Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act

According to Donald J. Kochan, the federal government promised to transfer these lands to the State in the Utah Enabling Act of 1894.

[1] Devallier Law Group believes the Federal government is likely to "vigorously oppose" any lawsuit that Utah might bring, and would be expected to "use every legal means to stop it.

As of 2014 the state promised it would not use force to end federal control these lands, but instead would seek the transfer through a "four-step plan that the governor laid out": a program of education, negotiation, legislation, and litigation.

[7] In December 2015, the Utah Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands began the process of preparing a legal complaint that would form the basis for a lawsuit.

[8] Also in December 2015, University of Utah law professor Bob Keiter, with John Ruple, published a paper that argued the state would be unlikely to prevail in gaining the mineral rights to the disputed land, and that therefore the State would not be able to afford to manage the lands without additional sources of tax revenue.

"At the very least, there are open legal questions involved in the [Transfer of Public Lands Act] (TPLA)] that have never received definitive resolution in the courts.

"[11] A 2014 study by professor Robert Keiter and research associate John Ruple of the University of Utah College of Law concluded that the state's effort is unlikely to succeed in court.