A federal judge in California ruled in favor of the Trump Administration on Thursday, blocking a bill that gave the state the right to thwart the sale of federal lands to private interests, including loggers, oil drillers and developers, reports said.
U.S. District Judge William Shubb ruled against the state’s Senate Bill 50, which gave the State Lands Commission the first right of refusal of the sale of federal lands in California, the Sacramento Bee reported. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in October 2017, according to the Sacramento Bee. State Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica had sponsored the law, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The judge’s ruling said the bill is unconstitutional because it “trespasses on the federal government’s ability to convey land to whomever it wants,” the Bee reported.
The federal government owns 46 million acres of land in California, including Point Reyes National Seashore and Yosemite National Park, according to the Chronicle. – READ MORE