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House approves measures asserting state response steps to federal land issues after heated debate on constitutionality
Summary
Lawmakers passed a substitute bill and a joint resolution directing local notice-and-response procedures when federal land conditions threaten health, safety or welfare. Critics warned the bill risks constitutional litigation; supporters said it protects citizens and provides a defined process.
Representative Chris Roberts introduced measures aimed at clarifying how local governments and the state can respond when conditions on federally managed lands affect public health, safety and welfare. Roberts told the House the 2012 fire season burned roughly 413,000 acres and cost an estimated $16 million to suppress, and he said jurisdictional confusion impeded responses.
HJR 15 — a joint resolution — called on the state and other like-minded states to assert jurisdictional rights where federal land conditions harm state residents; the House approved HJR 15 58–12.…
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