Utah Congressman and Koch Bothers Political Whore Rob Bishop Thinks Our Public Lands Are Worthless

If you live in, or love, the West because of the public lands, you are going to have to speak up in their defense in 2017

"Americans were outraged this week when House Republicans voted in secret to approve a rules change that would have prevented the independent Office of Congressional Ethics from investigating allegations of criminal behavior, allowed partisans to quietly shut down any ethics investigation, and barred disclosures of all this to the press.

What the public did not know was that the 43-page package of technical-seeming rule changes was filled with other, far more damaging things that clearly show why Republicans are so anxious to shut down the ethics office. Leading the pack of outrages was a provision written by Utah Representative Rob Bishop saying that transferring ownership of public lands belonging to all Americans “shall not be considered as providing new budget authority, decreasing revenues, increasing mandatory spending or increasing outlays.” What that means in English is that politicians like Mr. Bishop want it to be a matter of federal policy that there is no cost whatsoever to giving away our public lands for free—our national parks and monuments, national forests, wildlife refuges, and all the rest."

Read up, peeps!

• Rob Bishop Thinks Our Public Lands Are Worthless

"If you live in, or love, the West because of the public lands, you are going to have to speak up in their defense in 2017. The ethics office scandal temporarily delayed a vote on the package of rule changes, but Rob Bishop’s language is still in there, and it will be voted on soon."

Utah Political Capitol: Colorado Group Files Complaint Alleging Utah Lawmaker’s Organization is Illegally Lobbying

Under Colorado law, a violatrion of the applicable statutes carry both civil and criminal penalties

Ivory: "Ethics? Schmethics!"

As a followup to our earlier reporting on the nefarious activities of Utah House District 47's Representative Ken Ivory, we'll highlight this blockbuster May 6, 2015 Utah Political Capital story, wherein reporter Eric Etherington reports that Mr. Ivory, and his American Lands Council (ALC) have landed in a bit of hot water, concerning alleged illegal lobbying activity in our neighboring Centenial State.  Here's the lede, folks:

Denver – A complaint has been filed against Utah Representative Ken Ivory’s (Republican – South Jordan) American Lands Council in Colorado, alleging that the organization has been illegally lobbying without registering in the state or reporting its income.
Under Colorado law, organizations are required to register to lobby with the state before they begin trying to influence the outcome of any legislation or an election.
“It’s different than the federal law,” says Peg Perl, senior counsel for Colorado Ethics Watch – the nonprofit that filed the complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State. “Under [the federal law], there’s a threshold and you can do a little bit [of lobbying] before you register. But in Colorado, you must do it first and right away.
The complaint stems from an email Representative Ivory’s American Lands Council (ALC) sent to Colorado residents on April 22nd, asking them to contact specific state lawmakers to persuade them to vote in favor of a bill that could advance ALC’s goal of taking control of all public lands away from the United States and giving it to individual states to manage.

Read Mr. Etherington's full story here:

• Colorado Group Files Complaint Alleging Utah Lawmaker’s Organization is Illegally Lobbying

"This isn’t the first time American Lands Council has run afoul of potential ethical violations outside of Utah. In February, a Montana state senator’s aide was asked to leave the Capitol after it was discovered that he was simultaneously being paid as a lobbyist by ALC," Mr. Etherington helpfully adds.

Added bonus:  Under Colorado law, a violation of the applicable statutes carries both civil and criminal penalties, folks:

• Article 6 Colorado Sunshine Law Part 3 Regulation of Lobbyists

Needless to say, Weber County Forum will be keeping a close watch, as Representative Ivory and his ALC organization attempt to blithely tiptoe around this latest legal blunder 

We'll keep you informed as this story develops, of course.