Monday, November 22, 2010

Constitutional Amendment

Yet another one is proposed, and to make sure it goes nowhere, it's being proposed in the lame-duck session. This one would allow the states to repeal federal legislation bu having 2/3 of the state legislatures pass a resolution calling for the repeal of the legislation in question.

The proposed amendment reads: “Any provision of law or regulation of the United States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be effective when the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states approve resolutions for this purpose that particularly describe the same provision or provisions of law or regulation to be repealed.”
This one is particularly innocuous in that getting 2/3 of the state legislatures to agree that the sun rises in the east is difficult enough.

I believe I can see another problem. Let's say the congress passes the Onerous Imposition Act of 2011, and the people begin a run on pitchforks, torches and rope. The state legislatures immediately begin passing resolutions: Be it resolved; the OIA of 2011 should be repealed. When the count gets close to 30 states, the Act's sponsor introduces legislation amending the Act called the Onerous Imposition Act Reform bill of 2012 which replaces the 2011 act with the 2012 act, and the states efforts are back to square one.

The efforts of conservatives would be better spent circulating petitions at the state levels to get an amendment limiting congressional terms enacted.

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