by Brandon Loomis, The Salt Lake Tribune
Senate president advises lawmakers to choose which measure can best be defended in court.
The Utah Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 16, rebuked growing federal authority with a resolution asserting states’ rights, and some senators arguing for the resolution called their counterparts in Washington “bullies.”
The resolution, SCR3, merely states the Legislature’s feelings on the federal-state split in duties, but supporters said it could send an important message to the federal government to back off if enough states follow their lead.
“It becomes quite significant if you have 40 or 50 other statements like that,” the resolution’s sponsor, Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said after a 40-minute debate led to a 23-3 vote. “I don’t believe this is [just] a Utah issue.”
It does, however, come amid a barrage of bills and resolutions — 13 in all — that the Utah Legislature is firing at Washington this year. Among them are bills to challenge federal regulation of guns, federal control of lands and federal imposition of health care rules. Adams’ “state sovereignty” resolution wraps the sentiment into one non-binding message, and it passed with only three Democrats dissenting.
The resolution points to the U.S. Constitution’s provision that powers not reserved for the federal government belong to the states. Supporters argued that the Constitution gives Washington control of military and external affairs, but leaves the broadest powers — civil rights, social welfare and others — to the states. Opponents noted the federal government’s constitutional authority over interstate commerce, which Congress has used to enact far-reaching laws.
Democrats who argued against the resolution noted that the state balances its budget and cares for its people through Medicare and Medicaid using federal dollars. They also said the federal government’s civil rights protections are crucial. Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake City, credited federal protections with enabling her — a Latina — to ascend to the state Senate.
Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, voted for the bill but questioned whether any one supporting the measure really wants to fund Medicaid and other programs alone, because otherwise the message is hollow.
“If it gives somebody relaxation, makes them feel that they can thump their chest or hike their britches, I guess it’s a pretty good resolution,” Davis said.
Others said it’s not a hollow message, but a crucial one. Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, called it one of the Legislature’s most important issues because the government system is becoming inappropriately “top-down.” Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, said the federal government is exceeding its constitutional “niche.”
“The federal government is not a sovereign,” Buttars said. “We are. It’s time we stood up to these bullies.”
“The states created the federal government,” said Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, “and it’s really time that we put a leash on the creature.”
Some Democrats supported the resolution but said they can’t support other bills that specifically challenge the federal government in ways that the Legislature’s attorneys believe won’t stand up in court. Ultimately only Robles, Sen. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, and Sen. Ben McAdams, D-Salt Lake City, voted against the resolution.
Senate President Michael Waddoups later said legislative leaders are willing to fund a legal defense of one or more of the states’ rights bills that could lead to constitutional challenges. He said lawmakers should choose the most likely to succeed, though, rather than defending all at once.
