SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 41
(By Senators Yoder, Anderson, Bowman, Craigo,
Dittmar and Schoonover)

Claiming sovereignty of the state of West Virginia under the tenth amendment to the constitution of the United States.

Whereas, The tenth amendment to the constitution of the United States reads as follows: The powers not delegated to the United States by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people; and

Whereas, The tenth amendment defines the total scope of the federal power as being that specifically granted by the constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 8, and no more; and
Whereas, The scope of power defined by the tenth amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and
Whereas, Today, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and
Whereas, Many federal mandates are directly in violation of the constitution of the United States; and
Whereas, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S.Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory process of the states; and
Whereas, A number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the constitution of the United States; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the state of West Virginia hereby claims sovereignty under the tenth amendment to the constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the constitution of the United States; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate is hereby requested to forward a copy of this resolution to the speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the majority leader of the United States Senate.