Utah Nullification

It’s still being drafted, but the Salt Lake Tribune has an article mentioning the issue. An excerpt:

Rep. Carl Wimmer plans to step up the state’s opposition to federal land policies, proposing legislation that would require state law enforcement to ensure access to areas declared off-limits by the federal government.

“It’s a pure nullification bill,” Wimmer said Monday. “Any federal land grabs, any further protections by the federal government will be null and void … unless it’s conducted with the state Legislature’s approval.”

Moreover, the bill — which is still being drafted — would direct any county sheriff to ensure the public has access to disputed lands, even if the federal government has determined travel should be restricted or prohibited.

During last night’s Utah Tenth Amendment Center Legislative Briefing, Representative Carl Wimmer referenced the Nullification book and said:

I’ve read the book. I consumed the book.

Read about the briefing here.

Senator Stowell sent us an email with the following:

I have been reading Nullification and appreciate very much receiving it. I am a firm believer in state sovereignty and will continue to work to strengthen our state. Again, thanks for the work you have done to provide us with a copy of Nullification.

We received the following response today from Rep. Peterson (R-Ogden):

Thank you for sending me a copy of Nullification. It was highly insightful and a fascinating read into our country’s forgotten early history.

This book has re-iterated for me the great departure our Federal Government has made from its original intended purpose. Unfortunately, it appears that there is an over-abundance of issues that can be addressed by the nullification process and it will therefore take some work on the legislative body’s part to know its mind and best determine a way to put these principles to work.

Nevertheless, it remains a worthy cause and I look forward to putting my mind forward as we seek solutions to bring governance back to the States and closer to the people where it belongs.

He also wrote this blog post where he outlines more of his thoughts on the book.

The books were sent out a couple weeks ago. We’ve had a few responses back.

Rep. Mike Noel (R-Kanab) wrote this:

Thank you for sending the Thomas Woods Jr. book, Nullification. I have been reading it this past week. My vote against taking the $100 million dollars in federal funds was directly related to some of the positions outlined in the book. I believe that as a state legislature we need to say no to the over-reaching of the federal government in this state and in all of our lives. Thanks for standing up for freedom.

Other positive responses have been received which we’ll soon hopefully post. On the other end of the spectrum, we received back one of the books we sent, from a legislator who thought the gifted book was in conflict with this law passed in the 2010 general session which restricts gifts from lobbyists.

My response to this legislator was:

I received in the mail today the copy of Nullification we sent to you, marked “return to sender”. Your writing on the back, indicating that you cannot accept gifts over $10, appears at odds with my understanding of the recently-enacted law to which you are referring.

Here is the bill which was passed: http://le.utah.gov/~2010/bills/hbillenr/hb0267.htm

The relevant text reads:

(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), a lobbyist, principal, or government officer may not make or offer to make aggregate daily expenditures that exceed $10.
(2) A lobbyist, principal, or government officer may make aggregate daily expenditures that exceed $10:
(a) for the following items, if the expenditure is reported in accordance with Section 36-11-201 :
(i) food; ii) beverage; (iii) travel; (iv) lodging; or (v) admission to or attendance at a meeting or activity that is not an approved meeting or activity; or
(b) if the expenditure is made for a purpose solely unrelated to the public official’s position as a public official.

The definition for lobbyist and principal are as follows:

(11) (a) “Lobbyist” means:
(i) an individual who is employed by a principal; or
(ii) an individual who contracts for economic consideration, other than reimbursement for reasonable travel expenses, with a principal to lobby a public official.
(14) “Principal” means a person that employs an individual to perform lobbying, either as an employee or as an independent contractor.

As an unpaid volunteer for the Tenth Amendment Center, receiving no compensation for my duties, and not being employed in any official manner, it is clear that I am not a lobbyist. As such, this law does not apply to me, and the distribution of a $13 book to each legislator is not prohibited by this law.

This legislator replied:

I have no idea if you are a registered lobbyist or if your firm hires one. Our rules are not as friendly as perhaps they could be. I also have concerns about entrapment. I would rather be safe than reading about a problem I might have in the newspaper. Thank you for responding. I did not have intentions to offend anyone in your organization.

Despite being corrected on the fact that our organization does not lobby, and that as unpaid volunteers we are not lobbyists, and further, that this law therefore does not apply to us, this legislator was unwilling to receive the book.

For him and any other legislators that incorrectly assume this connection and refuse the book, we’ll be preparing some articles and materials to send that will put their minds at rest (since a few photocopied papers will clearly be under the $10 limit that does not apply to us).

Utah Nullification Project seeks to encourage state legislators to study and implement nullification of unconstitutional federal laws

Lehi, UT, November 9, 2010 — Four months after the release of bestselling author Thomas E. Woods’ new book, Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century, the Utah Tenth Amendment Center has raised enough funds to purchase a copy of the book for each legislator in the state of Utah. Today, state coordinator Connor Boyack announced that the books have shipped, concluding this phase of the organization’s Utah Nullification Project. In his latest work, Woods, a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute, explains the history, purpose, and effective use of state nullification as a check on federal laws and programs that exceed constitutional authority.

