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Colorado governor asks court to bar state AG from suing feds without his permission

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is asking the state supreme court to issue a legal declaration stating that the state attorney general can’t sue the federal government without his approval.

Hickenlooper, a Democrat, cites three lawsuits in which the Republican attorney general, Cynthia Coffman, joined in suits against federal agencies without his permission, the Denver Post, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, the Colorado Springs Gazette and Westword report.

Two of the cases are against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. One challenges clean water rules and the other challenges rules intended to cut carbon emissions. The third suit, filed against the Bureau of Land Management, challenges federal rules for fracking on public land.

Coffman maintains she is an independently elected public official with the power to file lawsuits.

The governor claims that Coffman is free to file amicus briefs but she cannot sue on the state’s behalf without his OK. He is asking the state supreme court to rule that he has the ultimate authority to decide whether Colorado may sue the federal government, and to require Coffman to withdraw the suits.

John Hickenlooper Petition re: Cynthia Coffman