Calling Constitutionalists, freedom lovers, property owners, all shepherds and animal owners, NoNAIS’ers!!!!!
Here is the deal. We the people have submitted proposed legislation in both the House and Senate OPPOSING the NAIS. In testimony last week we outnumbered the pro-NAIS group 2 to 1. In House hearing on HB 1310 2/3 of the Agriculture Committee asked;
(1) What provisions were to be made for the small farmer, and
(2) They expressed that they did not want to turn ordinary citizens into criminals.
We have the pro-NAIS legislators and corresponding agencies so SCARED that they must resort to suspending our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Summary:
Another NoNAIS testifier and I had an interesting listening session last Wednesday night. We were forwarded by the Senate Ag Chair to Bob Lee. Mr. Lee was on the phone talking with someone about ‘when these NoNAIS people were going to go away’. We waited patiently for him to get off the phone and then politely introduced ourselves. Mr. Lee talked in circles for 2.5 hours. He is the man who drafted the proposed legislation that will take away your RIGHTS. Wake up and get involved. This is it. You don’t get involved we will be like any country without representation. What will we tell our children and grandchildren? How do we answer to those who have sacrificed their lives in war to fight for our freedom? How do we answer to the G-d?
Why is this proposed legislation DANGEROUS?
The Constitution in Washington is about to be suspended. The proposed legislation does not say:
- What the emergency is?
- Why WSDA has failed to inform the public on this supposed emergency.
- WSDA has failed to provide WSDA with scientific-evidence of an emergency to the public.
- How long is this emergency for?
- If there is an ‘emergency’ why is not take effect until June 30, 2007?
- What is the legislature stonewalling our bills prohibiting NAIS and pro-NAIS bills are steam-rolled through?
- If this is such a big emergency why was it deceptively cloaked in an innocuous piece of legislation?
This is important as it will crop up elsewhere. On Monday proposal to suspend the Right of Referendum and Constitution from the people will be introduced in Washington. This language was tucked innocuously into a bill to extend the Cattle Advisory Board (on implementing NAIS).
What does this proposed legislation say?
Here is the verbiage of SB 5811:
AN ACT Relating to animal identification programs; amending 2006 c 2 150 s 1 (uncodified); providing an effective date; providing an 3 expiration date; and declaring an emergency.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
[…]
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This act is necessary for the immediate 17 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the 18 state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect 19 June 30, 2007.
With is Act your Rights are eliminated. Do you understand that? This state and possibly the others may have inserted this clause in ANY of its legislation.
We need to fight and fight, hard and NOW. Otherwise jump ship because the country you and I know is gone.
Who supports this legislation?
Senators Rasmussen, Schoesler, Shin, Morton, Hatfield, Kastama, Sheldon, Swecker, Hargrove, Jacobsen and Mr. Bob Lee.
| The Legal Precedent: 2005 POLICY HIGHLIGHTER from The Evergreen Foundation |
Right of referendum null and void?
Constitutional amendment needed to restore people’s rights
By Jason Mercier
In a 6-3 decision, the state’s Supreme Court upheld the legislature’s use of an emergency clause on SSB 6078 ( amending Initiative 601). With this ruling, the people’s right of referendum is now severely compromised if not effectively eliminated.
In a strongly written dissent to the Court’s ruling, Justice Richard Sanders wrote:
The majority betrays the sacred trust the people of this state place in this court to preserve inviolate their constitutional right to veto unwanted legislation through referendum. A legislature determined to inoculate itself from referendum, a secretary of state determined to violate his statutory and constitutional duty to allow a referendum petition to at least circulate, combined with a supreme court openly hostile to the people’s check on the legislature, brews a potent poison to the people’s constitutional role in the legislative process.
Justice Sanders went on to say:
Where the legislature uses an emergency clause simply to avoid a referendum rather than respond in good faith to a true ‘emergency’ as defined by Washington Constitution article II, section 1(b); where the secretary of state declines to discharge a clear ministerial duty; and where the court essentially delegates its independent role as a constitutional guardian to the legislative branch of government in its power struggle against the popular branch of government; I find little left of the people’s right of referendum.
