Members of the Wyoming Legislature are seeking to pass legislation that would be a first step toward nullifying unconstitutional federal-government policies.
House Bill No. HB0177 (HB 177) is sponsored by Representative Robert Wharff (R-Evanston) and cosponsored by nine other representatives and three senators.
If enacted, HB 177 would create a “Federal Review Joint and Standing Committee” comprised of members from the state House and Senate. It would review “all new, proposed and existing federal laws, resolutions, rules, regulations, decrees, orders, mandates, executive orders and any other federal dictate” to “determine if the sovereignty of the state of Wyoming and the powers, rights and liberties of its citizens, as legally defined during the ratification debates of the several states in ratifying the United States Constitution of 1787, are being infringed upon or diminished and ensure the Wyoming legislature meets its constitutional obligation of recognizing all infractions to the constitution of which the state of Wyoming is a party.”
Additionally, the committee would be required to conduct its work “without regard for any United States supreme court or other judicial decisions that attempt to interpret federal actions, such as unconstitutional assertions assumed by the federal judiciary that undermine our republican form of government.”
This bill would be a good first step toward nullifying unconstitutional federal laws, and would enshrine sound constitutional principles into state law.
HB 177 is firmly grounded in the text of the U.S. Constitution. In particular, Article VI states, “[t]his Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof … shall be the supreme Law of the Land.” Additionally, the 10th Amendment makes clear that all powers not granted by the Constitution to the federal government are reserved to the states and to the people.
Accordingly, any federal action that violates or contradicts the Constitution cannot be “made in Pursuance thereof” and, thus, is not “the supreme Law of the Land.” Unfortunately, in the last several decades, thousands of unconstitutional laws on the federal, state, and even local levels have been created and enforced.
HB 177 is a first step toward following and enforcing both of these important constitutional provisions (Article VI and the 10th Amendment) by nullifying unconstitutional federal actions and by restoring state sovereignty. Additionally, exercising these powers is more important now than ever, considering the extent to which the federal government has overreached. If our leaders adhered consistently to the Constitution, more than 80 percent of the federal government would be declared unconstitutional, and the situation will likely get worse under the Biden administration.
Urge your state representative and senator to support HB 177 and any other attempt to properly enforce the Constitution and nullify federal overreach.
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