http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14377307

Utah lawmakers propose using eminent domain to take federal land


A pair of Utah County lawmakers want to pass legislation that would give the state eminent domain power to take federal lands, including a coal-rich parcel in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

The goal is to incite a court battle that they believe they can win at the Supreme Court giving Utah the right to develop the disputed land and generate some $50 billion for the state's public schools.

"This is the solution to being the lowest-funded education system in the nation," said Rep. Ken Sumsion, R-American Fork.

Sumsion and Rep. Chris Herrod, R-Provo, argue the federal government has an obligation through the U.S. Constitution and Utah's statehood act, to sell off federal land and provide 5 percent of the money to the state, but hasn't followed through.

Lawmakers have complained for years that the federal land ownership in the state limits property taxes and development, hurting the state's ability to fund its schools. But they have been unable to move the federal government on the issue.

Sumsion said this is a more direct shot.

"We're going to eminent domain it and say this is a down payment for the 5 percent you owe us and we're going to court over that issue," he said.

Legislation would direct the attorney general's office to pursue the litigation and the lawmakers want $3 million from the school trust fund to bankroll the lawsuit.

The lawmakers are targeting three areas to use the new authority: the Kaiparowits plateau, which is now part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante monument; Spring Creek in southern Utah; and Red Spur road in the Cache National Forest, where he said there is interest in building upscale cabins.

John Ferry, chairman of the board for the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, said it might be unwise to get cross-wise with the federal officials that SITLA tries to work with on a daily basis.

"I'm not speaking necessarily against what has been proposed, but I'm raising some flags as a businessman. As a citizen, go for it," he said.

But Rep. Bill Wright, R-Holden, questioned if there really is any drawbacks to the proposal.

"There's a whole generation of people who seem satisfied taking the crumbs they've given us," he said. "What's the real downside? If we don't win, they'll continue what they're doing now?"

Rep. John Mathis, R-Vernal, said the Legislature needs to defend its interests.

"There are times in our lives when we need to decide what is right and what is wrong and we need to stand by what's right at all cost," he said. "Folks, this is right, and the time is now, and we've got to be aggressive about this and I believe we have legitimate rights to stand up and challenge some of their actions."

Go Utah!

i appreciate the sentiment of the proposal but I am against eminent domain on principle.

I tend to agree with you. I think it's just semantics though they're just saying they are going to "steal" the lands back.... but hey check this out!

South Carolina Lawmaker Seeks to Ban Federal Currency
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/17/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6217403.shtml


South Carolina Rep. Mike Pitts has introduced legislation that would mandate that gold and silver coins replace federal currency as legal tender in his state.

As the Palmetto Scoop first reported, Pitts introduced legislation this month banning "the unconstitutional substitution of Federal Reserve Notes for silver and gold coin" in South Carolina.

In an interview, Pitts told Hotsheet that he believes that "if the federal government continues to spend money at the rate it's spending money, and if it continues to print money at the rate it's printing money, our economic system is going to collapse."

"The Germans felt their system wouldn't collapse, but it took a wheelbarrow of money to buy a loaf of bread in the 1930s," he said. "The Soviet Union didn't think their system would collapse, but it did. Ours is capable of collapsing also."

The lawmaker believes that a shift to an economy based on gold and silver coins would give the state a "base of currency" should that collapse come. As one expert told the Scoop, however, his bill would likely be ruled unconstitutional because it "violates a perfectly legal and Constitutional federal law, enacted pursuant to the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, that federal reserve notes are legal tender for all debts public and private."

In addition, since gold and silver regularly fluctuate in value, they could not easily function as stable currency.

But Pitts maintains that his state is better off with something he can hold in his hand and barter with as opposed to federal currency, which he described to the Scoop as "paper with ink on it." He says he resents what he considers the federal government's intrusions on states' rights.

Though he did not offer a timeframe, Pitts told Hotsheet that he anticipates a nationwide economic collapse "if our federal government continues the course it's been traveling under the previous administration and this administration.