Legal News

In War Between States and Feds, Utah Strikes Latest Blow

By Ashby Jones

All is not well between the states and the federal government. Across the land, states in recent months have signed sovereignty statements, reminders of sorts that the 9th and 10th Amendments imbue the states with certain powers.

And last week, more than a dozen states sued to strike down the new federal health-care law.

Now this interesting little movement, as reported by the AP: Utah Governor Gary Herbert on Saturday authorized the use of eminent domain to take some of the U.S. government’s most valuable parcels.

Yes, LBers, you’ve read that correctly: a state has invoked eminent domain in order to take back land from the feds.

According to the AP, Herbert signed a pair of bills into law that supporters hope will spark similar legislation throughout the West. Many contend that federal ownership of wide parcels of land restricts economic development in an energy-rich part of the country. Many people in Utah are still angry that President Clinton designated a large area in Utah as a national monument in 1996, a move that stopped development on the land.

More than 60 percent of Utah is owned by the U.S. government, and policy makers here have long complained that federal ownership hinders their ability to generate tax revenue and adequately fund public schools.

Utah Democrats have slammed the eminent domain measure as a waste of money, emphasizing that the move is on shaky legal ground. Why spend taxpayer money defending legislation that likely won’t withstand legal muster, opponents say.

But if the law is as bad as Democrats say it is, a court will quickly overturn it and the state won’t have to spend much money defending it, Herbert said.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on March 29, 2010 (boomark / email).