Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Charles Key Seeks Protection Of Rights

Rep. Charles Key of Oklahoma City has filed measures he says will take the federal government back to its proper constitutional role.
The measures are House Joint Resolution1063 and House Bill 2810; both assert the powers retained by the states referred to in the Tenth Amendment.
Under House Joint Resolution 1063, if the state of Oklahoma claims the federal government is acting in a way that violates the U.S. Constitution, a legislator may file a bill to address that issue. The bill would then immediately go the floor of the state House or Senate for public debate, amendment, and final action.
Key said, “This would allow an important issue that threatens citizens’ constitutional rights to be addressed as soon as possible without the 'politics' that sometimes comes into play.
“The federal government was never given the legal right to issue mandates with or without funding. The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution leaves all oversight powers to the individual states except for the 18 specific powers delegated in Article 1, section 8. The Supreme Court recognizes this fact."
“We are working to overcome a hundred years of indoctrination and increased dependency,” said Key. “The Founders would be appalled that, since our Constitution was written, we are now having to re-explain what a Republic is and how it works.”
House Bill 2810 allows the state to collect and then remit federal taxes and hold that money in a fund that can be invested with the state retaining any earnings from the investment.
“There is a potential for over $50 million new tax dollars to be made by the state if this bill passes,” said Key. “And that is in the current low interest rate environment. In a typical year, that figure could be four or five times higher.”
Key filed a similar bill in 1995 and it passed the House on an 89-12 vote, but was held up by the Senate.
“I again urge my fellow legislators to pass this bill so that we can obtain more funding for our state - treasury that we desperately need in the current budget crisis we are in,” he said.
Key said the bill would also address the issue of the federal government threatening to withhold state funding in an attempt to force compliance with an unconstitutional federal act.
“Last year, the U.S. Attorney General wrote Oklahoma’s Attorney General Drew Edmondson saying that if our state passed an ‘official English’ bill, we would lose some federal funding,” said Key. “This bill protects our state from having to cave in to federal threats. The Tenth Amendment specifically states that any power not specifically delegated to the federal government remains with the States and the people.”

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