Tenth Amendment Remembered

...from Tenth Amendment Center BOISE , Idaho (Jan. 31, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Idaho House would gradually eliminate all federal education funding for grades K-12. Passage of the bill would set the stage to nullify many federal education mandates. Rep. Ronald Nate (R-Rexburg) introduced House Bill 413 ( H413 ) on Jan. 25. The legislation would limit the amount of federal funding taken by the state for K-12 education, gradually eliminating it altogether. Under the proposed law, the state would limit the amount of federal education funding to $300 million in 2019. Each subsequent year, the amount would be reduced by another $40 million. By 2027, Idaho would no longer rely on federal funding for any of its K-12 education appropriations. “Once attained, Idaho will retain its education freedom by not allowing federal funding for any of its future grades K-12 education appropriations.” By rejecting all federal funding, Idaho would free itself from many federal mandates. As a 2...

...from Tenth Amendment Center OKLAHOMA CITY , Okla. (Jan. 31, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Oklahoma House would allow customers to opt out of installing “smart meter” technology on their homes and businesses without penalty. Passage of this bill would enable Oklahomans to protect their own privacy, and it would take a step toward blocking a federal program in effect. Rep. Dale Derby (R-Owasso) prefiled House Bill 2872 ( HB2872 ). The legislation would ensure utility customers can easily opt-out of smart meter programs. Smart meters monitor home energy usage in minute detail in real time. The devices transmit data to the utility company where it gets stored in databases. Anybody with access to the data can download it for analysts. Without specific criteria limiting access to the data, these devices create significant privacy issues. Smart meters can also be used to remotely limit power usage during peak hours. HB2872 would require utility companies to offer an optio...

...from Tenth Amendment Center PHOENIX , Ariz. (Jan. 31, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Arizona Senate would require law enforcement agencies to get local government approval before acquiring or using military equipment or surveillance technology. Passage of the legislation would set the stage to limit the surveillance state, along with the impact of federal programs that militarize local police. Sen. Juan Mendez (D-Tempe) along with five Democrat cosponsors, introduced Senate Bill 1430 ( SB1430 ). The legislation would require Arizona law enforcement agencies to get approval from the government body that oversees it before funding, acquiring or deploying military or surveillance equipment. As part of the approval process, the law enforcement agency would be required to develop an impact report, make it publically available and submit it to its local government body. The report would have to include a large amount of information including how the equipment would be used, how ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center PROVIDENCE , R.I. (Jan. 31, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Rhode Island House would nullify in practice some Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules that deny access to experimental treatments by terminally ill patients. Rep. Joseph McNamara (D-Warwick) introduced House Bill 7294 ( H7294 ) with four bipartisan co-sponsors. The legislation would allow terminally ill patients access to medicines and treatments not yet given final approval for use by the FDA. The bill is named the “Neil Fachon Terminally Ill Patients’ Right To Try Act Of 2018.” Fachon was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a brain stem tumor that took his life in February 2017. He had to go to court to guarantee access to experimental medical treatments banned by the FDA. HB7294 would eliminate headaches for terminally-ill patients in receiving care that could save or extend their lives. “The one thing everyone tries to hold onto is hope — hope that the individual will...

...from Tenth Amendment Center EDITOR’S NOTE:  The following is the 21st in a  series of articles  giving an introduction to the Federalist Papers, a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. In Federalist #21 , Alexander Hamilton pivots from a general discussion relating to the “insufficiency of the present confederation to preserve the Union” and makes a direct plea for more centralized government power. In the previous three Federalist essays, James Madison argued that allowing the states to retain too much autonomy, coupled with a weak central government, would ultimately lead to internal divisions and strife that would undermine the system. He turned to historical examples including the Amphictyonic and the Achaean leagues in ancient Greece, the German Confederation and the United Netherlands to highlight the deficiencies of political conf...

