There is a positive aspect of nullification that many overlook: the financial benefit of states taking control of their own policy. We see a fantastic example of this in Colorado. Last year, state that thumbed it nose at the feds and legalized marijuana. Today, Colorado is beginning to reap the benefits of its decision to…
Via Derek Muller at Excess of Democracy, last week the Tenth Circuit found a guarantee clause claim justiciable. Here is the opinion in Kerr v. Hickenlooper, which is challenge to Colorado’s constitutional limits on the legislature’s power to tax. Additional thoughts from Garrett Epps at The Atlantic: Can the U.S. Government Declare a State Constitution “Un-Republican”? Previous thoughts on this case…
"At the moment, if HMRC want to seize your property or cash, they have to take you to court, win and then get a court order. Now, after a couple of warning letters and a phone call, they apparently can do it at the flick of a switch. Crucially, there’s no safeguard built into this system – where's the appeal process? To repeat, if HMRC decide you owe them cash, they just take it. If you haven't managed to reach agreement with them, then you'll just wake up one morning, check your bank account, and find the money's gone. We're told that 'a minimum of £5,000 will be left across debtors’ accounts.' That’s a very low threshold – especially for a business or a pensioner." Continue reading →
A Tennessee state senate bill that would ban law enforcement from obtaining cellphone location tracking information without a warrant has passed an important committee hurdle. Introduced by Sen. Mae Beavers, Senate Bill 2087 (SB2087) passed through the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday by a unanimous 6-0 vote. Once assigned to the schedule by the calendar and…
Refusing to concede defeat, Chumley and Bill Davis, along with 25 cosponsors, introduced H.4979 with identical language to the Davis amendment.
A bill to amend the Missouri state constitution to guarantee Missourians health care freedom and lay the groundwork for nullification efforts passed through committee and will go to the House for a full vote. House Joint Resolution 62 (HJR62) was introduced by Rep. Kurt Bahr (R-102) on Jan. 16. It passed through the House Health…
The Jersey Texan started tweeting about a huge column of smoke in Houston yesterday, and when I did a quick Google search I saw this insanity: Just so thrilled that no one was hurt in this smoky #HoustonFire and the … Continue reading →
A bill has been introduced to protect the privacy rights of Louisianans from the unregulated use of unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) by government officials within the state. Senate Bill 330 (SB330) bans state officials from using drones to spy on Louisiana residents without a warrant. The bill also creates a civil recourse for victims of…
A huge part of the NSA debate has centered around metadata and whether or not it is an onerous violation of our rights for the government to collect the data about our data. Dianne Feinstein, Mike Rogers, Barack Obama and others would have you believe that it is no big deal. However, a recent study…
He has a pen, he has a phone, and… Fixed it for you! The Obama administration will grant extra time to Americans who say they are unable to enroll in health care plans through the federal insurance marketplace by the … Continue reading →