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S. C. R. No. 24 As Reported by the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs CommitteeAs Reported by the Senate State and Local Government and Veterans Affairs Committee
| 129th General Assembly | | Regular Session | | 2011-2012 |
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Cosponsors:
Senators Balderson, Burke, Daniels, Hite, Hughes, Jordan, LaRose, Patton, Schaffer, Seitz, Widener
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION | To reassert the principles of federalism found
throughout the Constitution of the United States
of America and embodied in the Tenth Amendment, to
notify Congress to limit and end certain mandates,
and to insist that federal legislation
contravening the Tenth Amendment be prohibited or
repealed.
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF OHIO
(THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING):
| WHEREAS, "It is incontestible that the Constitution
established a system of 'dual sovereignty,'" Printz v. United
States, 521 U.S. 898, 918 (1997); and |
| WHEREAS, The powers delegated to the federal government "are
few and defined" (Federalist No. 45) and "its jurisdiction extends
to certain enumerated objects only" (Federalist No. 39); and |
| WHEREAS, The Constitution "leaves to the several States a
residuary and inviolable sovereignty" (Federalist No. 39) and the
powers retained by State governments are "numerous and indefinite"
(Federalist No. 45); and |
| WHEREAS, By dividing government "into distinct and separate
departments," allotting different powers and responsibilities to
each, the Constitution protects "the rights of the People"
(Federalist No. 51); and |
| WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court, in Printz v. United
States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997), recognized that "This separation of
the two spheres is one of the Constitution's structural
protections of liberty. 'Just as the separation and independence
of the coordinate branches of the Federal Government serve to
prevent the accumulation of excessive power in any one branch, a
healthy balance of power between the States and the Federal
Government will reduce the risk of tyranny and abuse from either
front'" (521 U.S. at 921); and |
| WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution states, "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"; and |
| WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment defines the scope of federal
power as being that specifically granted to the federal government
by the Constitution; and |
| WHEREAS, The Ninth Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States states that, "The enumeration in the Constitution,
of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage
others retained by the people"; and |
| WHEREAS, We believe in the importance of all levels of
government working together to serve the citizens of our country,
by respecting the constitutional provisions that properly
delineate the authority of each respective level; and |
| WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of
the United States and each sovereign State in the Union of States,
now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may
not usurp; and |
| WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court held in New York v.
United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), that Congress may not simply
commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the States
by compelling them to enact and enforce regulatory programs; and |
| WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court held in United
States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995) that the scope of the federal
government's power "must be considered in light of our dual system
of government and may not be extended so as to ... effectively
obliterate the distinction between what is national and what is
local..." (414 U.S. at 557); and |
| WHEREAS, Recent enactments by the federal government exceed
the scope of the federal government's enumerated powers, and
intrude on areas traditionally left to the States; and |
| WHEREAS, Today, in 2011, the States are often treated as
agents of the federal government, in contravention to the
principles outlined above; and |
| WHEREAS, Many federal laws directly contravene the Tenth
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and |
| WHEREAS, A number of proposals by previous administrations,
and legislation enacted during the present administration, may
further violate the Tenth Amendment's restriction on the scope of
federal power; now therefore be it |
| RESOLVED, That the State of Ohio hereby acknowledges and
reaffirms its residuary and inviolable sovereignty under the Tenth
Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers
not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by
the Constitution of the United States; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That this resolution serves as notice to the
federal government to end federal mandates that are beyond the
scope of its constitutionally delegated powers; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That compulsory federal legislation that directs
States to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalty or
sanction or that requires States to enact legislation or lose
federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and be it further |
| RESOLVED, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit duly
authenticated copies of this resolution to the President of the
United States, the President Pro Tempore of the United States
Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of
the Senate of each state's legislature, and each member of the
Ohio Congressional delegation. |
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