On the announcement of this project, Woods commented: “Thomas Jefferson warned that if the federal government is allowed to hold a monopoly on determining the extent of its own powers, we have no right to be surprised when it keeps discovering new ones. History clearly shows that it has just done that, and despite their protests, resolutions, and lawsuits, the states have repeatedly ceded their sovereignty to an ever-expanding accumulation of federal power. The subject of nullification is one that every concerned citizen should familiarize himself with, but most especially the legislators of the several states. I look forward to what will unfold in Utah once each of the state legislators is given the opportunity to study this information and consider its application.”

Boyack explained the idea behind the project, noting the role nullification has already played in Utah: “This project’s goal is to give every Utah state legislator an opportunity to understand how we as a state can assert our sovereignty and refuse to comply with clearly unconstitutional federal mandates which exceed the limited and specified delegated powers found in the U.S. Constitution.” Boyack continued: “Utah has already used this power on several recent occasions, when refusing to comply with the Real ID Act, when declaring that locally produced and sold firearms are not subject to federal regulation, and in opting out of the recent federal health care legislation.”

The Utah Nullification Project raised over $2,000 to cover the cost of the books, packaging, and shipping to each of Utah’s state legislators. A few remaining copies purchased will soon be sent to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General.

“I’m encouraged by Utah’s several bold and important assertions of state sovereignty,” Boyack said, “and hope to see it happen even more. Those legislators who read the book we’re sending them will quickly come to understand how badly nullification is needed, and how many opportunities exist for its use.”

Those interested in learning more about the project, tracking its progress, and learning more about state nullification can do so at www.utahnullification.com.

Now that the election has passed and we know who the legislators will be for the next two years, it’s time to ship the books! Below is the letter that will be included with each book. More updates soon!

Dear Utah Legislator,

The energy leading up to the recent election provides an interesting example of how concerned Utahns are about a host of issues. While worry about the economy certainly was a predominant theme, one of the more significant concerns expressed throughout this campaign cycle, by Utahns and others around the country, was the intrusiveness and recklessness of the federal government.

We at the Tenth Amendment Center are extremely sympathetic to this concern, and feel that for far too many decades, the federal government has assumed more powers than it was delegated under the U. S. Constitution. Our goal is to help educate Americans about the principles of federalism and help promote and support legislation that will defend individual rights.

The book in your hands is a recent work by Thomas Woods on the concept of nullification—a political doctrine which, though its name is not often invoked, has been implemented throughout our nation’s history. As you will learn in the book, nullification occurs when an unconstitutional law is rejected as an abuse of authority. At a state level, it occurs when the legislature passes a law where they explicitly state that a federal law has exceeded the contractual authority the federal government was given, and is therefore of no force within the boundaries of the state. In Federalist 78, Alexander Hamilton wrote:

There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers, may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid.

This may sound controversial, and to be frank, it often is. But it’s an important tool both to understand and to use in order to efficiently oppose the continual arrogation of authority by the federal government. Nullification has been successfully used to protect individuals from: invasion of their privacy; punishment for political speech; violations of due process and habeas corpus; burdensome regulation and taxation; unfunded federal mandates; and more. Utah, too, has nullified federal laws, including two in the last session.

It is in your power to protect Utahns—both by ensuring our state laws protect individual liberty, and by resisting federal laws that have no constitutional authority. Your voice of resistance will be seen by Utahns as leadership in defending our rights and upholding the U.S. Constitution. This is something you have taken an oath to do. Nullification can help. We at the Tenth Amendment Center stand ready to help in whatever way possible.

We look forward to working together with you in advancing these principles.

Thanks to all of your donations, the books have all now been ordered!

We’ll hold onto them until after the November elections so we are sure who is elected into each legislative position. After that, we’ll package each book up with an introductory letter briefly explaining what nullification is, why the book is worth reading, etc.

If you’re able and willing, we need just a couple hundred dollars more to cover the cost of distribution. Please spread the word and help us make this last leg of the project a success. Thanks, all!

Well, just as I was about to purchase the books, I saw that Amazon (the cheapest place to get them) had increased their price by $3 per book. When you’re ordering 100+ books, that adds up quick! So we had to increase our goal from $2,000 to $2,300 to compensate. We’re getting close!

On Monday I’ll be ordering the books from the publisher, whose bulk discount was not cheaper than Amazon’s original price, but now is slightly cheaper after Amazon’s price hike. In the next couple of weeks I’ll be putting together a draft of the letter that will be included in each book we’ll be sending to every Utah legislator, as well as emailed directly to them in anticipation of the book’s arrival. Stay tuned for that draft which I’ll post here for your reviewing pleasure.

We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on this project and are very encouraged by the many donations that have been made in its support. We’re just a few hundred dollars away from raising the total amount needed — please donate and encourage your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to do the same!

We submitted the following op-ed to the Daily Herald which was published today:

The founding fathers of this nation wisely created a government with several important checks and balances to separate and curb the powers delegated to it under the U.S. Constitution. Congress passes the laws, the Executive enforces them, and the Judiciary arbitrates when conflicts arise.

It is to this latter branch of the federal government people often look when concerned with a law’s constitutionality. In light of numerous and increasing examples, though, where the judicial branch upholds the constitutionality of a law that clearly exceeds the limited powers delegated by the states, the question must be asked: what recourse, if any, do the states have?

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