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Senate advances bill to create Office of Public Lands Policy Coordination to unify state comment on federal land matters
Summary
Senate Bill 239 would consolidate scattered public‑land policy staff into a single state office and advisory committee to provide a unified state voice on federal land-management planning; the bill passed third reading with broad support.
Senator Hatch presented Senate Bill 239 to create an Office of Public Lands Policy Coordination, consolidating public-lands staff currently housed across agencies (Attorney General, Governor’s Office, Department of Natural Resources) under a single coordinating entity with an advisory committee composed of legislative appointees and local officials. "This is an effort to try to speak, to bring unification and speak with one voice on public land matters," Hatch said, citing frequent inconsistent state comment letters to federal agencies.
Hatch described the advisory coordination committee and said the change is intended to improve the state’s ability to participate in federal planning efforts. Senators generally supported the measure on the floor, noting the need for a consistent state voice as energy and federal land decisions increase in prominence; SB239 passed third reading with 24 yes votes and 5 absent.
Next steps: the bill was ordered to be read for the third time and will proceed through the legislative calendar for final enactment.
