This week, the Arizona House Federalism and States’ Rights Committee passed HB2201, sponsored by Rep. Bob Thorpe, which “prohibits Arizona from using its personnel or financial resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with any actions by the United States government that constitute commandeering,” in a 5-1 vote.
Thorpe has been working with stakeholders across the state and experts across the country for nearly two years developing the bill. The carefully crafted bill “specifies that the Legislature may enact legislation, with the approval of the Office of the Governor, that allows Arizona to use its own resources to enforce, administer or cooperate with any action of the U.S. government that constitute commandeering.” The bill also allows flexibility for those agencies that desire or require federal cooperation.
A 10th Amendment Center representative told the Committee today, “I am really excited about this bill.”
According to the Legislative overview:
Currently Arizona Constitution, Article 2, Section 3, provides that Arizona may exercise its sovereign power to limit actions in the use of its personnel and financial resources to purposes that are consistent with the Constitution in order to protect the people’s freedom and preserve the checks and balances of the U.S. Constitution.
United States Constitution Article 1, Section 1 provides that all legislative powers are only granted in a Congress of the United States, which is made up of a Senate and House of Representatives. No other branch of the federal government has the constitutional power to make laws for the United States of America.
The Anti-Commandeering Doctrine specifies that states do not have to be active participants in the implementation or enforcement of federal acts or regulatory programs. Examples of case law related to the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine include: Prigg v Pennsylvania (1842), New York v. United States (1992), Printz v. United States, and National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012).