Salt City Sinner

Posted 9/15/2012 by Law Nerd Remember Rep. Sumsion from American Fork, who not long ago threatened to kick the federal government's toys out of the Utah public lands sand box?  Well I thought I'd check in on our friend, follow up on the bill, and stick a thermometer in the armpit of the nation to gauge the reaction, or lack thereof.  Survey says: Utah's attempt to wrest control over federal public lands within its borders is either being ignored, or has fallen on deaf ears. When last I wrote  about Rep. Sumsion, he had sponsored a bill demanding that the federal government either sell off its public lands in Utah or cede control of them to the Utah government.  This was based on language in the Utah Enabling Act dictating that the federal government would pay to Utah 5% of the proceeds from the sale of public lands within its borders.  Since then, Sumsion's bill, H.B. 91, morphed into First Substitute H.B. 91  (H.B. 91 S. 1).  Now the Utah Legisla...

Actually, I prefer the term "Vermontaineer." Vermont is the Green Mountain State, and is occupied by formerly majestic mountains that have since been worn down to adorable nubbins. Despite the cute state of these eroded monoliths, the topography of Vermont has lead to an easy and dismissive label for those unaccustomed to mountain life: "flatlander." I am pleased to be hailing from this beautiful state, I am certainly not a flatlander, and I hope to have much to offer our readers seeking for legal explanation for the crazy cult of Utah politics. As the learned CR Bernard noted this week , Representative Ken Sumsion (R – American Fork) has introduced a bill funding an action to end federal jurisdiction over federal public lands in the great state of Utah. For our readers’ knowledge, I did perform a quick check—Utah appears to still in fact be a member of the Union. Mr. Sumsion’s misguided attempt to shrug off the mantle of federalism is in keeping with such Tent...