Republicans in the Iowa Senate have offered a couple of bills meant to flex Iowa’s constitutional muscle with regard to federal government interaction and enforcement.
Both bills – Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 and Senate Joint Resolution 4 – were offered last week. Both were sponsored by Sen. Brad Zaun (R-Urbandale). SCR 3 had the following co-sponsors: Sen. Jack Whitver (R-Ankeny), Sen. Amy Sinclair (R-Allerton), Sen. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull), Sen. Mark Chelgren (R-Ottumwa), and Sen. Jake Chapman (R-Adel).
SJR 4, if approved, would express the Iowa General Assembly’s refusal to recognize or support any statutes, presidential directives, or other regulations and proclamations which conflict with the Second Amendment. There have been no lobbyist declarations on the proposed legislation.
SCR 3, if approved, would declare Iowa’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment, which defines the total scope of federal power as being only those specifically granted by the U.S. Constitution. It notes that the U.S. Supreme Court has already determined that the federal government cannot “commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states.”
The bill states, “[T]he State of Iowa hereby claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and … the Iowa General Assembly demands that the federal government, as its agent, cease and desist, effective immediately, enacting federal mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers.”
The Iowa Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has declared its support for SCR 3. No other lobbyist declarations have been made.
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