BILL ANALYSIS THIRD READING SJR 44 Rogers (R), et al 8/12/94 in Senate 21 SUBJECT: 10th Amendment SOURCE: Author ____________________________________________________________________________ DIGEST: This resolution declares that federal mandates are directly in šviolation of the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that šCalifornia claims sovereignty under the 10th amendment over all powers not šotherwise enumerated or granted to the federal government. ANALYSIS: The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, "The špowers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor šprohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or što the people. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that federal policies do not violate šstate's rights or the 10th Amendment simply because they impose costs on šthe states. This resolution declares to the President and Congress that many federal šmandates are in violation of the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. šIt further claims California's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment over šall powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the Federal Government šin the U.S. Constitution. The purpose of this resolution is to declare that the federal government šshould obey the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Committee: No Local: No SUPPORT: (Verified 8/12/94) Northern California Coalition for Limited Government Politically Active Christians of Porterville Madera County Republican Central Committee Women V.I.P.'s Glenn County El Dorado County Commission on Aging County of El Dorado County of Tehama Solano County Local Control Movement Committee 77 individuals ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: This resolution is similar to one recently špassed in Colorado, Missouri and Hawaii. Similar resolutions are pending šin other states. The author states, "The Tenth Amendment has been in effect since 1791, but šover the past many years and for a variety of reasons it has been either šeroded or ignored. Now is the time to remind both state and federal šlawmakers that there is a Tenth Amendment and that it needs to be followed. "The federal Constitution and the relationship of the federal government, šstate governments, and individual rights is a very complex and involved šsubject. The author hopes that both houses of the California Legislature šwill support this resolution so that this important element of our federal šConstitution will be given a renewed and vital position in the body politic. "While the author realizes this resolution! will have no legal effect and šchange no state or federal law, it does send a warning and a message to the šPresident and the Congress, and so is important in that regard." In general, the supporters of this bill declare the need of California to šget out from under the federal government and the concern that the federal šgovernment is bankrupting California. They believe that a strict šinterpretation of the 10th Amendment would invalidate unfunded federal šmandates. Several writers declared that they were citizens of California not U.S. šcitizens. Many writers listed their address as: "Republic of California". Many writers expressed that the United States was a confederacy of nations, šone of which was California. Several of these letters expressed concern šabout and disagreement with the United States' involvement with the United šNations, GATT, NAFTA and other international organizations and treaties. šOne of these letters explained that since California is already a member of ša league of nations, the United States, there was no need to belong to šanother league of nations, the United Nations. One letter declared that any federal government department not mentioned in šArticle I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution has no standing in law, thus šproclaiming the Labor, Housing, Energy, Education, Agriculture, and šEnvironment departments "children of the federal government conceived š CONTINUED SJR 44 Page 3 outside of Constitutional wedlock...." Other letters included articles which expressed: concern over immigration š(legal and illegal); that "globalists" and a future international šgovernment will take precedence over the Constitution; and a call to refuse što pay any more federal income tax. RJG:ctl 8/12/94 Senate Floor Analyses CONTINUED