False bids could become felonies

A proposal inspired by environmental activist Tim DeChristopher — the university student who disrupted a Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction last December — sailed unanimously through a legislative committee on Tuesday.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, criminalizes bidding on parcels of land offered up at public auction if there is no intention of following through on the purchase. The measure makes the offense a third-degree felony and levies a non-discretionary fine of $7,500 fine upon conviction.

Noel said the measure is needed because after DeChristopher's protest actions at the auction last year, there were no criminal repercussions.

"There are more and more of these causes coming forward where individuals in their thinking, and I call it wrong-headed thinking, go out and try to stop the production of natural resources," Noel said.

The bill, HB437, met with no debate and few questions by the House Natural Resources Committee, other than a query by one lawmaker who wondered if the state had the authority to criminalize an action that has federal implications. A legal analyst said the federal government often relies on state statutes in criminal prosecutions, and the measure would not be duplicative.

Pat Shea, an attorney who represents DeChristopher, later disputed that and said the bill is a redundant measure not worthy of lawmakers' time, given educational and economic problems the state faces.

DeChristopher bid on the parcels — and won 12 in a row — as a protest of public lands that were potentially up for development for oil and gas resources. More than 70 of the parcels were later rescinded by Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar, who said inadequate environmental reviews were conducted by the Bush administration. The criminal case against DeChristopher remains under review by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

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