Nullification Bill May Have An Opportunity To Be Heard Again In Next Year’s General Session

Image: Senator Janice Bowling makes motion to adjourn this summer’s special session on its first day. Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

A bill sponsored by Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) in 2023 has an opportunity for a rehearing in the next General Session in January 2024. 

The “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act,” establishes processes by which the General Assembly may nullify an unconstitutional federal statute, regulation, agency order, or executive order. The bill’s aim is to codify the 10th Amendment, protect the sovereignty of the state and its right to nullify any federal action that is unconstitutional.

In 2022, Bowling proposed a bill whose main purpose was “to end Tennessee’s practical participation with federal actions that it finds constitutionally violate,” but it did not make it through the legislative session.

On March 16th, 2022, Bowling spoke about the 10th Amendment and states’ rights during a Government Operations Committee meeting, prompted by what she said were “many attempts at strong overreach of the federal government” during the pandemic.

“I think we all have to concur it’s an undeniable fact that our federal government has grown well beyond its specifically enumerated powers. 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,” said Bowling.

Earlier this year, the bill was reintroduced but again failed to make it through the entire session.

Outlined in Section 7 of that bill was the basic premise of the legislation which stated that, “Bills must be passed by both houses of congress and then approved by the president (or by a presidential veto by congress.) This is the only method of lawmaking under the Constitution of the United States. […] contrary to popular opinion, federal executive orders, federal agency rules and regulations, and federal opinions are not laws at all, and they are certainly not settled law or the supreme law of the land.”

According to the First Amendment, the U.S. Congress was specifically denied certain lawmaking powers, and the federal government was “specifically denied powers not delegated to it in the Constitution of the United States.”

The “Restoring State Sovereignty Through Nullification Act” would set up several ways to invoke nullification. The Governor of Tennessee could start the process by executive order, the Tennessee General Assembly could also begin the process by introducing a “bill of nullification” which would be sent directly to the Senate and House floors for a vote.

A third way is for a signed petition of 2,000 registered voters within the state to be presented to the speaker of the House of Representatives. Upon verification of the signatures, a “bill of nullification” would be introduced and sent directly to the Senate and House floors for a vote.

When the bill came up in the Senate State and Local Government Committee in March of this year, it failed for want of a second.

While introducing the bill, Bowling noted that the nullification process was not new but the proposed legislation would provide an “orderly pathway for the state to use the nullification process.”

As she was giving extensive context for the bill from a historical perspective, Chairman Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville-District 7) recommended that they go ahead and move along with the bill. Senator Mark Pody (R-Lebanon-District 17) made a motion on the bill, but no one offered a second.

The bill had previously been “red flagged” by the Governor’s office meaning that the Lee administration opposed its passage.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.