CfA calls on Utah Lands Commission to disclose interactions with its lawyers

Campaign for Accountability called on the Utah Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands to release all communications, documents, and invoices submitted by its law firm, Davillier Law Group, LLC. Press reports and public documents indicate the Commission has continued to work with Davillier, but the Commission has refused to release any documents or invoices prepared by the law firm. CfA also submitted formal Government Records Access Management Act (“GRAMA”) request to compel the Utah Legislature to release the documents. CfA Executive Director Daniel Stevens said, “The Lands Commission is denying Utah citizens the chance to evaluate the Commission’s work. The Commission’s co-chairs appear to be recklessly spending the $2 million entrusted to them by the legislature while trying to hide the payments from the public. The Commission must come clean and release records showing how Davillier has been spending taxpayer dollars.” Last June, the Lands Commission released a “Summary of Legal and Relations Services,” which disclosed the Commission’s payments to its contractors, including Davillier. The document revealed that the Commission had instructed Davillier to begin drafting a lawsuit against the federal government. In July, CfA released a review of the Commission’s expenditures and found numerous accounting problems including prohibited expenses, luxurious travel, and inflated charges...more