04/17/2009 03:30 PM Senate RESOURCES

                    HJR 27 STATE SOVEREIGNTY                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:42:47 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR   WIELECHOWSKI   announced  HJR   27   to   be  up   for                                                               
consideration. [CSHJR 27(RES) was before the committee.]                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR MCGUIRE  moved to adopt  SCS CSHJR 27(RES),  labeled 26-                                                               
LS0760\E, for  discussion. There was  no objection and  version E                                                               
was adopted.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DEREK MILLER,  staff to Representative Kelly,  explained that the                                                               
committee substitute  simply deletes one of  the resolved clauses                                                               
on page 2, lines 17-19, in the previous version [/R].                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRENCH asked if it had a hearing.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI answered yes.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRENCH  asked where the idea  on page 1, lines  8-9, came                                                               
from.  It  says:  "The  scope  of  power  defined  by  the  Tenth                                                               
Amendment means  that the federal  government was created  by the                                                               
states specifically  to be an  agent of the states."  He remarked                                                               
that was  a concept  of federalism that  he had  never considered                                                               
before.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. MILLER  explained this language  came from  other resolutions                                                               
in other legislatures and emphasizes  that the federal government                                                               
is an agent of the states and not vice versa.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR FRENCH said that is a fairly novel assumption.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR HUGGINS said if you  read "The Federalist Papers" you can                                                               
come to this conclusion.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:46:17 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR FRENCH  said he would look  into it, and asked  him if he                                                               
could   help  him   find  examples   of  people   who  had   this                                                               
interpretation.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:47:26 PM                                                                                                                    
BOB BIRD,  teacher, said  he has  taught social  studies, history                                                               
and  constitutional  law in  both  the  secondary and  collegiate                                                               
levels for 35  years. He said Federalist 45 was  written by James                                                               
Madison and  he specifically said  that the  federal government's                                                               
powers are  few and defined, and  they are limited to  what is in                                                               
Article 1, Section 8 of The Federalist Papers.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
He explained  that the  Bill of Rights  is really  misnamed; they                                                               
should be called the Bill  of Limitations. Its Preamble basically                                                               
says  a number  of  the states  conventions,  concerned that  the                                                               
Constitution would be  misinterpreted, wanted further restrictive                                                               
clauses added, which was the  entire intent of the Twenty-seventh                                                               
Amendment.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
He said  the entire purpose  of the first ten  amendments, called                                                               
the  Bill  of Rights,  is  to  restrict,  and declares  that  the                                                               
federal government  is expected  to have a  strict interpretation                                                               
of the Constitution.  The impasse that lawyers can't  get past is                                                               
that  the  Ninth  and  Tenth   Amendments  tell  people  how  the                                                               
Constitution is  to be  interpreted - loosely  and in  regards to                                                               
individual  rights  and  strictly   in  regards  to  the  federal                                                               
government's powers. An early 20th  Century Supreme Court opinion                                                               
dismisses the  Tenth Amendment  as irrelevant  to what  they will                                                               
consider.                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:52:08 PM                                                                                                                    
LYNETTE CLARK,  Chair, Alaskan Independence Party,  supported HJR
. It is the most important  document she has seen in years, and                                                               
releases the state from the  burden of federal resources control.                                                               
She specifically  liked lines 6-7  on page 1 that  says: "Whereas                                                               
the Tenth Amendment  defines the total scope of  federal power as                                                               
being  that  specifically  granted  by the  Constitution  of  the                                                               
United States and no more;".                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:54:36 PM                                                                                                                    
JIM  FLOYD, Tok,  supported  HJR 27.  A lot  of  people view  the                                                               
government of Alaska as the last  line of defense in the public's                                                               
perception of  moving towards tyranny  or a general  breakdown in                                                               
social order. He said Congress  threatened martial law during the                                                               
bail  out, and  there  have been  mass  gun confiscations  during                                                               
Hurricane  Katrina  and more  recently  in  Kentucky without  any                                                               
accountability. Attempts have been  made to federalize police and                                                               
compulsory  national  service  has   been  discussed.  With  mass                                                               
unemployment,  the  general  public  confidence  in  the  federal                                                               
government seems to be rather low, he said.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:57:29 PM                                                                                                                    
He  thanked Senator  Huggins for  his  service to  the state  and                                                               
defense of the Constitutions of American and Alaska.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR WIELECHOWSKI closed public testimony.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:58:10 PM                                                                                                                    
CO-CHAIR  MCGUIRE moved  to report  SCS for  CS for  HJR 27  from                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations  and attached  fiscal                                                               
note(s).  There being  no objection,  SCS  CSHJR 27(RES),  26-LS-                                                               
0760\E, moved from committee.