TexasCHLforum.com

Bill I Filed Today Seeks
Method to Repeal Federal Law

Many people believe the United States government has long been overstepping its authority in many areas of the law. Last week's mid-term election results were seen by many as a backlash by voters against federal bailouts and healthcare reform legislation. Today I filed a resolution (HCR 19), which calls for the Congress of the United States to pass a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would enable states to repeal specific sections of federal laws if two-thirds of the states passed bills repealing the same section or sections of a federal statute.

For too long, the federal government has passed laws that it relies on the states to execute and fund, even though it is clear that most of the states have no desire, nor the resources to assume the mandated responsibility. This year's so-called health care reform is an example and the greatest episode in this practice.

The "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. This bill significantly expands Medicaid, but the federal government pays for only a portion of the cost of the bill. The rest of the financial burden must be borne by the states themselves. The U.S. Congress passed Medicaid back in the 1960s, and slowly but surely it has transferred the responsibility to pay for the program to the states. Now, they are dramatically expanding the program as part of their healthcare reform. Texas, like most states, is having a hard time paying for mandated programs our federal government creates, and then forces the states to support.

I was inspired to file this resolution after reading an editorial in The Wall Street Journal on September 16, written by Randy Barnett (a law professor at Georgetown University) and William J. Howell (the Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates). The intent of my bill is to enable states to have a way to limit the encroachment of the federal government on states' rights and to dissuade Congress from asserting powers not specifically delineated in the U.S. Constitution. If the states had the power to repeal parts of laws that they believe unfairly burden them financially, or that usurp their authority to govern themselves, Congress would have to take that into account before passing an unpopular statute with a simple majority.

As it is currently being discussed, the proposed amendment would not preclude Congress from passing again a law that was repealed by the states, but I doubt that even the Congress of the United States would re-pass legislation already vetoed by two-thirds of the states. This amendment is needed because the 10th Amendment, known as the "nullification amendment," has been so weakened by federal courts as to make it, for all intents and purposes, ineffective.

If the resolution filed today passes during the 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature, it will send a clear message to the President of the United States, Congress, and all the other states calling for the creation and passage of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution empowering the states to repeal specific federal statutes.

The resolution does not and cannot start the amendment process. As established in the U.S. Constitution, the only way to amend the U.S. Constitution is through a constitutional convention, or if Congress passes legislation presenting a proposed amendment to the states for consideration and ratification. Ultimately the proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution would have to be ratified by two-thirds of the state legislatures for it to take effect.

Representative Vicki Truitt will be entering her seventh term as a legislator from Tarrant County who represents Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake, Keller, Westlake, and parts of Trophy Club and Fort Worth. She is Chair of the House Committee on Pensions, Investments and Financial Services, and sits on the Public Health Committee and the Select Committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding.