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Wyoming - Assertion of States' Rights
Wyoming House Joint Resolution #HEJR0002
Signed into Law on March 8, 2010 by Governor FreudenthalClick here for #HJ0002 legislative details from Wyoming House of Representatives, 2010 Budget Session.
Click here for #HJ0002 legislative details from the Wyoming Senate, 2010 Budget Session.
ORIGINAL HOUSE ENGROSSED
JOINT RESOLUTION
NO. 0002
(Page 1)
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 2, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SIXTIETH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2010 BUDGET SESSION
SIXTIETH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2010 BUDGET SESSION
A JOINT RESOLUTION demanding Congress cease and desist from
enacting mandates that are beyond the scope of the
enumerated powers granted to Congress by the Constitution
of the United States.
WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States reads as follows: "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
Constitution of the United States and no more; and
WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment
means that the federal government was created by the states
specifically to be an agent of the states; and
WHEREAS, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of
the federal government; and
WHEREAS, many federal laws are directly in violation of the
Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;
and
WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of
the United States of America and each sovereign state in
the union of states, now have, and have always had, rights
the federal government may not usurp; and
WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution says,
"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this
Union a Republican Form of Government," and the Ninth
Amendment states that "The enumeration in the Constitution,
ORIGINAL HOUSE
JOINT RESOLUTION
NO. 0002
(Page 2)
of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people"; and
WHEREAS, Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative
and regulatory processes of the states; and
WHEREAS, the United States Congress frequently considers
and enacts laws, and the executive agencies of the federal
government frequently promulgate regulations, the
constitutional authority for which is either absent or
tenuous, including, without limitation, the Real ID Act,
which imposes significant unfunded mandates upon the states
with respect to the traditional state function of drivers
licensing, the Endangered Species Act, which, as construed
by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, authorizes a
federal executive agency to require specific state
legislation related to the traditional state function of
wildlife management, the Clean Water Act, which, as
construed by the Environmental Protection Agency,
authorizes a federal executive agency to exercise
regulatory jurisdiction over waters that are not subject to
federal regulation, the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act, which implements a policy of federal lands retention
in derogation of the "equal footing" doctrine.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:
Section 1. That the State of Wyoming Legislature
claims sovereignty on behalf of the State of Wyoming and
for its citizens under the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States over all powers not
otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government
or reserved to the people by the Constitution of the United
States.
ORIGINAL HOUSE
JOINT RESOLUTION
NO. 0002
(Page 3)
Section 2. That the rights and liberties of Wyoming,
its costates and their respective citizens must be
protected from any dangers by declaring that Congress is
limited by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States and that this state calls on its costates for
an expression of their sentiments on acts not authorized by
the United States Constitution.
Section 3. That this resolution serve as notice and
demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease
and desist, effective immediately, from enacting mandates
that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally
delegated powers. The state of Wyoming will not enforce
such mandates.
Section 4. That all compulsory federal legislation
that directs states to comply under threat of civil or
criminal penalties or sanctions be prohibited or repealed.
ORIGINAL HOUSE
JOINT RESOLUTION
NO. 0002
(Page 4)
Section 5. That the Secretary of State of Wyoming
transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the
United States, to the President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United
States Congress and to the Wyoming Congressional
Delegation, with a request that this resolution be
officially entered in the congressional record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
(END)
Speaker of the House President of the Senate
Governor
TIME APPROVED: _________
DATE APPROVED: _________
I hereby certify that this act originated in the House.
Chief Clerk
As with most legislation, there is a bit of history (debates, amendments, votes, etc.) that accompanied the passage of Wyoming's Assertion of States' Rights.
To enlighten Wyoming voters, Patriot Whip has borrowed legislative facts and archived audio files from the Wyoming State Legislature public record to illustrate some of this history below.
We strongly encourage you to click on the links provided to learn more about #HJ0002 as well as to familiarize yourself with the Wyoming State Legislature website's
vast amount of information available!
#HJ0002 in the House
Laramie County 2/12/10 by the Wyoming House Judiciary Committee. This Committee
recommended, with a unanimous vote, a "Do Pass" with amendments.
These amendments become the focal point of a debate during the Final Reading of #HJ002 on the morning of2/17/10 in the Wyoming
House.
In the following archived audio files from the Wyoming State legislature website, the debate that you will hear centers on an amendment sponsored by Representative Pete Illoway (Laramie
(Please note; due to maximum uploading requirements, the audio had to be split into smaller, manageable parts.)
