02/25/2024 / By Ethan Huff
New legislation that was signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox on January 31 in the state of Utah allows the Beehive State to reject, override or otherwise nullify federal rules and decisions with which it disagrees.
The Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act establishes a legal framework for the state’s legislature to prohibit the enforcement of any federal directive that is deemed to violate the principles of state sovereignty in Utah. It also contains detailed descriptions of such violations and what they might look like.
Furthermore, the legislation limits the authority for requesting a concurrent resolution to the bill. It also requires the legislature to consult with the state attorney general regarding the potential impact of any concurrent resolution on litigation, including notice provisions that are to be made to tribal governments throughout Utah concerning any changes.
“Balancing power between state and federal sovereignty is an essential part of our constitutional system,” Gov. Cox said in a statement. “This legislation gives us another way to push back on federal overreach and maintain that balance.”
(Related: A Utah-based company called Blackrock Neurotech claims to have already microchipped at least 50 people, turning them into trans-humans.)
Not everyone is in agreement with the Utah Constitutional State Sovereignty legislation, including law professor Robert Keiter from the University of Utah‘s SJ Quinney College of Law who argues its U.S. constitutionality.
The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution states that federal laws override state laws whenever they contradict.
“This sends the message – and the Utah legislature is famous for sending messages of this sort – that it’s unhappy with the federal government,” Keiter told CNN. “(And it’s) expressing that in a way that is constitutionally problematic.”
Offering a contrary opinion, Utah Sen. Scott Sandall, one of the bill’s sponsors, said he hopes the legislation will spread to other states.
“I think any state should be looking at adopting this,” Sandall told CNN. “Don’t you want a real organized way in your state to vet these things and look and say, ‘Where is the federal government overreaching?’ No matter which party or which ideology you espouse, this could be helpful in any state, in my opinion.”
“Our attorneys have indicated to me that the process that’s in place is constitutional. It doesn’t have a constitutional (issue) simply because it’s a process. Any kind of resolution may or may not be deemed constitutional.”
One of the issues that the Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act does aim to fight is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “good neighbor” rule, which aims to regulate smog and other pollution that travels across state lines. In short, Utah does not want to have to cut down on smog that passes across state lines to neighboring states that do not want that smog within their borders.
What we are seeing happen regardless of the existence of laws such as this one is states bucking the feds regardless of alleged constitutionality, and letting the Supreme Court decide on the matter later. Gov. Greg Abbott is doing it in Texas with the border wire fiasco, and Colorado is doing it by disqualifying Donald Trump from its 2024 election ballot.
“States have a right, albeit a foolish one, to attempt to disqualify Trump,” reported Mish Talk. “But it’s foolish to think they will succeed.”
“We still do not have a ruling, but there is no doubt which way it will roll.”
As for the controversial Utah legislation, it could go either way. Either way, it still sends a message, which is what the Utah legislature is aiming to do.
More related news about state-level pushback against tyrannical federal actions can be found at Tyranny.news.
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Tagged Under:
big government, federal, freedom, Liberty, national security, resist, sovereignty, Tenth Amendment, Tyranny, Utah, Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act
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