Utah lawmakers address federalism while working to balance state, federal jurisdiction

SALT LAKE CITY — A new bill dealing with federal and state jurisdictional conflict is just one of multiple bills this session meant to deal with federal government overreach and emphasize Utah's sovereignty.

HB380 establishes a mechanism to deal with jurisdictional conflict between the state and federal governments. It establishes a clear understanding that the federal government has a limited jurisdiction while the state has general jurisdiction.

"It's the burden of the federal government to prove that it has jurisdiction when it's acting," said the bill's sponsor Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan. "It's their obligation to prove where they have authority."

The goal of the bill is to keep the federal government from overstepping into state matters, and it establishes what to if that does happen.

This bill also emphasizes specific areas where states have jurisdiction. These areas are natural resources, water resources and water rights, agriculture, education and energy resources.

"I think it's just part of the progression of states rediscovering the general jurisdiction of states. For far too long, states have acted subservient, and that's not the way our system was designed," Ivory said.

According to Ivory, the general governing jurisdiction lies with the states while the constitution delegates few things to the federal government that are mostly interstate and international.

"Most of the things that concern the life, liberty, property of people are held by governments that more local, more accountable," Ivory said. "So this just reestablishes that baseline, and then sets up, almost like a mediation process, rather than, a bully process."

The bill also cites the Ninth and 10th amendments of the U.S. Constitution which both deal with rights not delegated to the federal government.

The 10th Amendment delegates all powers not given to the federal government to the states and to the people. The Ninth Amendment gives people power and sovereignty over things that don't need government oversight such as how people brush their teeth or what clothes they buy.

There is another piece of legislation this session that also emphasizes the rights delegated by the 10th Amendment. SJR6 reaffirms Utah's sovereignty under this amendment and includes the Legislature pledging to safeguard that sovereignty from unconstitutional federal overreach.

Why are these pieces of legislation necessary?

Ivory said that the Constitution is a genius document that sets up an incredible governing structure, but this structure requires both monitoring and maintenance to make sure the delicate balances and limits are functioning properly.

"If you don't rotate the tires and change the oil and check the belts regularly after not even a year that car is going to start operating not properly, and after a decade, you probably can't even drive it anymore," Ivory said. "Well, we haven't been doing the regular maintenance on the vehicle of our government, and that's what this is about."

Ivory said these pieces of legislation are meant to help rebalance the relationship and partnership between the state and federal governments. It isn't just the state government limiting the federal government but also looking for ways to work with the federal government.

"It's like any organization, when the org chart is out of balance, you rebalance the roles and responsibilities, and that's what we're doing," the representative said.

Ivory said that within a couple of years, the largest federal expense will be interest on the federal debt and that it is growing more than any other expense. This is unsustainable and needs to be rebalanced.

Over the years the states have allowed those in Washington to take over more and more of the decision-making.

The representative is concerned with the national debt that continues to grow and with that inflation is increasing as well. This is also a concern for future generations and what life will look like for them.

"I have four grandchildren that I love more than life, and I can't bear the thought of facing them when they're trying to make their way in the world, and they say, 'Grandpa, did you see this coming?' And I'll have to say 'yes.' And then the next question is going to be, 'What did you do about it?'" Ivory said.

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