WYOMING
BLM unveils greater sage-grouse support plans
CHEYENNE — The greater sage-grouse population is spread across 11 Western states, but that population is declining. Between 1965 and 2021, that number has plummeted 80%, and half of that decline happened just since 2002, according to a report from the U.S. Geological Survey.
Estimates say as many as 16 million sage-grouse once lived across the plains and high deserts in Canada and 13 states, according to the National Audubon Society. Current estimates put that number somewhere between 200,000 and 500,000.
Efforts to register the species as endangered have failed nine times.
Recently, the Bureau of Land Management announced its draft environmental impact statement and plan amendments for sage-grouse conservation. The goals of these amendments are to support the sage-grouse population and make collaboration between state, federal and private agencies more efficient.
On April 18, BLM held a meeting in Cheyenne to share these potential plan amendments with the public as its public comment period continues until June 13.
This plan hasn't been updated since 2015. Pat Deibert, national sage-grouse conservation coordinator for BLM, said it is due for a change, adding, "It's conserving that rural way of life, it's conserving other species, it's conserving economies."
Of the six proposed alternatives, BLM recommends one that sets consistent thresholds across political boundaries with flexibility and doesn’t close new areas to oil and gas leasing.
Once all comments are received, amendments are made to the draft and a final EIS is released, states will conduct a governor's consistency review to ensure the changes do not violate any state laws.
ARIZONA
SCOTUS denies bid to ban electronic vote tabulators
PHOENIX — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 22 declined to consider a request by Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake to ban the use of electronic vote-counting machines in Arizona.
Lake and former Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem filed suit two years ago, repeating unfounded allegations about the security of machines that count votes. They relied in part on testimony from Donald Trump supporters who led a discredited review of the election in Maricopa County, including Doug Logan, the CEO of Cyber Ninjas, who oversaw the effort described by supporters as a "forensic audit."
U.S. District Judge John Tuchi in Phoenix ruled that Lake and Finchem lacked standing to sue because they failed to show any realistic likelihood of harm. He later sanctioned their attorneys for bringing a claim based on frivolous information.
When the lawsuit was initially filed in 2022, Lake was a candidate for governor and Finchem was running for secretary of state. They made baseless election fraud claims a centerpiece of their campaigns. Both went on to lose to Democrats and challenged the outcomes in court.
Lawyers for Lake and Finchem had argued that hand counts are the most efficient method for totaling election results. Election administrators testified that hand counting dozens of races on millions of ballots would require an extraordinary amount of time, space and manpower, and would be less accurate.
The Supreme Court's decision not to take the vote-counting case marks the end of the road for the effort to require a hand count of ballots. No justices dissented when the court denied their request.
NEW MEXICO
Special session to focus on public safety initiatives
SANTA FE — New Mexico's Democratic governor on April 17 announced a mid-summer special legislative session on public safety that may delve into concerns about homeless encampments, panhandling and mental health treatment after many crime initiatives have languished.
The Legislature delivered on a handful of the governor's major public safety priorities during a regular 30-day legislative session in January and February. But a long list of other gun control and public safety bills stalled without floor votes.
In an emailed statement, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she will call legislators back to Santa Fe on July 18 "to finish what they started during the 30-day legislative session."
Lujan Grisham has recently expressed interest in responses to homeless encampments and addiction that would allow judges to order criminal defendants with acute mental health or substance-abuse problems into treatment programs, or adapt civil proceedings to commit people to treatment where family members are unable to intervene.
She also has signaled support for legislative proposals running the gamut from new restrictions on panhandling along busy thoroughfares to increased criminal penalties for felons in possession of a firearm.
Discussions between the governor and legislative leadership have focused on legally complex bills regarding panhandling, court-ordered mental health treatment and penalties for felons in possession of a firearm, said Democratic Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe.
Republican lawmakers have argued that the governor’s declaration of a public health emergency over gun violence last year didn’t address the true causes of violence, but rather seeking to restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens.
OKLAHOMA
Court weighs 1st publicly funded Catholic school
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma's Republican attorney general urged the state's highest court on April 2 to stop the creation of what would be the nation's first publicly funded Catholic charter school.
Attorney General Gentner Drummond argued the Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board violated both the law and the state and federal constitutions when it voted 3-2 in June to approve the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City's application to establish the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School.
The case is being closely watched because supporters of the school believe recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have indicated the court is more open to public funds going to religious entities.
One of Oklahoma's high court justices asked Drummond if there aren't already examples of using taxpayer funds for religious purposes, such as Medicaid funding for patients who go to a Catholic health care provider in Oklahoma City.
Drummond said there is a distinct difference between a religious entity qualifying for state funding for a service it provides and the Catholic charter school, which became a public institution with the school board's vote.
Michael McGinley, an attorney for St. Isidore, argued that numerous private religious organizations receive state funding for providing services to students and that it's unconstitutional to reject the archdiocese's application simply because it is religious.
McGinley said the online school already has received hundreds of applications and hopes to receive its state funding on July 1. Classes are scheduled to begin in the fall. The court did not indicate when it would rule.
'ChiefsAholic' ordered to pay bank teller $10.8M
TULSA — An Oklahoma judge ordered a Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as "ChiefsAholic" who admitted to a series of bank robberies to pay $10.8 million to a bank teller he threatened and assaulted with a gun.
A judge in Tulsa handed down the order against Xaviar Michael Bubudar, 29, who was known for attending Chiefs games dressed as a wolf in the NFL team's gear. Former bank teller Payton Garcia alleged Bubudar used a gun to assault her during a robbery of a Bixby, Oklahoma, credit union in December 2022, court records show.
The judge ordered Bubudar to pay Garcia $3.6 million for her injuries and loss of income, and $7.2 million in punitive damages. A message left with Bubudar's attorney was not immediately returned.
Garcia's attorney, Frank Frasier, acknowledged that it would be difficult to collect the money for his client, but said the judgment sends an important message.
Frasier said if Bubudar ever sold his story, wrote a book or was somehow able to profit from his story, his client would be able to collect some of the judgment against him.
Bubudar pleaded guilty in February to a string of robberies of banks and credit unions in multiple states. He remains imprisoned until his formal sentencing, which is set for July 10 in Kansas City.
As part of the plea agreement, Babudar must pay at least $532,675 in restitution. He also must forfeit property — including an autographed painting of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes that was recovered by the FBI.
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