State’s Rights and Constitutional Adherence

Remember when you were younger, and you asked your parents for money? To me, it always seemed that if I got some cash from my folks, there were strings attached. At some point, my folks would use their generosity to make sure I did something they wanted me to do.

This same analogy has been playing out in our federal and state governments for years. For decades, state and local governments or “kids” have been asking the “parents” in Washington D.C. for more money. As a result, state and local governments have been obligated to follow federal mandates about a variety of issues. I believe this system of federal mandates has gotten out of control, and that Arizona needs to do as much of its own governing as possible.

Article II, Section II of the Arizona constitution says “All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.” I completely support this concept. With this in mind, we need to decentralize government authority and encourage personal responsibility, so that people can govern themselves.

I am heartened by several bills that are before the Arizona Legislature that, if passed, will help ward off expanded federal regulations. For example, Senate Bill 1398 would mandate that counties, cities and towns use their existing rights under federal law to require federal agencies to reduce the burden of any new regulation. I feel that this is definitely a step in the right direction, but we need to do more.