Late last week, the Arizona Senate passed Senate Bill 1178 (SB1178), the Intrastate Commerce Act. The bill provides that all services performed in the state, and all goods grown or made here for consumption within Arizona “are not subject to the authority of Congress under its constitutional power to regulate commerce among the several states.”
The vote was 21-8-1
State Senator Sylvia Allen said that includes everything from wheat and lettuce to toilets, light bulbs and guns, even if manufactured, sold and used entirely within Arizona.
For decades, using a tortured definition of “interstate commerce,” Congress has claimed the authority to regulate, control, ban, or mandate virtually everything – from wheat grown on one’s own land for personal consumption, to weed grown in an individual’s own home for the same purpose, to guns manufactured, sold and kept in state boundaries, and everything in between. And, unfortunately, the Supreme Court has largely condoned and even encouraged such reprehensible legislative behavior.
But today, Arizona is once again leading the way in saying “Back Off” to the feds – by standing up for the Constitution as the founders gave it to us.
THE COMMERCE CLAUSE
If, like any legal document, the words of the Constitution (and its amendments, too) mean today just what they meant when it was approved by the ratifiers, then we must understand the original meaning of words in Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution – the “Interstate Commerce Clause.” It delegates to Congress the power to:
“regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”
According to Constitutional scholar Randy Barnett, the original meaning of “commerce” was limited to the “trade and exchange” of goods and transportation for this purpose. The original meaning of “to regulate” generally meant “to make regular” -that is, to specify how an activity may be transacted-when applied to domestic commerce, but when applied to foreign trade also included the power to make “prohibitory regulations.” “Among the several States” meant between persons of one state and another.
According to Constitutional scholar Rob Natelson, the commerce clause gave Congress power to regulate interstate commerce — not any “matters that have significant spillover effects across state lines.” The Constitutional Convention rejected the wording of the Virginia Plan, which arguably would have let the Federal government regulate any activity with interstate spillover. In other words, the Founders made the deliberate decision to leave many activities with spillover effects to the states.
Not included in this power to regulate commerce “across state lines” is the authority to regulate activites that are non-economic or solely INTRAstate, which the language of Virginia’s Instrastate Commerce Act addresses.
NO!
Included in the bill’s language are penalties for federal agents violating the state law – in James Madison’s words, interposition, or “standing between” the federal government and the people of the state.
The bill states that any federal agent or employee who attempts to enforce any federal act, rule or regulation over these activities is guilty of a Class 6 felony. While the measure does not seek jail time, it allows fines of up to $2,000. And any state official that tries to enforce a federal law could face a $500 fine.
Sen. Sylvia Allen, R-Snowflake, who crafted most of the proposals, said it’s time Arizona stood up to the federal government. And she said if arresting some federal officials is what it takes, she’s prepared to do that.
“If we don’t show that we’re serious about this, then how is the federal government going to respect us?” Allen continued. “Instead, they come into our state and they fine us … and fine our businesses and our farmers.”
With the passage of a bill like SB1178, Arizona could become the first state to reject in one fell swoop the ludicrous and intellectually dishonest constitutional rationale that underpins so much federal activity, and reclaim the rightful authority to regulate commerce within its own borders.
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CLICK HERE – for the Tenth Amendment Center’s Intrastate Commerce Act Legislative Tracking page
CLICK HERE – for the Tenth Amendment Center’s model legislation, the Intrastate Commerce Act. We encourage you to send it to your state reps and senators and urge them to introduce and support this bill.
Another interpretation of Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution – mis-named the “Interstate Commerce Clause.” It delegates to Congress the power to:
“regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes”,
is that Congress is the sole authority to negotiate commerce between the Federal government and foreign Nations, between the Federal government and the States and between the Federal government and the Indian Tribes. (BTW, just because the Federal government delegates its authority to another government entity (for example, the Dept of Ed) doesn't mean that it has no longer the responsibility that goes with its original authority as granted by the Constitution.)
