Colorado State Sovereignty Resolution Dan Druck, Council on Domestic Relations Editor's Introduction I got this email on Compuserve 4-15-94 which is most interesting. #: 153 S0/CompuServe Mail 15-Apr-94 18:46 CDT Sb: State Sovereignty Resolution Fm: Dan Druck [73543,2304] GOOD NEWS!!!!! The State Sovereignty Resolution passed the Colorado house 51-13 and is scheduled for vote in the Senate Monday, April 18. The Resolution has been introduced in California by Senator Rogers with 21 Co-Sponsors (out of 40) in the Senate and 41 Co-Sponsors (out of 80) in the Assembly. The CDR has resolution teams forming in more than 28 states. We have shifted about 75% of our efforts toward this resolution. We hope to have resolution teams in all 50 states by May 15. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU WISH TO HELP. It's time to stop talking about fixing the problem and start fixing it! I have uploaded the resolution and instructions in the We the People Library (1) of this forum. Filename: SOVERNTY.TXT Keywords: CDR / Sovereignty. This file should be available for downloading by the end of April 16. [Editor's note: this file is what follows this letter.] Please E-Mail all questions to me and I will respond as soon as possible. In pursuit of liberty, Dan Druck, Council on Domestic Relations SOVERNTY.TXT FILE CONTENTS: [1] Commentary on the State Sovereignty Resolution [2] "Implementing the "Tenth Amendment - State Sovereignty Resolution" [3] The "Tenth Amendment -- State Sovereignty Resolution" (formatted for use in each state) [4] Tips on how to achieve "Successful Passage of the 10th Amendment - State Sovereignty Resolution" in your state. _______________________________________________________ [The following article appeared in the March Edition of the Council on Domestic Relations Newsletter.] [1] STATE SOVEREIGNTY UNDER OUR CONSTITUTION by: Colorado State Rep, Charles Duke - District 20 House Joint Resolution 94-1035 is one of the more interesting pieces of legislation with which I have been associated. Simple in concept, the resolution is awakening feelings not felt by Americans for a long time. Good feelings. Patriotic feelings. Feelings of hope and promise. Feelings of a proud future free of domination. Not that the resolution itself can deliver these feelings. But, it may be step one in a journey of a thousand miles. I did not at all anticipate that others would see what I see in the resolution. The resolution begins by stating the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: "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." This amendment does not seem at all to be ambiguous. It says that the powers belonging to the federal government are defined and listed by the Constitution. All other powers are reserved to the states. (and the people) The resolution goes on to remind the federal government that it was created to be an agent of the states. As such, the power of the states is intended to be superior to that of the federal government. In 1994, the federal government treats the states and its citizens as agents for itself. In (some) cases, the "agent" context is even construed to mean "subject". It occurred to me that the Tenth Amendment grants us rights we have always had. The federal government is not in the business of assuring and granting rights. Rather, the overwhelming bulk of policy from the Feds is to restrict and limit our rights. A right, however, will rarely be granted by any government body. for a right to be in effect, it must be asserted and claimed. The pertinent paragraph in HJR 1035 reads as follows, "The State of Colorado hereby claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all other powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the United States Constitution." It is a strong statement of intent by the state that we have and are claiming sovereign rights. It is asserting nothing more or less than that to which we are entitled under our U.S. Constitution. The response from the people has been, for me, personally rewarding. A number of talk shows have featured and are promoting the resolution. When they do, the switchboards instantly light up with callers offering words of encouragement and support. Last week a group of young people from a youth ministry stopped me in the basement of the Capitol. The area was a high traffic area during one of the busiest times of the day. They wanted me to sing the Star Spangled Banner with them while they videotaped. It took a few moments for them to convince me they were serious. I still thought it was a joke, but I decided to play along. It was no joke. They let me sing the first two bars. Then they joined me with strong and proud voices. Needless to say, the commotion generated quite a bit of interest from passersby. People were looking and smiling at us from every angle. That did not deter us. The sense of pride and nationalism I felt standing with those young people was for me a very uplifting moment. What could have motivated them to seek me out? And why the Star Spangled Banner? They left before I could ask. The resolution was introduced (in the Colorado State House) March 2, 1994. It is scheduled to be heard in committee March 15. With a little bit of luck and a bucketful of courage, Colorado can take a bold step into the future by passing HJR 1035. April 15, 1994 [A NOTE FROM THE CDR: This resolution has passed the Colorado House of Representatives by a vote of 51-13 and is scheduled in the Senate on April 18, 1994. The CDR in Colorado is working network across the state for support on this Sovereignty Resolution, while they are fighting gun, education, and other "federally mandated" legislation.] _______________________________________________________ [2] IMPLEMENTING THE "TENTH AMENDMENT - STATE SOVEREIGNTY RESOLUTION" by: Colorado State Representative Charles Duke In the many discussions across several states, questions have arisen concerning exactly how the "Tenth Amendment Resolution" will help. A few have also wondered, "What's Next?". Some insight might be gained if we look at the reasons the Resolution came to life. This discussion is primarily intended for legislators, but can be useful for those of you who are working to have it introduced in your state. It may help in your discussions with legislators who you are asking to sponsor or support the resolution. The principal motivation came from the myriad of federal mandates which have been placed and are planned to be placed on the states. State legislatures feel they have little choice but to implement these mostly- unfunded mandates and pass the cost for implementation to the state taxpayers. For most state legislators, this is a very frustrating dilemma. 