This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rep. Ken Ivory's bid to create a new state federalism task force got the blessing of a House committee this week, but not before a pretty significant change.
The goal of Ivory's House Bill 76 is to create a Federalism Subcommittee under the Constitution Defense Council – an organization established to to be the federalism referee, studying actions by the U.S. government – laws, rules, regulations and executive orders – and blow the whistle when it perceives those actions deviating from the enumerated powers of the federal government.
If the federal government crosses the line and doesn't relent, the CDC could then go to court and challenge the federal action.
But where does one, as Ivory put it, draw the line on federal powers?
Here's where Ivory's bill went:
"In the evaluation of a federal law, the council:
(a) shall rely on:
(i) the text of the United States Constitution;
(ii) the meaning of the text of the United States Constitution at the time of its drafting and ratification; and
(iii) a primary source document written during or between the years of 1787 and 1801 that is:
(A) directly relevant to the drafting, adoption, ratification, or implementation of the United States Constitution; or
(B) created by a person directly involved in the drafting, adoption, ratification, or implementation of the United States Constitution; and
(b) is not bound by a holding by a federal court."
Notice anything missing? Ivory's bill arguably left out the Bill of Rights, including the beloved 10th Amendment (although that could conceivably be considered a primary source document prior to 1801).
It certainly left out the 13th Amendment ending slavery, the 14th Amendment extending citizenship to slaves, the 15th Amendment granting voting rights, and the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.
The bill was amended in committee to add in that language. There still is an exemption that means the subcommittee may or may not be bound by pesky federal court rulings.
Ivory's bill, with the amendments, is awaiting action by the House.
— Robert GehrkeTwitter: @RobertGehrke