Judge blocks state law restricting federal government land sales

SACRAMENTO -- The Trump administration has successfully blocked a California law that sought to give the state the right of first refusal to sale of federal lands within its borders.

On Thursday, just three days after the sides argued the constitutionality of SB 50 in his court, U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb of Sacramento handed a comprehensive victory to the U.S. Department of Justice.

He endorsed most of the arguments in the complaint, enjoined the state law and granted summary judgment. U.S. v. California, 18-CV00721 (E.D. Cal., filed April 2, 2018).

The judge dismissed California's arguments that the law was narrowly crafted, had not yet been directly enforced and sought only to regulate buyers of the land.

"The statute's direct regulation of federal lands and their disposal, and its discrimination against the federal government and its grantees are ongoing," Shubb wrote. "These unconstitutional harms to plaintiff are likely to persist as long as SB 50 is in force."

Shubb found the law violated the supremacy and property clauses of the U.S. Constitution and the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity. He also declined to sever any portion of the law, as the state had requested in the event of a negative ruling. He did not rule on whether SB 50 was preempted by federal law, declaring the question moot.

The law was passed last year in response to calls by the administration to sell off land in the West to private interests for resource extraction, grazing and other commercial uses. The federal government owns about 46 percent of the land in California.

The ruling declared arguments about the law's central mechanism true but irrelevant -- that it regulated buyers by forcing them to obtain a certificate of compliance from the State Lands Commission, under penalty of a $5,000 fine.

That condition in the state law "trespasses on the federal government's ability to convey land to whomever it wants," Shubb wrote.

He also rejected arguments made by state lawyers that SB 50 could only be challenged on an as-applied basis, as well as the contention the law was not ripe for such a challenge because the state had not yet attempted to enforce it.

Shubb pointed to a letter the State Lands Commission sent to the Bureau of Land Management asserting that it had the right of refusal over a pending land sale in Santa Barbara County.

"In this letter, the Lands Commission recognized what it now asks this court to deny: Rights of first refusal ... are exercised against the owner of the real property at issue," Shubb wrote.

The Legislature repeatedly sought to limit the scope of SB 50 precisely so it could avoid preemption. Classes of land sales subject to automatic conveyances were exempted. Amendments limited the rules to land owned by certain federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and National Forest Service.

"I am disappointed in the outcome of yesterday's ruling but I remain steadfastly committed to preserving California's precious public lands," said SB 50's author, Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, in an emailed statement Friday. "I will continue to focus my efforts on ensuring that our public lands are protected for generations to come."

Allen is an attorney with a career in private practice before being elected in 2014. He declined to say whether he would carry another bill seeking to limit sales of federal lands.

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office deferred comment to the State Lands Commission, the client and second named defendant in the case. The commission did not return calls and emails seeking comment.