Gov. John Hickenlooper on Wednesday petitioned the state Supreme Court to rule that Colorado’s attorney general cannot sue the federal government without his approval.
The Democrat’s push to demarcate power with another independently elected top official cites three lawsuits by Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, a Republican.
In April, she joined a Wyoming lawsuit fighting federal rules for oil and gas fracking on public lands. In June, she joined a North Dakota lawsuit challenging federal clean air rules. In October, she joined a lawsuit challenging President Obama’s plan to cut air pollution from power plants. These actions raise “serious questions about the use of state dollars and the attorney-client relationship between the governor, state agencies and the attorney general,” said Jacki Cooper Melmed, chief legal counsel to the governor.
