‘The hell with the feds’: Utah reasserts state powers with ‘Sovereignty Act’ to overrule federal government

Original article here.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – The Utah legislature passed the “Utah Constitutional Sovereignty Act” in late January, and on the 31st it was signed into law by Republican Governor Spencer Cox. The new law, which has garnered national media scrutiny, provides a legal framework for Utah officials to refuse the enforcement or assistance of federal government actions that violate the state’s sovereignty.

According to the text of the bill, S.B. 57, “establishes a framework for the Legislature, by concurrent resolution, to prohibit the enforcement of a federal directive within the state by government officers if the Legislature determines the federal directive violates the principles of state sovereignty.”

The bill can be acted upon if, it says, “A federal directive violates the principles of state sovereignty if the federal directive restricts or infringes upon: (a) a power or a right reserved to the state by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution; or (b) the state’s rights or interests to provide for the health, safety, and welfare and promote the prosperity of the state’s inhabitants.”

In a statement released with the signing, Cox explained, “Balancing power between state and federal sovereignty is an essential part of our constitutional system. This legislation gives us another way to push back on federal overreach and maintain that balance.”

Utah Republican Sen. Scott Sandall, the bill’s sponsor, told CNN that he hopes other states will consider the adoption of similar bills. “I think any state should be looking at adopting this,” he told reporters. “Don’t you want a real organized way in your state to vet these things and look and say where the federal government is overreaching? No matter which party or which ideology you espouse, this could be helpful in any state, in my opinion.”

He framed the bill as a “process bill” as opposed to a “policy bill” in that it creates the process by which the legislature, through a concurrent resolution can enable the state to challenge federal actions. He told CNN, “Our attorneys have indicated to me that the process that’s in place is constitutional. It doesn’t have a constitutional (issue) simply because it’s a process. Any kind of resolution may or may not be deemed constitutional.”

The bill was reportedly inspired by a 2022 Act by the provincial parliament of Alberta, Canada which asserted its rights to push back against the country’s federal government in Ottawa under controversial Premier Justin Trudeau.

Critics of the bill, such as Democratic Gubernatorial hopeful Rep. Brian King, have suggested that any issues Utah may have with the federal government should be adjudicated exclusively in federal court and not the legislature. “I was and still am worried that the bill is going to be used as a political or partisan cudgel as opposed to a dispassionate and analytical tool,” he said.

Others have suggested that the bill runs afoul of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. However, recent challenges such as those from Texas previously reported by Law Enforcement Today are expected to breed further legal maneuvers by states that could reshape federalism.