I hear a lot of people in the tea Party movement talk about how the Federal Government has ignored the Constitution, and we need to get back to that Constitution as the Supreme Governing Document of our nation. We at the Tenth Amendment Center have developed some model legislation, here is one example.
To require the federal government to specify the source of authority under the United States Constitution for the enactment of laws, and for other purposes.
SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS
The legislature of the State of Colorado finds that,
1. The People of the Several States by virtue of their mutual compact created the federal government, as documented in the United States Constitution;
2. The People of the Several States set forth in the Constitution those powers which the several States delegated to the federal government;
3. The legislative powers which the the People of the Several States delegated to the federal government are set forth in the Constitution of the United States;
4. By virtue of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution set forth in the Bill of Rights, the People of the Several States reserved to themselves, and to the People, all powers which were neither specifically delegated to the federal government in the Constitution nor expressly prohibited to the States therein;
5. Article V of the Constitution sets forth an express mechanism for proposing and approving amendments to the Constitution should powers not originally delegated by the People of the Several States to the federal government in the Constitution be deemed needful;
6. Under Article VI of the Constitution, the Constitution itself, and only those laws enacted by the federal government in pursuance of the Constitution under the powers actually delegated to it by the People of the Several States under the Constitution, are the supreme law of the land;
7. The federal government has assumed various powers not delegated to it by the People of the Several States according to the plain meaning of the language in the Constitution which delegates such powers;
8. The federal government, in reliance on the so-called commerce clause, general welfare clause and/or necessary and proper clause of the Constitution, exercises virtually unlimited power over all aspects of the lives of the People of the Several States, rendering meaningless the enumeration of limited powers which the People of the Several States delegated to the federal government;
9. The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution expressly provides:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the People.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW, SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘Uniform Enumerated Powers Act’.
Sec. 102a. Constitutional authority clause
Each Act of Congress shall contain a concise and definite statement of the constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. If Congress shall fail or refuse to comply with this section, such Act, or any portion of such Act, shall be unauthoritative, void, and of no effect in the State of Colorado.
Sec. 102b. Concise and definite statement
The concise and definite statement of constitutional authority shall contain, at a minimum, the Article, Section and subsection or clause of the Constitution relied upon for the enactment of each portion of a federal Act.
When relying upon any interpretation of a delegated power that is not within the plain meaning and original intent of the words setting forth the delegated power, Congress shall provide a concise statement of the interpretation of such power from the minutes and records of the Constitutional Convention and/or the various ratifying conventions of the several states. (emphasis mine)
For purposes of this Act, any reliance upon the authority of the so-called “Commerce Clause”, “Necessary and Proper Clause” or “General Welfare Clause” shall be deemed not within the plain meaning of the words setting forth the delegated power.
SECTION 3.
This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
If you think you or your group could get behind something like this, get in touch with us here at the Colorado Tenth Amendment Center, and lets work together to bring about an effective path back to the original intent of the constitution so that we may pass on the freedoms to our posterity.
cross-posted from the Colorado Tenth Amendment Center
- Who Decides: part two - February 13, 2011
- Who Decides: part one - February 12, 2011
- in Pursuance thereof - January 18, 2011