Concluding a three-week trial that exposed the most unsavory side of Arizona’s militant border vigilante movement, a jury on Monday found Shawna Forde guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the May 2009 killings of Raul Flores, 29, and his 9-year-old daughter in the border town of Arivaca, Ariz.
Arizona – the State of Hate!!
According to Dr. E. Fuller Torrey of the Treatment Advocacy Center, roughly 21,000 Schizophrenics reside in Arizona, and about 10 percent of them are potentially dangerous. “When they explode, they could be responding to the voices in their heads, or the voices on the radio, or, most likely, some cacaphony of voices within and without.” Because of patient’s rights, only a small number of them have been documented, but the great majority are eligible to buy and carry guns in the state. Good Luck, Arizona!
We as Americans are on the brink of another revolution. The Federal Government is once more over-stepping its authority telling states what they can and can't do. This was one of your major causes of the civil war. The Southern states were fighting for state rights although the majority of people think it was about slavery. Only about 3% of the Southerners were wealthy enough to afford slaves, There were many sharecroppers working along with the slaves. And once more we have the Federal Government infringing on the state Rights as in the past. Our constitution has been torn apart and too long has the American people sat back and took everthing that has been thrown at them. It is time that more states take a stand and lets hope and pray that we can get this country back to the great nation that we older people once knew.
Right-on Arizona!!! Lead the pack. Take notice Mississippi and do the same. The Republic and States Rights!!!
From a conspiratorial perspective such as mine, an issue is that the blueprint is a top down model. In other words the fed working down.
If so, most governors are sold out and complicit and much of the issue with many states is that they have already been that compromised. As an example, the governor of Texas was an attendee to the last Bilderberg meeting. Now, what the hell is he doing there?
Some states don't have the capacity to operate independently and without oversight from the federal government. Their legislatures are representative of their populations. It's the "take care of me" disease.
Blame it on the cactus, but Arizona sure has a lot of pricks!
The State of Arizona, no matter how mis-guided has the Right of Statehood, many have fought and died for that right . some of you feel that Arizona provides nothing to the United States,well some of You do not either, I live in Illinois, so This isn't about favoritism, it's about FREEDOM, We all want freeom but how many of You are ready,willing and able to fight for it ??? are you willing to educate yourselves to the elected officals that are destroying this country from" WITHIN" are you ready to vote them out, I mean there are some in every State that do not even live up to their Oath of Office let alone Protect You and the Constitution, even Your own State Constitution. Every State has the right to protect it's border, but without extreme, Oh and by the way ,without the FBI people this Country would have been devasted by terrorism by now, yes sometimes the Government Agencies go to far, but once the People are Educated and willing to protect themselves ,today we cannot be totally safe for we the uneducated can be destroyed from WITHIN,wake up People,Your Lives Depend on It. Thanks,Rick
A good first step, the Senete Bill is here …. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/50leg/1r/bills/sb117…
An explanation of Arizona law respecting the meaning of a Class 6 Felony is here …. http://www.superpages.com/supertips/class-6-felon…
"The presumptive sentence for the first time offender is 1 year, with a 6 month minimum, though the severity of the crime can increase imprisonment for the first time class 6 felony offender to 1.5 years and up to 2 years for an aggravated class 6 felony. Mitigating circumstances can reduce the sentence to 4 months."
I am not clear on Arizona law/court interpretation …. does the Bill create an exception to the Arizona Criminal Code (with respect to minimum/maximum sentences) and therein by offers an extension of AZ Title 13 to a felony conviction?
It will be interesting to see how this applies on the ground.
Why did nobody mention that to regulate interstate commerce meant to "make regular". In other words, every state could have it's own customs, duties, fees, etc. as was the case before the Constitution. It did not mean micro-manage every aspect of production and distribution, which is socialism.
Carolyn – you seem to have unrealistic expectations of what can be covered in a single, pointed blog post – and what can be covered in a single piece of legislation.
