HB 261 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to mobilization of the Florida 2
National Guard; creating s. 250.475, F.S.; providing a 3
short title; providing definitions; prohibiting 4
release of the Florida National Guard or any member 5
thereof from this state into active duty combat 6
without an official declaration of war or other 7
official action by the United States Congress; 8
requiring the Governor to take all necessary actions 9
to comply with such prohibition; providing an 10
effective date. 11
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WHEREAS, Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the 13
United States vests in the United States Congress the exclusive 14
power of war, and 15
WHEREAS, in spite of the clear language of the United 16
States Constitution vesting the power of war exclusively in the 17
United States Congress, the United States executive branch has 18
unconstitutionally assumed that power while the United States 19
Congress has abdicated its constitutional duty, and 20
WHEREAS, although the Unite d States Congress has not 21
declared war in over 70 years, the United States has since gone 22
to war repeatedly at the whim of the executive branch, and 23
WHEREAS, when such unconstitutional actions are taken by 24
the Federal Government, it is the proper role of the states 25
HB 261 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
themselves to take action to remedy such situations, as outlined 26
in the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions of 1798, and 27
WHEREAS, a founder of the United States, George Washington, 28
once wrote, "The Constitution vests the power of declaring war 29
in Congress; therefore, no offensive expedition of importance 30
can be undertaken until after they shall have deliberated upon 31
the subject and authorized such a measure," and 32
WHEREAS, the Father of the Constitution, James Madison, 33
once wrote, "The Constitutio n supposes, what the History of all 34
Governments demonstrates, that the Executive is the branch of 35
power most interested in war, and most prone to it. It has 36
accordingly with studied care vested the question of war to the 37
Legislature," and 38
WHEREAS, the author of the Declaration of Independence, 39
Thomas Jefferson, once wrote, "We have already given in example 40
one effectual check to the dog of war by transferring the power 41
of letting him loose from the Executive to the Legislative 42
body...," and, "Considering t hat Congress alone is 43
constitutionally invested with the power of changing our 44
condition from peace to war, I have thought it my duty to await 45
their authority for using force in any degree which could be 46
avoided," and 47
WHEREAS, another Constitutional frame r, Alexander Hamilton, 48
once wrote, "'The Congress shall have the power to declare war'; 49
the plain meaning of which is, that it is the peculiar and 50
HB 261 2022
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
exclusive duty of Congress, when the nation is at peace, to 51
change that state into a state of war...," NOW, T HEREFORE, 52
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 54
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Section 1. Section 250.475, Florida Statutes, is created 56
to read: 57
250.475 Mobilization of Florida National Guard into active 58
duty combat.— 59
(1) SHORT TITLE.— This section shall be known as the 60
"Defend the Guard Act." 61
(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 62
(a) "Active duty combat" means performing the following 63
services in the active federal military service of the United 64
States: 65
1. Participation in an armed conflict; 66
2. Performance of a hazardous service in a foreign state; 67
or 68
3. Performance of a duty through an instrumentality of 69
war. 70
(b) "Official declaration of war" means an official 71
declaration of war made by the United States Congress pursuant 72
to Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the United States 73
Constitution. 74
(3) MOBILIZATION INTO ACTIVE DUTY; DECLARATION OF WAR. —75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the Florida 76
National Guard and any member thereof may not be released from 77
this state into active duty combat unless the United States 78
Congress has made an official declaration of war or has taken an 79
official action pursuant to Article I, Section 8, Clause 15 of 80
the United States Constitution to explicitly call forth the 81
Florida National Guard and any member thereof for the enumerated 82
purposes of expressly executing the laws of the union, repelling 83
an invasion, or suppressing an insurrection. The Governor shall 84
take all actions necessary to comply with this section. 85
Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 86