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House backs 'conference of the states' resolution calling for inter-state review of federal mandates
Summary
The House voted to adopt Senate Concurrent Resolution 87, supporting a multi-state conference to consider returning powers to the states; supporters praised Governor Leavitt’s effort on states’ rights, while some members sought reassurance that the measure does not immediately call a constitutional convention.
On Jan. 16 the Utah House adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 87 (SCR 87), expressing support for a planned multistate "conference of the states" to examine federal mandates and recommend ways to rebalance powers between the federal government and the states.
Representative Brown presented the resolution and praised Governor Leavitt’s leadership on states’ rights. "The Tenth Amendment ... says, 'The powers not delegated to The United States by the Constitution ... are reserved to the states respectively or to the people,'" he read in explaining the resolution’s intent to assert state prerogatives. The resolution provides for a delegation from each participating state, including legislators and the governor, to convene and consider proposed corrective measures.
Several members supported the concept as a means to rein in what they termed federal overreach on issues such as motor voter and environmental mandates; Representative Ellertson described the resolution as a timely corrective to one-size-fits-all federal policy. Representative Hunter, while generally supportive, asked for a public assurance that the resolution would not automatically lead to a constitutional convention — a question the sponsor and other supporters said was left off the resolution to build consensus and that no immediate convention was intended.
The House passed SCR 87 by voice and journal record; the chair reported the vote tally as 75 yes, 0 no. The resolution will be transmitted to the Senate for further action. Supporters said passage would allow Utah to be an early participant in a national coordination effort to press state priorities to the federal level.
What’s next: The resolution creates the mechanism for Utah to nominate delegates to the planned conference and coordinates state-level action with other legislatures that adopt similar resolutions.