There is plenty on this website that talks about the original meaning of the commerce clause in full detail.
And – a bill dealing with intrastate commerce is no place for IRS. Just not gonna work.
Arizona is non-productive! The only thing Arizona provides is grief, grapefruit, and illegaL illegal immigrants. The United States of America can do without all of the above. Shut the buggers down!
Non productive? You are a douche. Arizona produces fine quality cotton, copper and some of the finest street rods and motorcycles in the country. Yea, because of SB-1070 we began exporting illegal aliens. There is no such thing as "illegal immigrants".
I believe Arizona is a good place for growing industrial hemp too – which is good for paper, clothes, oils, food products and the like.
DC makes this farm product illegal. The Intrastate commerce act would change that.
I sure hope other states follow suit fast!! Cuz …..there are some who are going around saying that the "Roost has come home to Roost"…remember who said that?…Reverent Wright…and the folk saying that are the thugs who like it that Los Angeles is losing businesses and the City of L.A. and Water and Power are becoming theocracies controlling Solar Power – and the city of l.a. and other gov agencies are hiring less and less caucasians…and as soon as Obama gets his health care bill passed, along with the inserted entitlement to black universities – approx 80 million…another account says 80 billion to give scholarships and when they graduate…they don't have to pay it back if they get work in "Civil Service"..That's government jobs..where they will not hire caucasians..they hire their friends
Time to give Arizona back to Mexico!Divert any water and electrical power provided from the United States of America and outlaw oil shipments to the rogue territory. Require Arizona passports and U.S. visas to cross into the United States. Embargo ALL gun shipments destined for Arizona and let them build their own weapons.
Let's start with AZ wasn't "taken" from Mexico, it was purchased, just as Alaska was from Russia. I am assuming that you don't understand that the U.S. doesn't supply AZ with water. The majority of the water belongs to the state & SRP, and the power made in AZ is sold to CA & NV. Guns are already manufactured in AZ so that is also a mute point. Please go find the liberal ass you have been calling home and crawl back in it. As the old bumper sticker says "America, love it or leave it" I hope you leave soon.
I believe that the federal government is basically usurping a power that the states has which is the ability to determine what commercial activity can passes its borders. A state can pass a law banning the importation of XYZ but the federal governments commerce clause is basically usurping that power in order to prevent state from banning the passage of goods across their borders. Its basically the same power that states have to regulate commercial activity across its own borders that the federal government has in the commerce clause.
I love you Arizona! You ROCK!!! Jan Brewer is awesome. I hope Colorado follows suit but we won't until we get rid of Chickenlooper.
This is HUGE! It's too good to be true. The federal government simply will not allow this.
For instance… The Lautenberg Law. Under state law a person convicted solely of a 'misdemeanor domestic violation' still has a constutional right to posess a firearm. This could be something as small as a mother spanking her child too forcefully, or two brothers getting in a fist fight. However, under the 'federal' Lautenberg Law (under the guise of interstate commerce) then these persons are prohibited from ever posessing a firearm for the rest of his life, and is a federal felony if caught with one, including just having bullets.
The federal government created a law that prohibits a person convicted of only a misdemeanor to permantley forfeit their gun rights. This federal law is retro-active to include even someone convicted way back in 1950 for example.
If Arizona refuses to recognize this unjust and anti-constitutional federal law, then this is fantastic news for hunters, and anyone else that made a small mistake in either judgment or emotion. That means a federal agent can't arrest or take them to federal court. Remember, these people are not felons, only misdemeanor convictions.
Also, forgot to mention… hopefully this will also free all of Arizona's citizens from having to pay a federal income tax. No more income tax to the feds will be an INSTANT revenue generator for the entire state.
Not only will all that money stay and be spent within the state's borders, but corporations will move to Arizona almost overnight to call Arizona home. Jobs will be plentiful, and the cost of manufacturing products will drop to a rate that can complete with foreign made goods.