...from Tenth Amendment Center Nullification season is off to a quick start this year. There are already a number of bills that have moved forward. That’s a good sign this early in state legislative sessions. A couple of bills stand out. A Kentucky bill to limit warrantless drone surveillance passed the House on Jan. 18. Last year, a similar… Mike Maharrey January 31, 2018 at 11:17AM

...from Tenth Amendment Center JACKSON , Miss. (Jan. 30, 2018) – A bill filed in the Mississippi Senate would build on the foundation of legislation signed into law in 2016 and block state enforcement future federal gun control regulations in the state. In 2016, Gov. Phil Bryant  signed legislation into law  that removed conceal carry licensing requirements, allowing Mississippians to carry concealed firearms without a permit. The law also set the foundation to reject and end new federal gun control regulations and executive orders in the state. No federal executive order, agency order, law not enrolled by the United States Congress and signed by the President of the United States, rule, regulation or administrative interpretation of a law or statute issued, enacted or promulgated after July 1, 2016, that violates the United States Constitution or the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 shall be enforced or ordered to be enforced by any official, agent or employee of this ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center OKLAHOMA CITY , Okla. (Jan. 30, 2018) – A bill prefiled in the Oklahoma Senate would ban the warrantless collection of electronic data and the use of “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications in most situations. Passage of the bill would not only protect privacy in the Sooner State, it would also hinder one aspect of the federal surveillance state. Sen. Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) prefiled Senate Bill 1274 ( SB1274 ). The legislation would prohibit law enforcement agencies from obtaining the metadata, stored data or transmitted data of an electronic device without a search warrant issued by a court upon probable cause. Under the proposed law, police would have to get a warrant before obtaining electronic data from service providers. It would also help block the use of cell site simulators, known as “ stingrays .” These devices essentially spoof cell phone towers, tricking any device within range into ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center LOS ANGELES, Calif . (Jan. 30, 2018) – Yesterday, the California Senate passed a bill that would ban federal immigration officers from schools and state buildings unless they have a warrant. But questions remain on how the state could enforce it should it become law. Introduced by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and 16 co-sponsors, Senate Bill 183 ( SB183 ) “would prohibit federal immigration enforcement agents, officers, or personnel from entering a building owned and occupied, or leased and occupied, by the state, a public school, or a campus of the California Community Colleges, to perform surveillance, effectuate an arrest, or question an individual therein, without a valid federal warrant.” The bill also seeks to “ limit the activities therein of federal immigration enforcement agents, officers, or personnel with a warrant to the individual who is the subject of the warrant.” Earlier this month, the Senate Public Safety committee passed the...

...from Tenth Amendment Center This is the 376th day the GOP Congress has failed to repeal Obamacare. But the feds have expanded their power on numerous other fronts, including a new federal program that will tap into data that will track millions of people’s locations using their license plates. But as Michael Boldin and Mike Maharrey explain in this episode of Tenther Tuesday, state action can stop your information from ending up in these databases. They also discuss some early nullification season successes. A number of bills that have moved forward in several states over the last week. These include legislation to expand health freedom, to undermine the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money, to nullify federal hemp prohibition and to get government out of marriage. WATCH SHOW LINKS JOIN TAC, Support the Constitution and liberty:   http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/members ICE is now getting access to license plate tracking data Rhode Island ALPR bill Florida Health Freedom...

...from Tenth Amendment Center JUNEAU , Alaska (Jan. 29, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Alaska House would ban the state from using resources to help the federal government enforce marijuana prohibition laws against people who are in compliance with the state law legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.  Passage into law would greatly impact the federal government’s ability to continue its enforcement efforts in the state. Introduced by Rep. Adam Wool (D-Fairbanks) and cosponsored by Reps. Scott Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks) and Harriet Drummond (D-Anchorage), House Bill 300 ( HB300 ) would ban state or local government employees from taking actions that “enforce or aid in the enforcement of federal criminal laws involving marijuana that are inconsistent with state law.” In short, if a person or business is following Alaska’s medical or recreational marijuana laws, the federal government would not be able to count on any support for enforcement actions against them. Las...

...from Tenth Amendment Center On January 8, 1790, President George Washington delivered the very first Annual Message to a Joint Session of Congress (now known as the State of the Union address), in the Senate chamber of Federal Hall in New York City. The address fulfilled Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that the President, “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” Here’s more on the original SOTU from Washington’s Mount Vernon estate: Before tomorrow’s #SOTU address, learn about the very first #StateOfTheUnion : https://t.co/8N3NFUUvrL pic.twitter.com/09JbFdyYs3 — Mount Vernon (@MountVernon) January 29, 2018 Michael Boldin January 29, 2018 at 05:14PM

