U.S. Justice Dept. sues California over land transfer law

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the state of California on Monday over a law that allows the state to block the U.S. government from selling federal lands.

The law, enacted in October, gives the State Lands Commission a first right of refusal to the sale or lease of federal public lands in California. Federal law gives the authority to federal agencies.

The law was part of a series of bills California lawmakers passed last year in a bid to preserve federal environmental regulations under state law and protect federal lands from being sold to oil companies.

In the lawsuit, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that the California law is unconstitutional.

"The Constitution empowers the federal government -- not state legislatures -- to decide when and how federal lands are sold," said Sessions.

However, California's Attorney General Xavier Becerra said that the state will meet the legal challenge by the Justice Department.

"Our public lands should not be on the auction block to the highest bidder," Becerra said in a statement. "We're prepared, as always, to do what it takes to protect our people, our resources and our values."

It is not the first time that the Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against the country's most populous state.

Last month, Sessions, during his visit to Sacramento, California's capital, announced that he was suing the state over laws that hinder cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

The heavily Democratic state of California has feuded with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration over a series of matters ranging from immigration and climate change to criminal justice. Enditem