Justice Tom Chambers also dissented, stating:
But I have come to conclude that this court has moved from an appropriate level of deference to the judgments of a coordinate branch of government, to a near total abdication of its constitutional responsibility to review legislative action. The referendum is a sword the people gave themselves to slay unwanted legislation. The people also gave the legislature a shield to protect certain legislation under certain circumstances from the referendum sword. It is ultimately and uniquely the judiciary’s role to assure that both the sword and the shield are used only as constitutionally permitted.
Justice Jim Johnson also dissented, stating:
Even in this court, any doubt about the referenda power must be resolved in favor of the people. When, therefore, the question comes whether the legislature has a right to declare an emergency which will take away the right of referendum, the doubt, if there be any, should be resolved in favor of the reserved power of the people instead of in the admittedly unwarranted declaration of the legislature.
Article 1, Section 1 of the Washington Constitution states, “All political power is inherent in the people” and Article 2, Section 1 grants the people the power of initiative and referendum. Denial of this constitutional right must be severely limited.
The lone loophole to people’s right of referendum is what is referred to as an emergency clause ( See EFF PH 15-13). The emergency clause is supposed to be reserved for acts that are “necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, support of the state government and its existing public institutions.” The legislature used an emergency clause 98 times this past session. Now that the Court has left it up to the legislature to determine what constitutes an emergency regardless of the actual merits of such a declaration, the people should demand the Constitution be amended to restore the sovereignty of the people as reflected in the principle of being a co-equal branch of government.
To ensure the rights established by the Constitution are enforced and adhered to by Washington’s elected officials, Article 2, Section 1 could be amended by:
- Requiring a two-thirds vote of the legislature to enact an emergency clause;
- Requiring a two-thirds vote of the legislature, beyond the current two-year window, to amend an initiative; and
- Permitting the legislature to amend an initiative with a simple majority vote (not withstanding the two-thirds requirement above) if such changes are then referred back to the people for ratification.
A constitutional amendment reflecting these elements would ensure that if the legislature invokes the emergency clause, it would have to be declared by a supermajority vote. If a true emergency exists, both political parties will be able to recognize it. The people’s right of referendum should only be suspended in those instances of a real emergency, not for political expediency.
The legislature should also face a high threshold to alter initiatives passed by the people. By requiring a supermajority vote beyond the current two year window or allowing a simple majority vote with ratification by the people, the legislature will not be able to ignore the people’s laws.
It may sound like a catch-22 to ask the very legislature that is abusing the people’s right of referendum to pass a constitutional amendment restoring this right, but if the people rise up and demand such action, a legislator will either honor the will of the people or be forced to explain why the sovereigns of the state are not entitled to the political power reserved to them by the Constitution.
Should the legislature fail to initiate these constitutional reforms, however, the people could run an initiative that requires a two-thirds vote of the legislature to enact an emergency clause.
Fight and write now, YOUR FREEDOM IS ON THE LINE.
Please either write all the Senators on the Agricultural Committee and demand that this be stricken down and say why. This time don’t ask the questions about but make STATEMENTS of FACT (you may use the questions above as a guide)
Senators Rasmussen, Schoesler, Shin, Morton, Hatfield, Kastama, Sheldon, Swecker, Hargrove, Jacobsen
WA Agricultural Committee:
Marilyn Rasmussen – Chair (D)
Brian Hatfield – Vice Chair (D)
Mark Schoesler – Ranking Minority Member (R)
Ken Jacobsen (D)
Bob Morton (R)
Paull Shin (D)
Here is what to do:
- Write, call between 8-9 AM Monday morning, e-mail, send hard copy letters but e-mail also.
- Put your contact information (who you are and contact info in case they have questions)
- Write under your contact information: FOR THE RECORD
- Say that you are submitting a “Memorandum of OPPOSITION to SB 5811′
- Write you concerns address the proposed bill and language. Provable facts are best (see questions above)
- Ask that your testimony be read and give a reason why you can’t be in attendance if can’t be.
- A conclusion
- Your personal position
- What you would like to Ag Committee to do (strike it down, kill it, whatever)
- PLEASE COME TESTIFY IN PERSON IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. IT MADE THE DIFFERENCE LAST WEEK, IT CAN THIS WEEK. REMEMBER 2-1 ON OUR FAVOR.
- Out of state input wanted: Put Our state is watching to see that you uphold the Constitution.
