The new session of the Utah State Legislature began this Tuesday, Jan. 16, and with it comes the introduction of legislation that, if passed, would allow Utah to ignore any federal orders that it may find unconstitutional.
Introduced by Sen. Scott Sandall, the Constitutional Sovereignty Act, aims to make it so the state could disregard orders from the federal government, such as air quality regulations and public land issues, if the Utah legislature determined them to violate the constitutional rights of its citizens.
Sandall spoke on the motivation behind the proposed legislation, stating, “There are times when I believe that the state of Utah has been harmed, and the citizens have been harmed through actions that the federal government has placed on the states.”
The bill faces an uphill battle if passed, however, with existing legal precedents such as the supremacy clause of the Constitution, which establishes that federal law supersedes state laws and state constitutions.
Two ongoing Supreme Court cases could also impact this bill, with the cases Loper Bright v. Raimondo and Relentless v. Department of Commerce looking to overturn the precedent of Chevron deference. This precedent requires federal courts to defer to federal agencies on the interpretation and implementation of laws and regulations, which could lead to federal courts ruling on things like federal air quality regulations instead of the Environmental Protection Agency.
This would make the legislation irrelevant, as federal courts such as the Supreme Court would ultimately have the final say over whether these orders are constitutional or not. If the state felt that a federal order was unconstitutional, it would have to challenge the order in federal court instead of taking it up with other federal agencies who, under Chevron deference, would have the power to regulate the orders.
The bill advanced early Thursday morning and is now set to go to a final vote in the Senate before it heads to the House for voting.
Author: Aidan Mortensen
Photo courtesy of Utah.gov
Editor: Anna Mower
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