Herbert, G Gov

=Policy Primer: State Attempts to Gain Control of Federal Land By: Ruth Musgrave – Ms. Musgrave is the president of Wildlife Policy Consulting Associates in Olympia, Washington. She is the founder and former president of the Center for Wildlife Law at the Institute of Public Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law. She advises NCEL and our member legislators on issues involving conservation and wildlife in state legislatures. Background Several Western state legislatures recently have passed or supported bills that demand that the federal government turn over federal lands that are within the state’s borders. As far back as 1929, states have struggled to gain control over federal lands within their borders, mostly because of public land grazing fee disputes. The “Sagebrush Rebellion” of the 1970s and 1990s caused federal land managers to cooperate more with locals. And recently, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has pushed state legislators to pass laws demanding that the federal government give ownership or control of federal lands within their borders to the states. Arizona, Utah and Colorado legislators have already either introduced or passed such bills, and legislators in other states are considering similar action. The State of Utah passed, and in March 2012 Governor Herbert signed, legislation requiring the federal government to turnover federal land within the state. Arizona’s legislature passed a similar bill, but conservative Governor Brewer vetoed the legislation in May 2012. She stated in her veto letter that “The legislation does not identify an enforceable cause of action to force federal lands to be transferred to the state,” and that the Arizona State Land Department would need “approximately $23 million in additional dollars and an untold increase in staff and resources” to manage millions of acres of federal land. She also noted that the legislation is likely unconstitutional. A similar bill failed to get out of a House committee in Colorado. Undaunted, legislators from Utah and Arizona are visiting with other Western state lawmakers to try to present a united front on the issue. Arizona Rep. Melvin (R-Tucson) envisions “all of the Western states going before the Supreme Court to force this issue.” Melvin also stated that most of the federal land would be sold off to private interests. Utah Governor Herbert invited 10 Western states to a round table on the subject in 2012, but only two showed up
=The romance between ALEC and fracking continued at this year's ALEC meeting in Utah -- an appropriate location for the frack-friendly ALEC crew. In May, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar <a href="http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/may/nr_05_08_2012.html" title="reference on approved" target="blank">approved</a> a major shale gas project by Texas-based <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Anadarko_Petroleum" title="reference on Anadarko Petroleum" target="self">Anadarko Petroleum</a> Corp. in Utah's Uinta Basin -- expected to develop more than 3,600 new wells over the next decade.
In another industry-friendly move, Utah's Governor Gary Herbert, who spoke the ALEC conference's opening luncheon, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/24/us-utah-lands-idUSBRE82N03420120324" title="reference on signed a bill into law" target="blank">signed a bill into law</a> in March demanding that Congress hand over 30 million acres of federal land to the state by 2015 or the state will sue. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/lawmakers-pick-fight-feds-over-public-lands-083347841.html" title="reference on According" target="blank">According</a> to the Associated Press, Lawmakers in Utah and Arizona have said the legislation is endorsed by ALEC. As documented by the Center for Media and Democracy's <a href="http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed" title="reference on ALEC Exposed" target="blank">ALEC Exposed</a> Project, ALEC drafted the "<a href="http://heartland.org/sites/all/modules/custom/heartland_migration/files/pdfs/6252.pdf" title="reference on Sagebrush Rebellion Act" target="blank">Sagebrush Rebellion Act</a>," which was "designed to establish a mechanism for the transfer of ownership of unappropriated lands from the federal government to the states." According to the <a href="http://www.suwa.org/2012/07/30/herbert-dodges-on-costs-and-effects-of-his-federal-land-grab-efforts/" title="reference on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance" target="_blank">Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance</a>, the governor's initiative would open up millions of acres of the "Wilderness Study Areas and proposed wilderness areas to oil and gas development" but in the process would cost Utah taxpayers enormously.

