Sen. Orrin Hatch, others propose bill to curtail monument designations

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and seven other Republican senators have introduced a bill aimed at bringing more "transparency and accountability" to the process of creating national monuments.

The National Monument Designation Transparency and Accountability Act would require Congress to approve of national monuments before such designations become permanent.

"Utahns know only too well the consequences of presidential administrations creating monuments without congressional approval or public input," Hatch said, referring to the controversy that erupted in 1996 when then-President Bill Clinton announced the creation of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah.

"This legislation opens up the process and gives those who are most impacted by monument designations their say on the matter. It also provides Congress with access to information on national monument proposals and to engage in the decisionmaking process."

If the bill is enacted, it would require congressional approval within two years of an executive order seeking a national monument designation. If two years elapse without the approval, the land returns to its original status.

The legislation also calls for the president to provide Congress with information about the creation of a monument 30 days prior to any such designation. It further calls for public hearings and sets land restrictions for the monument designations.

Hatch's measure is the latest in a flurry of legislative proposals seeking to curb what critics say is unchecked presidential power and decision by "fiat" in the ability to make such sweeping declarations.

In February, Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, introduced a bill seeking to exempt Utah from the Antiquities Act of 1906, which grants authority to make executive decisions on national monuments. Co-sponsored by Hatch, the bill would have Utah following the path Wyoming took in 1950, when it successfully opted out of the purview of the act in a negotiation that resulted in the creation of the Grand Teton National Park.

A similar measure to Hatch's newly unveiled legislation was introduced last month by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Wyo. It, too, seeks to mandate congressional endorsement of the monument designation within two years.

The anti-monument sentiment, festering in Utah for years since Clinton's designation, was reinvigorated earlier this year when "leaked" documents from the U.S. Interior Department detailed more than a dozen sites for possible new monument creation, including two in Utah. Federal officials insisted the document was merely the result of a "brainstorming" session.

Two members of Utah's congressional delegation, joined by 14 other GOP House members, demanded all the DOI documents associated with the formation of new monuments. While some of the paperwork has been relinquished, much of it has not.

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