Senator Janice Bowling Speaks On The Tenth Amendment And States’ Rights (Update 4.1.22)

Update 4/1/22 – The House version of the bill (HB2574) was taken off notice by the bill sponsor, Representative Clay Doggett on March 29th. Doggett said, “The Senate has General Subbed it so I’m not going to waste your time.”

Doggett’s legislative assistant told the Tennessee Conservative, “It is my understanding that ‘General Subbed’ is where the Senate sends bills that they are holding off on moving forward with. After being sent to Gen. Sub, a bill can be reconsidered if a motion is made on the Senate floor. The description of ‘postponed indefinitely’ is probably the more accurate of the two. At this time in the session, committees are less likely to spend time on a bill if they are not actively moving in the Senate at the same time.”

Senator Janice Bowling, the Senate bill sponsor, told the Tennessee Conservative that the legislation sponsors feel good about getting the bill passed next year without as much pushback as they have received this general session.

Image Credit: capitol.tn.gov

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) spoke about the tenth amendment and states’ rights during a Government Operations Committee meeting on March 16th.

Bowling said, “I serve a very rural, a very mountainous region and in the mountains they say, ‘Where there’s a problem, there’s a solution. If there’s no solution, there’s no problem.‘

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.

Today we face a federal government that has taken literally hundreds of thousands of steps beyond the boundaries drawn by the Constitution.

In Tennessee we’ve taken corrective action in the past by making certain that we would never enforce any Bill of Rights things regarding our 2nd amendment should the federal government enact them and that was a very appropriate and necessary step.

But during COVID-19 we saw many attempts at strong overreach of the federal government.

The opinion on the constitutionality of a national bank, that’s one of the first times that we really hear what our founders’ opinions were on government overreach.“

Bowling quoted Thomas Jefferson who wrote that “all powers not specifically granted to the federal government be reserved to the states.” She also reminded her colleagues that Jefferson said, “To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specifically drawn around the powers of Congress, is to take a possession of a boundless field of power…”

Regarding nullification, Bowling said, “When we talk about Nullification happening today we generally mean in the practical sense to end the practical effect of a federal act.”

She continued, “The federal government involves itself in almost every aspect of life but depends on state assistance to do almost everything.”

Senate Bill 2471 (SB2471) as introduced, creates a committee to review federal actions affecting the state and to report its findings to the General Assembly for a vote on legislation to determine if the action has legal effect and is to be recognized under state law.

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Bowling stated, “The main purpose of this bill is to end Tennessee’s practical participation with federal actions that it finds constitutionally violative.”

She explained that there is support from the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in anti commandeering rulings of which there are several.

“The strategy of non cooperation has not only been proven effective but it’s also been repeatedly validated by SCOTUS with multiple opinions holding that the federal government cannot require states to expend resources or provide personnel to help carry out its programs.”

Bowling also noted that state and local governments can refuse to carry out federal directives for any reason.

“No determination of constitutionality is necessary, “ she said. “The state has the right to direct its personnel and its resources as it sees fit.”

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