Idaho Board of Land votes to bypass AG for its legal counsel

BOISE — The governing board overseeing Idaho’s public lands voted Tuesday to use outside attorneys hired by the Idaho Department of Lands as its legal counsel rather than the Idaho attorney general’s office.

The move was strongly opposed by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, a member of the board and who, by law, typically serves as the lawyer for the state and all its entities.

The Idaho Board of Land Commissioners, as established in the state Constitution, is made up of the five constitutional officers: the governor, superintendent of public instruction, secretary of state, state controller and attorney general. Lawmakers have attempted before to remove the attorney general as legal adviser to the board, arguing he has an outsized voice as a member and lawyer of the group.

The policy change introduced at Tuesday’s land board meeting was meant to coincide with Senate Bill 1292, which passed in 2024 and allowed the Department of Lands to hire its own outside attorneys rather than utilize the legal services of the Idaho attorney general’s office.

The policy states that “The Land Board shall receive its general legal counsel through attorneys employed by the Department (of Lands)” and those attorneys will represent the board “in all courts and before all administrative tribunals or bodies of any nature.” The policy would allow for legal services to be provided by the attorney general’s office “when in the best interest of the state, as determined by the Director in consultation with Legal Counsel, and as needed, the Land Board.”

SB 1292 was sponsored by then-Rep. Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, who during a March 2024 hearing for the legislation said, “For many years, we’ve looked at, and this is with various attorney generals, they not only have their voice on the land board, but they also have their attorney, one of their staff members that represents the land board for all legal decisions.”

Gov. Brad Little signed the bill into law March 27, 2024, and it went to effect July 1 of that year.

Idaho Department of Lands Director Dustin Miller on Tuesday said, “since its enactment, no formal land board policy has been adopted to define the roles and usage of the department attorneys.”

“To address this gap, the attached policy and attachment one has been developed,” Miller added. “This policy clarifies the role of the department attorneys in relation to the board of land commissioners.”

Labrador at the meeting said the new policy was “contrary to the law, contrary to the Constitution, and contrary to what our founders wanted to do with the land board.”

He was the only member to vote against the new policy.