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. Article IV, Section 4 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, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people". We have, through apathy and lack of will, allowed federal legislators and bureaucrats to assert their will over us and commandeer our funds for their own use....most of it today outside the authority granted to them by the Constitution. When a state passes this resolution proclaiming its sovereignty, that state may then claim exemption to most federal mandates under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This was what happened with New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992). The federal government was attempting to mandate that the State of New York accept radioactive waste for disposal. New York pleaded they were exempt from the mandate under the Tenth Amendment and the court affirmed the Tenth Amendment protection. Thus, by having proclaimed sovereignty, a state is in the position to select those mandates they will follow, now by choice, not by edict. A sovereignty resolution does not preclude any state from participating in any program they choose, but the proponent may no longer claim, "It's a federal mandate. We have to do it". Each state legislator, in compliance with his/her oath of office, must then examine closely before passage, the Constitutionality of any law being considered. Needless to say, the feds may be unimpressed with a statement of sovereignty and attempt to impose economic sanctions against the state, as has become their pattern over the years. In anticipation of this, each state should also create escrow funds for each federally-funded major program. That is, the states will collect the major sources of federal funds, such as gas tax and income tax, in behalf of the federal government and make monthly disbursements to the feds from these escrow funds...but only if the funds are to be used for purposes which are allowed in the Constitution. The cost for maintaining this flow- through operation can be borne through the short term interest gained from the escrow accounts. It is easy to see the savings that are possible when the bureaucracies established on the federal level to dole out funds to the states are no longer needed. Additionally, the tremendous tax burden on all Americans can be eased because of the decreased spending. Should the feds then decide to place economic sanctions, generally meaning the withholding of certain funds, the state could then simply stop making the monthly disbursement to the feds and retain the funds in the escrow accounts. When the matter is resolved, and it certainly will be, the disbursements could continue. This approach also allows the placing of surcharges on those federal payments in order to pay for the cost of implementing federal programs. The exact mechanism for creating these funds will vary from state to state, but the idea is fairly universal. In most cases, the funds in question properly belong to the state in question to begin with. There are those who believe there is no such quantity as "federal funds" in the first place. Every dollar disbursed by the feds originated somewhere through the sweat of someone's labor. The sovereignty proclaimed by the state simply inserts the authority of the state, guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, at a point to re- assert control which should never have been given over. This measure will then relieve the pressure of frustration from a federal government wildly out of control and move the decision process much closer to the people. Should the feds decide to utilize their hired guns, the judicial system, in order to coerce obedience, sovereignty again allows the state to ignore orders of the court. The feds will not, in my opinion, go to more forceful coercions beyond the court system for fear of triggering their ultimate demise. They do not want this and neither do we. We are perfectly within our rights to proclaim protection from federal oppression by our United States Constitution. It was created with exactly these protections in mind. _______________________________________________________ TENTH AMENDMENT - STATE SOVEREIGNTY RESOLUTION STATE OF ___________________ WHEREAS, The 10th 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 10th Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the United States Constitution and no more; and WHEREAS, The scope of power defined by the 10th Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and WHEREAS, Today, in 1994, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and WHEREAS, Numerous resolutions have been forwarded to the federal government by the _____General Assembly without any response or result from Congress or the federal government; and WHEREAS, Many federal mandates are directly in violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and WHEREAS, A number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the United States Constitution; now, therefore, Be It Resolved by the ________ of the _____th General Assembly of the State of ________, the __________ concurring herein: (1) That the State of ___________ hereby claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the United States Constitution. (2) That this 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. Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate of each state's legislature of the United States of America, and _______'s Congressional delegation. ______________________________________________________ IMPORTANT...Please read the following suggestions from Colorado Rep. Charlie Duke, (no relation to David Duke) relative to the introduction and successful passage of the 10th Amendment - State Sovereignty Resolution. The Council on Domestic Relations has already formed resolution teams in more than 28 states. Rep. Duke is working with us so as to increase our chances for success. PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP. WE ARE WORKING TO PUT AS MANY CO-SPONSORS ON THE RESOLUTION IN EACH STATE AS POSSIBLE!!!!. TIPS ON HOW TO ACHIEVE "SUCCESSFUL PASSAGE OF THE 10th AMENDMENT STATE SOVEREIGNTY RESOLUTION" IN YOUR STATE. The following will suggest a few ideas you may want to use to introduce and assure the success of the passage of the 10th Amendment-State Sovereignty Resolution in your state. Every measure in any state legislature must be introduced by the legislators for that state. The resolution needs a prime sponsor in the House of Representatives, a prime sponsor in the Senate and as many co-sponsors as can be enlisted. Ordinarily, a legislator who would be interested in a strong Tenth Amendment stance will have an interest in other patriot issues such as Constitutional rights and freedoms, a balanced budget, the right to keep and bear arms, honoring veterans and our American flag, and opposing federal mandates. If you don't know who these might be, visit or call your state capitol and ask for a status sheet. This is a document that gives the name, number, status and usually the prime sponsor of a bill. Look for key words common to a patriot's vocabulary, such as those mentioned above. Then, contact those legislators and discuss the resolution with them. If the legislator you contact has no interest he will generally know another who shares our views and interests. Be certain of the legislator's stance on patriot issues before you ask him or her to be the prime sponsor. Some legislators will agree, or even ask to be the prime sponsor for the express purpose of inflicting fatal damage to the resolution. Needless to say, these legislators are not our friends and should be avoided. Now, let's say you have found a legislator who is acceptable and who has agreed to be the resolution's prime sponsor. In many states, measures are first assigned to a committee for hearing. This is usually the place where public input is allowed and sought. If possible, find co-sponsors who are on the committee to which the resolution is likely to be assigned.. the Chairman of that committee would be excellent. If you have a committee chairman who opposes the resolution, regardless the number of co-sponsors, the resolution could die in that committee as it is the Chairman who decides whether or not to call a measure for vote. Usually a prime sponsor can ask for an alternate committee assignment if the most probable committee assignment is determined to be a hostile committee. Your prime sponsor should know the likely committee of assignment and the names of the members of that committee. The Committee Chairman can also tell you who the influential members of that committee are. Supporters of the resolution in your state can help the prime sponsor by contacting the members of the committee and asking for their favorable consideration. Be polite. Most legislators lead a fairly demanding lifestyle and a little courtesy will go a long way towards insuring the successful passage of the resolution. Make preparations to have people from your state testify at the committee hearings. Positive citizen testimony is worth a great deal. Regardless of your anger at the direction your government is going, speak instead of the brighter future that lies ahead for those with the courage to reclaim our freedom as secured by our Constitution. Your prime sponsor will also know the ins and outs of measures in your state. Follow their lead, but offer and be willing to help the process along. The stakes are high (potentially losing our Country)....and the reward is great. Locate the talk show hosts and columnists in your area who express patriot views. Contact those hosts and columnists and solicit their help in your effort. This should not be difficult, as this subject is of keen interest across America and will generate listeners and readers. The Tenth Amendment is fairly easy to understand and explain, but the implications of its assertion are far-reaching. Some in the media will see that and be glad to lend their support. Finally, enlist your friends, family, neighbors, other groups and organizations to assist you in contacting every member of your state legislature to encourage their support. Pay particular attention to those who refuse, for they are major contributors to the problems facing America. There is strength in numbers. Take strength from the knowledge that there are those who also love their country and are active in their own states. Take courage from the spirit that founded our Country. United in this strength and courage America can and will be once again the great nation which our forefathers envisioned. Thank you for your support of this most important measure. Representative Charles Duke, Colorado, For further information contact: THE COUNCIL ON DOMESTIC RELATIONS P.O. Box 3362 Springfield, Ill, 62708 Call 217-854-4008 or 708-471-6747 Fax 217-854-4343 In Colorado Call 303 922-5315 - Fax 986 8597