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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
After failing to pass in the Tennessee General Assembly in both 2022 and 2023, the “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act” has officially been introduced for the 2024 legislative session.
The First Amendment specifically denies the U.S. Congress of certain lawmaking powers. The federal government is also “specifically denied powers not delegated to it” in the U.S. Constitution.
Back in 2022, in the aftermath of Covid-19 lockdowns, mandates and restrictions, Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) filed a bill “to end Tennessee’s practical participation with federal actions that it finds constitutionally violate.”
“I think we all have to concur it’s an undeniable fact that our federal government has grown well beyond its specifically enumerated powers,” said Sen. Bowling.
“The ever-increasing scope and size of the government not only violates the original intent of our founders but also threatens to suffocate our liberty through draconian overreach, antithetical to principles of federalism.”
This legislation was killed by other members of the state legislature that year and again when Sen. Bowling reintroduced it in 2023. Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) has also openly opposed this bill.
However, Sen. Bowling is not giving up on this legislation and has reintroduced it this year under Senate Bill 2775 (SB2775). The corresponding House Bill 2795 (HB2795) is being carried by Rep. Bud Hulsey (R-Kingsport-District 2).
What would this bill do?
While the nullification process is not new, SB2775/HB2795 would create an “orderly pathway for the state to use the nullification process” by establishing five specific ways to invoke state nullification of federal action.
For reference, petitions created under this legislation would be submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Once signatures have been verified and the petition is valid, a “bill of nullification” would be introduced.
A sample petition is provided in Section 13 of the bill and additional details on petitions are located in Section 9.
A “bill of nullification” introduced in the General Assembly under this legislation would bypass the committee process and be sent directly to the Senate and House floors for a vote.
Under SB2775/HB2795, nullification can be invoked by the following:
1. An Executive Order of The Governor of Tennessee
2. A “Bill of Nullification” Introduced by a Member of the Tennessee General Assembly
3. A Finding or Holding of Nullification from a Tennessee Court
4, The Petition of 10 Cities and/or Counties’ Executive or Legislative Bodies
5. The Petition of 2,000 Registered Tennessee Voters
The purpose and intent of this legislation is clearly laid out in Section 3 of this bill which provides a breakdown of constitutional and state rights.
Other State Sovereignty Legislation
Senate Bill 2058 (SB2058), sponsored by Sen. Adam Lowe (R-Calhoun-District 1) is another piece of “state sovereignty” legislation that has been introduced this year.
Sen. Lowe’s legislation does not acknowledge the nullification process as means to obtain state sovereignty and sets up a ten member “state sovereignty committee” instead.
This committee would be made up of legislators hand-selected by the Lt. Gov. and Speaker of the House.
While this could be an attempt to get something in place should the “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act” fail to pass for the third year in a row, some have speculated that SB2058 is an attempt to undermine Sen. Bowling’s nullification bill by offering lawmakers a more “palatable” option.
If this is the case, then the question is, palatable to who? From the looks of things, not Tennessee voters.
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee.
You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
9 Responses
This is a well-thought-out bill and THE ONLY avenue to retaining even a PART of our freedom as Americans. I’ve not yet a TN resident who is not supporting this bill. Thank you, Sen. Bowling.
Agreed!
The “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act” was torpedoed by the same sanctimonious liberty-flaunting Republicans that reject any freedom sustaining bill not connected to guns. These frauds will not get re-elected by continuously voting against the will of the people. SB2775 and it’s companion HB2795 offer a direct path for voters to rebuff unconstitutional federal laws and regulations. This gives a real voice to farmers, shop owners, employees, union, non-union workers, stay-at-home parents, and every voter in our state.
Politicians grovel for constituents’ votes every 2,4,or 6 years, but their theft of rights and freedom is daily and politically blind. Republican and Democrat voters should demand their representatives vote in favor of these two bills so we can hold ‘them’ accountable daily. Tennessee Citizen’s for State Sovereignty (http://tncss.weebly.com/) is a grassroots big traction group that can help push this over the line. Worth joining.
People who have moved here from out of state should know from experience. They moved here to escape the overreach in the lives of the people. You are needed now in this state to stand with Senator Bowling and others like her. They’re very few who are willing to support these brave people that have been standing for years. Call their office at the capitol give an encouraging word to the staffer and ask to have the senator call you back. She will do that, and then ask what you can do to help her. That will so encourage her. And most of all commit to pray for her.
TN Citizens for State Sovereignty’s priority is to get this legislation passed. PLEASE join us. tncss.substack.com and our website is: tncss.weebly.com We put out 2 substacks per week. One is general news about TNCSS (Wednesday) and our legislative update on Friday. We have 5 constitutional experts on our team, one consultant from the Tenth Amendment Center, 8 TN partner groups, 29 County Leaders (look at our website…if your county does not yet have a leader consider joining our leadership team). We need to put a ton of pressure on the legislators. Some of our legislators worry more about federal money than freedom and liberty and they obviously do not understand federal funding. They use it as a way to shut people up so they can continue to NOT do their job because they have no spine. There is a contact form on the website so feel free to send me a message.
TN Citizens for State Sovereignty is also hosting an event in Mount Juliet on Feb. 24th. Our guest speaker is KrisAnne Hall and Senator Bowling will be attending our event. Get the details from our webiste. tncss.weebly.com and see the tab for the Feb. 24 Event with KrisAnne Hall. We only have a small number of seats left.
Know yet which committee this’ll go to?
Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16)
I hope she is reelected for as long as she wants to hold the Dist.16 seat.
Heck Yeah,
what Janice said.
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“There are four boxes to be used in the defense of liberty: soap; ballot; jury; ammo. Please use in that order.” -Former Congressman Larry McDonald, killed while a passenger on KAL Flight 007-