DENVER - The Colorado Senate on Monday gave preliminary approval to a measure that would clarify state jurisdiction over federal lands.
A final vote in the Senate could come as early as Tuesday before the bill heads to the Democrat-controlled House, where the measure would face a rocky road.
Senate Bill 39 would allow Colorado to exercise authority along with the federal government over federal public lands.
"This is about clarifying both the federal and the state law by putting in current definitions and codifying what is already practiced at the federal level but is often ignored," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs.
Lambert said he sponsored the bill in an effort to give local jurisdictions more of a voice when it comes to criminal investigations and fighting wildfires on federal lands.
A separate bill, Senate Bill 232, would implement a study group to examine allowing the state to take over management of federal lands. That bill is scheduled for a hearing by a Senate committee on Thursday.
Many Democrats, along with a coalition of outdoor enthusiasts and conservationists, oppose the bill, pointing out that the language of the measure is similar to a proposal pushed by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council.
"It's still philosophically in the same camp of doing things that weakens protection of public lands," said Senate Minority Leader Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora.
Those opposed to Senate Bill 39 worry about the state taking on 23 million acres of federal land, suggesting that a mismanagement of the costly burden would lead to closing public space that is used for outdoor recreation.
More than 120 Colorado businesses joined an open letter on Monday opposing any effort that extends control of federal lands to the state.
