After the Biden administration enforced road closures in Moab, restored two national monuments and published a rule balancing conservation and commercial use on public lands, a Republican lawmaker wants the state to have more control over federal land within its border.
A proposed bill for the 2025 legislative session, titled “Presumption of State Jurisdiction Amendments,” says that Utah has authority over matters not exclusively given to the federal government in the Constitution.
“If it’s not actually in the Constitution,” bill sponsor Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan told lawmakers at an interim committee hearing Monday, then state agencies and local governments have the authority to make their own decisions.
“The presumption is that the jurisdiction remains with the state,” he continued.
Kael Weston, a Utah Democrat who has run for federal office, voiced doubts about the proposal.
Read the full story at sltrib.com.
This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.