SB 118-CMTE ON NULLIFICATION OF FEDERAL LAWS  2:38:48 PM CHAIR HOLLAND announced the consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 118 "An Act establishing the committee on nullification of federal laws; and providing a directive to the lieutenant governor." 2:39:09 PM KELLI TOTH, Staff, Senator Lora Reinbold, Alaska State Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, presented SB 118 on behalf of the sponsor. She stated that this bill was previously heard in the Senate State Affairs Committee, so some members may be familiar with SB 118. 2:39:43 PM MS. TOTH expressed concern about federal executive branch overreach, putting the state's rights, state sovereignty, and individual rights at risk. SB 118 would establish a committee on Nullification of Federal Laws and provide a directive to the lieutenant governor. She said upon receipt, the committee would consider federal statutes, regulations, and executive orders and recommend whether to nullify them in their entirety. The committee shall consider whether the statute, regulation or executive order is outside the scope of the powers delegated to the federal government in the Constitution of the United States. The committee may review existing federal statutes, regulations, and executive orders and determine constitutionality and recommend whether to nullify in its entirety specific federal statutes, regulations, or executive orders. The committee would recommend that the legislature nullify the federal action by concurrent resolution. 2:40:59 PM MS. TOTH related that if the legislature adopted a concurrent resolution to nullify a federal statute, regulation, or executive order based on constitutionality by a majority of the membership of each house, the state and the citizens of the state may not recognize or be obligated to abide by the federal law or executive order. 2:41:25 PM MS. TOTH stated that SB 118 would provide a directive to the lieutenant governor to forward a copy of the enrolled version of the bill to "the President of the United States, the president of the United States Senate, the speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and each member of the Alaska congressional delegation." 2:41:54 PM MS. TOTH, on behalf of the sponsor, paraphrased the sectional analysis. [Original punctuation provided.] Section One: Establishes a committee on Nullification of Federal Laws as a permanent interim committee of the legislature composed of: a. President of the senate, or the President's designee b. Six members of the senate appointed by the president of the senate with no more than four members being of the same political party. c. The Speaker of the House of Representatives or the speakers designee d. Six members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker with not more than four members being of the same political party. Section Two: Adds a new section, Directive, the Lt. Governor shall forward a copy of the enrolled version of this bill to the President of the United Sates, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives , and each member of the Alaska congressional delegation. 2:42:49 PM Section Two: Adds a new section, Directive, the Lt. Governor shall forward a copy of the enrolled version of this bill to the President of the United Sates, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives , and each member of the Alaska congressional delegation. MS. TOTH, in closing, stated that the bill would preserve state sovereignty. 2:43:03 PM CHAIR HOLLAND asked if she would like to discuss the fiscal notes. MS. TOTH declined to review the fiscal notes at this time. 2:43:19 PM SENATOR MYERS noted the membership of the proposed Committee on Nullification of Federal Laws. He related that the legislature is organized by coalitions rather than majority parties. He asked why the bill uses political parties instead of majority and minority caucuses as the Uniform Rules uses. CHAIR HOLLAND related his understanding that she would like to collect questions for the sponsor. He noted that she was welcome to respond. 2:44:07 PM MR. TOTH offered to collect questions for the sponsor. 2:44:13 PM SENATOR SHOWER related that the Senate State Affairs Standing Committee would be considering a bill that speaks to that point. He related that [SB 66], sponsored by Senator Begich, would require committee membership of at least one member of the minority of each house. He explained that the bill's essence is to ensure that the minority has a voice. 2:44:51 PM SENATOR KIEHL stated that he had several questions for the sponsor. He directed attention to the task and scope of the task for the bill. He explained that since WW II, Congress had passed an average of 2 million words of new federal law each year. He expressed concern about the Committee on Nullification of Federal Law's ability to read all of the laws and regulations and make recommendations. Further, he reported that the federal government issues 3,000 to 4,000 new regulations published in the Federal Register each year. He asked how many people would need to be hired to accomplish it. 2:45:52 PM SENATOR KIEHL referred to page 2, line 9, to subsection (f), which read "Upon receipt of a federal statute ...." He was unsure who would be submitting the documents and what it means to process them. 2:46:33 PM SENATOR KIEHL turned to policy questions. First, the US Constitution has a supremacy clause. He was unsure how SB 118 would purport to bypass the supremacy clause. He noted that members swore an oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution. Second, language on page 2, line 21, subsection (i) states that if the legislature adopts a concurrent resolution to nullify a federal statute, regulation, or executive order, the citizens of the state may not recognize or be obligated to abide by the federal law. He offered his view that the legislature would be overstepping its authority. 2:48:01 PM SENATOR MYERS pointed out that state and federal policy differs regarding marijuana. He offered his belief that marijuana has been legal in Alaska since 2014. The state has not been challenged because the federal government has declined to prosecute violations. However, if that changed and the federal government decided to prosecute, he wondered how that would affect Alaskans. The bill indicates that citizens could ignore federal law, yet a federal agency, such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), could still take action. He asked whether the state would defend citizens in court or have a showdown between the DEA and the Alaska State Troopers. 2:49:44 PM SENATOR SHOWER offered his view that the federal government did not have the resources to enforce laws, such as the marijuana laws. One thing for the sponsor to consider is that the state would decline to assist federal agents in enforcing federal laws. He said the easiest way to address this would be to refuse to provide funding. 2:51:09 PM CHAIR HOLLAND agreed that other states have already taken that approach. 2:51:17 PM SENATOR HUGHES said she worked with then-Representative Gruenberg, now deceased, on countermand amendment language. At the time, the state questioned federal overreach and state's rights when the federal government violated the 10th Amendment. She recalled that approach required multiple states to agree on federal overreach. She stated that the legislature would pass resolutions related to overreach on resource development. She asked how other states have addressed federal overreach. SENATOR HUGHES asked whether the Committee on Nullification of Federal Law would meet during the interim, identify overreach issues, and put their recommendation into a concurrent resolution for consideration by the full body. 2:53:40 PM CHAIR HOLLAND held SB 118 in committee.