Wisconsin's 10th Amendment Resolution

Senator Liebham has kindly provided me with the text of his proposed resolution regarding the 10th amendment for Wisconsin and his aid, Mr. Werwie has assured me that I may publish it here. Without further ado, here is the text of the resolution.

2009 − 2010 Legislature SRM:wlj:phLRB−0927/1
"2009 − 2010 LEGISLATURE2009 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

Relating to: state sovereignty.

Whereas, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads,“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 total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the U.S. Constitution and no more; and

Whereas, as the scope of power is defined by the Tenth Amendment, the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and

Whereas, today the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and

Whereas, the legislature has forwarded to the federal government numerous resolutions opposing federal encroachment on state powers but has received no response or result from Congress or the federal government; and

Whereas, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and

Whereas, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112S. Ct. 2408 (1992) that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and

Whereas, a number of federal proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the U.S. Constitution; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the state of Wisconsin hereby claims 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 U.S. Constitution; and, be it further

Resolved, That adoption of this resolution does not constitute an application by the legislature of the state of Wisconsin for the calling of a federal Constitutional Convention within the meaning of Article V of the U.S. Constitution; and, be it further

Resolved, That this resolution shall serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of its constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further

Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide copies of this joint resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, to the presiding officer of each house of each state legislature of the United States, and to each member of this state’s congressional delegation.(END)" (Emphasis in bold is mine)

"Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no." ~Exodus 16:4

Follow-up to the note.

I am back in town, but with a friend. The flu decided to join us for our trip home and I am not at my best.
This morning, I received a reply to my interest in matching New Hampshire's resolution 6 from the other half of my legislative representatives, my senator.
Here is his reply:

"Thank you for contacting me recently with your support for state’s rights.

I appreciate that you took the time to bring this resolution to my attention. I introduced a similar resolution last year but, unfortunately, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics and Government Reform has not allowed a hearing on the bill. I plan to re-introduce the proposal in the next few weeks in order to renew this effort. We need to pull back our power and responsibilities from our federal government.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Please contact me again if I can provide additional information or answer any questions."

I have asked him to provide a link to the text of that proposed resolution, and I will publish it here as soon as I receive it.

"And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. "~Exodus 32:18

Just a Note

I, upon reading of New Hampshire's Resolution 6, immediately wrote to my own state legislators requesting a similar measure. As I will be out of town for a few days, I thought I would post his response here to encourage those who may not have felt it worthwhile
to contact their own legislators.

"Thank you for forwarding a link to the resolution introduced in the New Hampshire legislature. This document has gotten considerable attention, and I have been sent copies from several sources in recent days. Although the current majorities in the Wisconsin legislature are not likely to embrace such a resolution, I am discussing with colleagues the possibility of introducing a Wisconsin version regardless of majority support.

The federal government has repeatedly usurped the constitutional authority of individual states, and grown government control far beyond the framers intent. I will watch with interest the progress of this initiative in the New Hampshire legislature."

"Then three thousand men of Judah went to the top of the rock Etam, and said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the Philistines are rulers over us? what is this that thou hast done unto us? And he said unto them, As they did unto me, so have I done unto them." ~Judges 15:11