Utah Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands
On July 6, 2016, in a letter to the chairs of the Utah Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands and the director and legislative general counsel of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, Campaign for Accountability called for a full accounting of the nearly one million dollars the commission has spent to date to develop a lawsuit to compel the federal government to transfer national public lands to the state.
CfA’s review of the hundreds of pages of invoices from Davillier Law Group and Strata Policy for work done by outside lawyers, public relations firms, and polling experts reveals apparent prohibited lobbying expenditures, luxury travel, and significant billing discrepancies — all at taxpayer expense. Despite contracts that required coach travel and standard hotel room rates, CfA uncovered evidence of first-class air travel and numerous stays at an exclusive private club.
On September 13, 2016, CfA requested that the Commission release the results of its internal review. On September 7, 2017, CfA called on the Commission to release all communications, documents, and invoices submitted by its law firm, Davillier Law Group, LLC.