WIN-WIN for everyone… well, except for the thieves in Washington DC.
Income Tax is the back bone of socialism. We believe that those seeking state sovereignty would want to unbuckle themselves from the Federal IRS. Does this bill do that? Probably not.
First , remember that all the laws that are unconstitutional are not to be obeyed and that it can only be enforced if you let it. Your Sheriff is bound by the Constitution "not " to have these laws enacted. He serves only one master and that is his citizens who elected him . He is the "Supreme law enforcement officer of your County" with no one higher, the State or the Feds !
Arizona has the right to nullify any of these laws and follow the Constitution. All laws must be legislated and follow these principles. The Constitution is the Constitution and unless legislated by Amendments then we cannot follow it. It is our duty.
If your County is weak (Sheriff) then you can recall him for Dereliction of Duty . This is where the County Assembly comes in. As a "Lawful Politic Body" they can remove him for this and if criminal arrest him.
Remember this, the Republic is from the bottom up, not the top down as much as they want you to believe it.
I will have to research the Laughtenberg Law but if it is under "Interstate Commerce" I doubt that it holds water because most of those laws are not lawful, perhaps legal but not lawful ! There is a difference ! http://www.republicassembly.com The fourth branch of Government as Justice Scalia articulated . 7 in my State, 23 in Montana and more on the way. Alaska has somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 thousand members in theirs . There are more and more each month in other states. Check it out. We need to get back to The United States "for" America and not The United States "of" America.
wishing Governer Perry had the testicular fortitude of Governer Brewer.
The link provided to SB1178 in the first paragraph is to the Virginia bill.
Here is the link to the Arizona bill: http://www.azleg.gov/DocumentsForBill.asp?Bill_Nu…
thanks. fixed!
I agree grow a pair America !!! U gonna let some federal government push you around tell you what you can and can't grow or do. Tax u to death and then want more…? It's Revolution time America stand up get loud and proud!!! We pay the BILLS around here now this is how we want it!! Back the PHUK off FEDERAL Government!! YOU've pushed us far enough into debt and stolen our rights and liberties away for the last time!!!! We're takin this Great land back! And we rebuke you satan for trying to destroy our great nation……IN GOD WE TRUST….!!!
Did you hear about a law Virginia is trying to pass that would make the state start minting gold coins?
It was in the news a while back, but I haven't heard much about it lately. Hope it's still in the works, because the dollar sure isn't what it used to be.
At first glance, I support the Virginia legislation(House Joint Resolution 557), though it could go farther and establish a way of phasing out the dollar before it crashes. However, the resolution is unconstitutional. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress the power to coin money. Article I, Section 10 specifically denies to the States the power to coin money. Therefore, any State legislation that purports to create its own monetary system is in error. The State is, however, required to ban the Federal Reserve dollar, per Article I, Section 10: “No State shall . . . make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts.” (This is a Constitutional check on the central government.) Delegate Robert Marshall (who introduced the legislation) has the right idea, but he is violating his oath to uphold the Constitution.
I am loving Arizona more and more. Now if only the rest of the states would grow a pair and follow suit.
I think it is Idaho that is on the verge of nullifying Osamac….sorry Obamacare.
There is a fundamental ego problem to the federal government. Part of this is due to the exaltation their office has woven in it. If they could just learn humility, and to trust the states, and respect and want the states to grow, things would be different:
Hope that Colorado adopts this, too!
I'd like to see the same in SD!
I'll press Iowa legislators to do the same, copying the governor's office. The state attorney general is as worthless as teats on a boar regarding this matter and all matters regarding the Constitution as it was written.
I hope Utah is not far behind you Arizona. It is time for a quiet, peaceful but sure revolution to RETURN to Constitutional principles for us and our posterity. As a mom, my single focus is securing this nation and it's government AS A REPUBLIC for my kids. I will strive with my voice and words to that end.
Utah will have a similar version soon – see http://www.utahintrastatecommerce.org/