Tuesday, March 17, 2009

State Sovereignty Resolution Update - 3/17

Two States that had introduced resolutions in their House of Representatives have also introduced similar resolutions in their Senate:

Arizona SCR1038 was introduced Feb. 2 by Sen. Randy Gould (R). It is identical to their House Resolution (HCR2024).

Texas SCR39 was introduced Mar. 4 by Sen. Glenn Hegar (R). While generally modeled on Oklahoma's, it has some interesting features, unique to this resolution:

In the clause that states that "Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative functions of the States", in addition to the New York v. United States case (1992) cited in the other resolutions, the Texas Senate has added Printz v. United States, 521 US 898 (1997).

It also includes quotations from both Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton(!) in support of limiting the role of the Federal government; and reinforces the right of individuals to bear arms.

According to the John Birch Society's Tenth Amendment Movement site, Sen. Sam Rohrer's resolution in Pennsylvania has been introduced and numbered HR95, but I am unable to confirm it on the Pennsylvania General Assembly website.

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