At the meeting, the CEO of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Institute_for_Energy_Research" title="reference on Institute for Energy Research" target="self">Institute for Energy Research</a> (IER) Dr. Robert Bradley was one of the featured speakers. Bradley, formerly a director of policy analysis at Enron, also spoke at the 2011 ALEC conference in New Orleans. He is also an "adjunct scholar" at the right-wing think tank the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cato_Institute" title="reference on Cato Institute" target="self">Cato Institute</a> and specializes in "global warming alarmism." IER is a non-profit group focused on global energy markets that pushes for deregulation, advances climate change denial, and attempts to discredit renewable energy sources. The group's 2010 IRS 990 form said that its focus was narrowed in on "impediments to domestic energy production, including government restrictions on access, burdensome regulations, and the favoritism of energy sources that are unsustainable in the marketplace."

The PR Bus of AEA and Koch's AFPIER <a href="http://www.exxonsecrets.org/html/orgfactsheet.php?id=115" title="reference on received" target="blank">received</a> some $307,000 from Exxon Mobil between 2003 and 2007, according to the publicly traded company's "Corporate Giving Reports." IER also received a total of $235,000 from Koch Family foundations between 1997-2010, according to a <a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/en/campaigns/global-warming-and-energy/polluterwatch/koch-industries/institute-for-energy-research/?utma=1.1699501272.1343492602.1343492602.1344377276.2&utmb=1.1.10.1344377276&utmc=1&utmx=-&utmz=1.1344377276.2.2.utmcsr=sourcewatch.org%7Cutmccn=%28referral%29%7Cutmcmd=referral%7Cutmcct=/index.php&utmv=-&utmk=176160674" title="reference on Greenpeace report" target="blank">Greenpeace report</a>. Koch Industries, an ALEC member, also profits from the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/03/02/436669/how-the-kochs-are-fracking-america/" title="reference on expansion" target="_blank">expansion</a> of fracking. Unlike Exxon, because Koch is not a publicly-traded company, any corporate donations to groups like IER, AEA, or AFP are not publicly disclosed.

IER is a "partner" organization of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=American_Energy_Alliance" title="reference on American Energy Alliance" target="self">American Energy Alliance</a>, a 501(c)4 organization which calls itself the "grassroots arm" of IER. Thomas Pyle is president of both organizations, and is a former lobbyist for Koch Industries and former energy policy aide for former House Majority Leader <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Thomas_D.DeLay" title="reference on Thomas D. DeLay" target="self">Thomas D. DeLay</a>, who resigned from the leadership following his indictment on conspiracy charges. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Wayne_Gable" title="reference on Wayne Gable" target="self">Wayne Gable</a>, also a former lobbyist for Koch Industries and former president for two of the Koch Family foundations, is on the board of both IER and AEA.

In 2011 IER and AEA launched "<a href="http://www.energyforamerica.org/" title="reference on Energy for America" target="blank">Energy for America</a>" as a joint initiative with a laser point in on fracking, with an aim to "educate" the public on the practice. In October 2011, AEA and IER, in partnership with Koch Industries' astroturf group <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Americans_for_Prosperity" title="reference on Americans for Prosperity" target="self">Americans for Prosperity</a>, started a "Energy for America" <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2011/10/18/346518/kochs-afp-starts-big-oil-bus-tour/" title="reference on bus tour" target="_blank">bus tour</a> to encourage the expansion of domestic exploration of oil, gas and coal, targeting U.S. Senate battleground states for the upcoming 2012 elections.

Additionally, <a href="http://www.bhfs.com/" title="reference on Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck" target="blank">Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck</a> is one of the three chairs of the ALEC <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Energy,Environment,and_Agriculture_Task_Force" title="reference on Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force" target="self">Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force</a>. One of its clients is <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=LNG_Terminals" title="reference on Freeport LNG" target="blank">Freeport LNG</a>, which owns and operates one of the first liquefied natural gas import terminals built in the United States. According to the law firm's <a href="http://www.bhfs.com/Practices/CaseStudies/ShiftingGearsforFreeportLNGsChangingNaturalGasMarket" title="reference on website" target="blank">website</a>, "For the last nine years, Brownstein has been the lead counsel in the structuring, strategy and development of the $1.2 billion receiving and regasification facility with commercial output capacity of more than 2.0 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day."