Part 1: #HJ0002 WY House Debate, 2/17/10
Part 2: #HJ0002, WY House Vote, 2/17/10
The House Representatives who spoke on behalf of keeping this language to strengthen the Assertion of States' Rights Resolution (and therefore opposed Illoway's amendment) are;
Amy Edmonds (Laramie, #H12)
Keith Gingery (Fremont/Teton, #H23)
Pat Childers (Park, #H50)
The House Representatives who argued for the removal of this language (and therefore supported the Illoway Amendment) are;
Pete Illoway (Laramie, #H42)
Kermit Brown (Albany, #H14)
Roy Cohee (Natrona, #H35)
Jack Landon (Sheridan, #H30)
In addition to the Judiciary amendments, Representative Pat Childers of Park County offered an amendment of his own to further strengthen #HJ0002 and to encourage other states to stand up for their Tenth Amendment rights. Childer's amendment, which remained intact throughout the entire legislative process, can be found in its entirety as Section 2 (page 3) in the Enrolled Act, #HEJR0004
House Vote
#HJ0002 passed the Third Reading in the House with a final vote of 49 Ayes and 9 Nays.
The following is the Roll Call Vote of the Third Reading in the House for #HJ0002, which can be found in the Journal Digest for #HJ0002 at: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/Digest/HJ0002.htm.
After passage by the House #HJ0002 was sent to the Senate for Introduction on 2/18/10.
To
understand these amendments, it is necessary to view the original text (which
differs from the final Enrolled Act).
Click here for the original text of #HJ0002.
The House Judiciary amendments originated as suggestions from two
Insert the word "demanding"
(to replace the word requesting), on page 1, line 1.
Insert the sentence, "The State of
These amendments become the focal point of a debate during the Final Reading of #HJ002 on the morning of
In the following archived audio files from the Wyoming State legislature website, the debate that you will hear centers on an amendment sponsored by Representative Pete Illoway (
(Please note; due to maximum uploading requirements, the audio had to be split into smaller, manageable parts.)
Part 1: #HJ0002 WY House Debate, 2/17/10
Part 2: #HJ0002, WY House Vote, 2/17/10
Archived audio
files from Wyoming State Legislature website, Wednesday,
Time; 58:00 to
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/audio/AudioMenu/AudioMenu.aspx
The House Representatives who spoke on behalf of keeping this language to strengthen the Assertion of States' Rights Resolution (and therefore opposed Illoway's amendment) are;
Amy Edmonds (Laramie, #H12)
Keith Gingery (Fremont/Teton, #H23)
Pat Childers (Park, #H50)
The House Representatives who argued for the removal of this language (and therefore supported the Illoway Amendment) are;
Pete Illoway (Laramie, #H42)
Kermit Brown (Albany, #H14)
Roy Cohee (Natrona, #H35)
Jack Landon (Sheridan, #H30)
In addition to the Judiciary amendments, Representative Pat Childers of Park County offered an amendment of his own to further strengthen #HJ0002 and to encourage other states to stand up for their Tenth Amendment rights. Childer's amendment, which remained intact throughout the entire legislative process, can be found in its entirety as Section 2 (page 3) in the Enrolled Act, #HEJR0004
House Vote
#HJ0002 passed the Third Reading in the House with a final vote of 49 Ayes and 9 Nays.
The following is the Roll Call Vote of the Third Reading in the House for #HJ0002, which can be found in the Journal Digest for #HJ0002 at: http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/Digest/HJ0002.htm.
ROLL CALL
Ayes:
Representative(s) Anderson, R., Bagby, Barbuto,
Berger, Blake, Blikre, Bonner, Brechtel, Brown, Buchanan, Cannady,
Childers,
Cohee, Craft, Davison, Diercks, Edmonds, Esquibel, K., Gingery,
Harshman,
Harvey, Illoway, Jaggi, Kimble, Lockhart, Lubnau, Madden, McKim,
McOmie,
Miller, Millin, Moniz, Patton, Peasley, Pedersen, Petersen,
Quarberg, Roscoe,
Semlek, Shepperson, Simpson, Steward, Stubson, Teeters, Thompson,
Throne,
Wallis, Zwonitzer, Dn. and Zwonitzer, Dv.
Nays:
Representative(s) Byrd,
Excused:
Representative(s) Hallinan and Philp
Ayes 49 Nays 9 Excused 2 Absent 0 Conflicts 0
*Patriot Whip would like to draw your attention to a fact that becomes apparent when listening to these audio files; some of our legislators appear to be incongruous with their opinions and votes by vocally opposing a strongly worded State Sovereignty Resolution but nevertheless voting "Aye" for the public record.
After passage by the House #HJ0002 was sent to the Senate for Introduction on 2/18/10.
#HJ0002 in the Senate
The resolution was then assigned to the Senate Agriculture Committee whom passed it unanimously (on 2/24/10) after hearing public statements from Wyoming grassroots groups. In addition to public statements, one of the groups provided the Agriculture Committee with literature pertinent to current agriculture issues in the state and how they infringe upon Wyoming's Tenth Amendment rights. This documentation can be viewed here.
During the Committee hearing additional amendments were discussed; one to correct a grammatical errorFremont County
Senator Bebout's amendment:
"on behalf of the State ofWyoming
page 5, line 5.
