just hand (to them) our playbook before the game even starts is ridiculous.
–Rep. Mike Noel
"To just hand (to them) our playbook before the game even starts is ridiculous, so stick to our guns," Noel said.
Dabakis said Republicans have built a "gigantic bridge" between Utahns and the information they paid for with tax dollars.
"We don't just want the rah-rah. We want the whole picture," he said.
Rep. Mel Brown, R-Coalville, said the legal strategy would come out if the state goes to court where the state could get a decision one way or another on public lands ownership.
"We need to cease to be treated like a second-class state. We're basically treated like a territory because of the presence of that land," Brown said. "Let's decide if we can become a state on an equal footing with the rest of the states or if we continue to be subject to our federal landlords."
In the end, legislators voted down Briscoe's motion to share all the legal information with all members of the commission.