...from Tenth Amendment Center OKLAHOMA CITY , Okla. (Jan. 29, 2018) – A bill filed in the Oklahoma House would end government licensing of marriages in the state, effectively nullifying in practice both major sides of the contentious national debate over government-sanctioned marriage. Rep. Todd Russ (R-Cordell), filed House Bill 3454 ( HB3454 ). The legislation would end the issuance of state marriage licenses. Instead, the state would record certificates of marriage after a marriage has contracted by a formal ceremony solemnized in front of at least two witnesses. Marriages not contracted by a formal ceremony would be acknowledged by filing an affidavit of common law marriage with the court clerk. The bill would replace all references to marriages “licenses” in state law with “certificates.” The legislation would not invalidate any marriage licenses issued prior to the bill being passed. Any entity requiring proof of identity or marital status shall accept a certified copy of ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center OLYMPIA , Wash. (Jan. 29, 2018) –  Last week, a Washington state House committee passed a bill that would improve the state’s asset forfeiture laws and set the stage to close a loophole that allows state and local police to circumvent more strict state forfeiture laws by passing cases off to the feds. Rep. Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley) and Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland) introduced House Bill 2718 ( HB2718 ) on Jan. 12. The legislation would take several steps to reform Washington’s asset forfeiture laws. While the state could still seize assets without a criminal conviction, HB2718 would increase protection for property owners and place the burden of proof squarely on prosecutors. HB2718 would make several changes to current asset forfeiture law, explicitly providing that the burden of proof is on the seizing agency; allowing prevailing claimants to recover attorneys’ fees, expenses, and damages for loss of use of property; requ...

...from Tenth Amendment Center SALT LAKE CITY , Utah (Jan. 29, 2018) – A Utah bill would expand raw milk sales in the state. Passage into law would take an important step toward rejecting a federal prohibition scheme in effect. Sen. David Hinkins (R-27) and Rep. Marc Roberts (R-67) introduced Senate Bill 108 ( SB108 ) January 23. The legislation would expand existing laws relating to raw milk sales from producer to consumer in the state. Under the proposed law, a milk producer would be able to sell up to 120 gallons of raw milk to consumers without meeting stricter requirements under the current law, providing certain conditions are met: The raw milk is for household use, not resale The milk is sold where it is produced and within nine days of its production. The milk bottle includes the warning “This raw milk has not been licensed or inspected by the state of Utah. Raw milk, no matter how carefully produced, may be unsafe.” The proposed law would also allow the s...

...from Tenth Amendment Center ANNAPOLIS,  Md. (Jan. 29, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Maryland House would ban the warrantless use of “stingrays” to track the location of phones and sweep up electronic communications without a court order. Passage of the bill would not only protect privacy in Maryland, it would also hinder one aspect of the federal surveillance state. Del.Charles E. Sydnor (D-Baltimore), along with 14 other Democrat delegates, introduced House Bill 314 ( HB314 ) on Jan. 22. The legislation would help block the use of cell site simulators, known as “ stingrays .” These devices essentially spoof cell phone towers, tricking any device within range into connecting to the stingray instead of the tower, allowing law enforcement to sweep up communications content, as well as locate and track the person in possession of a specific phone or other electronic device. HB314 adds provisions to existing Maryland statutes limiting warrantless tracking of cell phones...

...from Tenth Amendment Center FRANKFORT , Ky. (Jan. 29, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Kentucky House would legalize medical marijuana for qualifying patients in the state, setting the foundation to nullify unconstitutional federal cannabis prohibition in practice. A coalition of 15 Democratic Party representatives introduced House Bill 166 ( HB166 ) on Jan. 10. The legislation would legalize cannabis for medicinal purpose and create an extensive regulatory framework. Under the proposed law, patients with certain qualifying conditions would be issued a medical marijuana card and could obtain cannabis at certified “compassion centers.” The bill would also allow qualified patients to grow up to 12 plants in a locked and enclosed facility. Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes has thrown her weight behind the effort, saying “Kentuckians are begging for an alternative to opioids and prescriptions.” “Today is a real gut check for every member of th...

...from Tenth Amendment Center COLUMBIA , S.C. (Jan. 29, 2018) – A bill introduced in the South Carolina House would allow customers to opt out of installing “smart meter” technology on their homes and businesses without penalty. Passage of this bill would enable South Carolinians to protect their own privacy, and it would take a step toward blocking a federal program in effect. Rep. Dwight Loftis (R-Greenville), along with five other Republican representatives, introduced House Bill 4723 ( H4723 ) on Jan. 25. The legislation would ensure utility customers can easily opt-out of smart meter programs. Smart meters monitor home energy usage in minute detail in real time. The devices transmit data to the utility company where it gets stored in databases. Anybody with access to the data can download it for analysts. Without specific criteria limiting access to the data, these devices create significant privacy issues. Smart meters can also be used to remotely limit power usage...