Utah House approves $250,000 appropriation to support litigation challenging Grand Staircase-Escalante monument

The Utah House of Representatives approved House Bill 414 on Feb. 23 to provide $250,000 in one-time funding to support litigation challenging the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument designation.

Representative Way, sponsor of the bill, said the designation seized ‘‘1.7 million acres of Utah land’’ without adequate public process and asserted the action “appears to be a direct violation and misuse of the Antiquities Act.” He cited estimates of lost resource revenues to the state and the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, stating the Utah Geological Survey estimated potential losses between $223,000,000,000 and $331,000,000,000 and that the trust could lose $1,400,000,000 to $2,000,000,000 in royalty payments. ‘‘The state of Utah should be involved in this lawsuit,’’ Way said, arguing the issue affects statewide interests.

Mark Walsh of the Association of Counties, who stood with the sponsor to answer questions, said some federal planning funds have been provided to counties for impact planning and indicated roughly $250,000 for Garfield and about $500,000 for Kane County had gone to planning efforts. Walsh also told representatives that 24 of 29 counties had joined the lawsuit; members on the floor disputed exact counts but acknowledged broad county participation.

Several members questioned whether the state should shoulder litigation costs when counties and the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration had already filed suits. Representative Jones urged caution, saying his county declined to join the lawsuit and expressed concern about antagonizing the federal administration ahead of other federal support Utah seeks. ‘‘When you extend it to the entire state and ask the entire state to pick up the bill, I think that's going a little bit far,’’ Jones said.

Representative O’Hare, speaking in support, argued the issue was a statewide one and said the appropriation served the state’s interest and its schoolchildren. The House approved the bill; the clerk recorded 51 yes votes and 20 no votes and the measure was transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.

What happens next: HB414 will be referred to the Utah Senate for consideration. The appropriation is for one-time litigation support; whether state funds will be used in concert with existing county or trust-land litigation, and how cases will be coordinated, were discussed but not resolved on the floor.