After approval by the Agriculture Committee, the Senate floor discussion/debate that takes place (on 2/26/10) can be found on the following archived audio files;
(Please note; due to maximum uploading requirements, the audio had to be split into smaller, manageable parts.)
Part 1: #HJ0002 WY Senate Debate, 2/26/10
Part 2: #HJ0002 WY Senate Debate and Vote, 2/26/10
Archived audio files from Wyoming State Legislature website, Friday, 2/26/10, AM (Senate Morning),
Time; 46:48 to 1:08
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/audio/AudioMenu/AudioMenu.aspx
To summarize from the archived audio files:
The Wyoming Senators who spoke on behalf of Wyoming's Assertion of States' Rights include;
Eli Bebout (Fremont, #S26)
James Elliott, Jr. (Albany/Carbon, #S11)
Kit Jennings (Natrona, #S28)
Mike Massie (Albany, #S09)
Stan Cooper (Lincoln/Sublette/ Sweetwater/Uinta, #S14)
The Wyoming Senators who spoke against Wyoming's Assertion of States' Rights Resolution include;
Charles Scott (Natrona, #S30)
Floyd Esquibel (Laramie, #S08)
Bill Landen (Natrona, #S27)
Following the Senate debate, #HJ002 was passed by the Committee of the Whole with the following changes;
Senate Vote
#HJ0002 passed both the Second and Third readings in the Senate, with a final Roll Call vote (on 3/2/10) of 26 Ayes and 4 Nays.
The following is the Roll Call Vote of the Third Reading in the Senate for #HJ0002, which can be found in the Journal Digest for #HJ0002 at:
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/Digest/HJ0002.htm.
House Concurrence
On 3/2/2010 #HJ0002, with changes by the Senate, was sent back to the House for concurrence; the House concurred with the Senate's amendments and the resolution was passed unanimously.
Final Approvals
The resolution was then assigned to the Senate Agriculture Committee whom passed it unanimously (on 2/24/10) after hearing public statements from Wyoming grassroots groups. In addition to public statements, one of the groups provided the Agriculture Committee with literature pertinent to current agriculture issues in the state and how they infringe upon Wyoming's Tenth Amendment rights. This documentation can be viewed here.
During the Committee hearing additional amendments were discussed; one to correct a grammatical error
Senator Bebout's amendment:
"on behalf of the State of
page 5, line 5.
After approval by the Agriculture Committee, the Senate floor discussion/debate that takes place (on 2/26/10) can be found on the following archived audio files;
(Please note; due to maximum uploading requirements, the audio had to be split into smaller, manageable parts.)
Part 1: #HJ0002 WY Senate Debate, 2/26/10
Part 2: #HJ0002 WY Senate Debate and Vote, 2/26/10
Archived audio files from Wyoming State Legislature website, Friday, 2/26/10, AM (Senate Morning),
Time; 46:48 to 1:08
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/audio/AudioMenu/AudioMenu.aspx
To summarize from the archived audio files:
The Wyoming Senators who spoke on behalf of Wyoming's Assertion of States' Rights include;
Eli Bebout (Fremont, #S26)
James Elliott, Jr. (Albany/Carbon, #S11)
Kit Jennings (Natrona, #S28)
Mike Massie (Albany, #S09)
Stan Cooper (Lincoln/Sublette/ Sweetwater/Uinta, #S14)
The Wyoming Senators who spoke against Wyoming's Assertion of States' Rights Resolution include;
Charles Scott (Natrona, #S30)
Floyd Esquibel (Laramie, #S08)
Bill Landen (Natrona, #S27)
Following the Senate debate, #HJ002 was passed by the Committee of the Whole with the following changes;
- Senator Bebout's amendment passing
- Senator Elliott's amendment not passing
- An additional amendment being added per Senator Massie's argument, which reads;
After the word sovereignty, "on behalf of the State of
Senate Vote
#HJ0002 passed both the Second and Third readings in the Senate, with a final Roll Call vote (on 3/2/10) of 26 Ayes and 4 Nays.
The following is the Roll Call Vote of the Third Reading in the Senate for #HJ0002, which can be found in the Journal Digest for #HJ0002 at:
http://legisweb.state.wy.us/2010/Digest/HJ0002.htm.
ROLL CALL
Ayes: Senator(s) Anderson, J., Bebout,
Burns, Case, Coe, Cooper, Dockstader, Geis, Hastert, Hines, Hunnicutt,
Jennings, Johnson, Landen, Martin, Massie, Meier, Meyer, Nicholas, Perkins, Peterson,
Ross, Scott, Sessions, Townsend and Von Flatern
Nays: Senator(s) Elliott, Esquibel, F.,
Larson and Schiffer
Ayes 26 Nays 4
Excused 0 Absent 0
Conflicts 0
House Concurrence
On 3/2/2010 #HJ0002, with changes by the Senate, was sent back to the House for concurrence; the House concurred with the Senate's amendments and the resolution was passed unanimously.
Final Approvals
