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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
2nd Session of the 59th Legislature (2024)
HOUSE BILL 3180 By: Hays
AS INTRODUCED
An Act relating to state government; making findings
related to the Constitution of the United States;
prescribing procedures for nullification of certain
actions; prescribing form of petition for
nullification; providing for codification; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new sectio n of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15001 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in this act:
1. "Federal action" includes federal law; a federal agency
rule, policy, or sta ndard; an executive order of the President of
the United States; an order or decision of a feder al court; and the
making or enforcing of a treaty; and
2. "Unconstitutional federal action " means a federal action
enacted, adopted, or implemented without au thority specifically
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delegated to the federal government by the people and the states
through the United States Constitution.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15002 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
1. When "We the People" ordained and established the
Constitution of the United States of America, the people and the
states granted only specific, limited powers to the federal
government, with those areas of federal powers being enumerated in
Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution of the United States .
2. Articles I, II, and III of the Constitution of the United
States, respectively, vest the legislative, executive, and judicial
powers to and within separate branches of the federal government
(horizontal separation of powers), such that lawmaking powers are
vested only in the legislative branch of the United States Congress,
that enforcement powers are vested only in the executive bra nch
(President and executive agencies), and that judicial powers are
vested only in the judicial branch (Supreme Court of the United
States and other inferior federal courts created by the United
States Congress).
3. This horizontal separation of powers i n the Constitution of
the United States reflects the understanding that our fe deral
Founding Fathers had derived from both scripture and experience that
sinful man could not be trusted to always be virtuous and public -
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minded, and as such, they did not want undue power to be combined in
any branch of government where, if left uncheck ed, it could become
tyrannical.
4. Nothing in the Constitution of the United States permits
Congress to delegate or confer any lawmaking power to any other
branch of government, because it has no enumerated powers to create
lawmakers. When the President and federal courts are vested,
respectively, with the executive and judicial powers, neither of
those branches are granted general powers of lawmaking. Therefore,
no person, agency, or department of any other branch of the federal
government, not even th e Supreme Court or the President of the
United States, has any lawmaking power under the Constitution of the
United States.
5. In paragraph 2 of Section 7 of Article I of the Constitution
of the United States, the text describes how federal laws are to be
made. Bills must be passed by both houses of Congress and then
approved by the President (or by a presidential veto by Congress).
This is the only method of lawmaking under the Constitution of the
United States. Thus, contrary to popular opinion, feder al executive
orders, federal agency rules and regulations, and federal court
opinions are not laws at all, and they are certainly not settled law
or the supreme law of the land. Instead, any action by the
executive branch or the judicial branch that purpo rts to be law, or
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that purports to be treated as law, is a usurpation of powers not
delegated to it.
6. It is not uncommon for Congress and the federal executive
branch to erroneously elevate federal court opinions to the status
of "law", sometimes even regarding court opinions as having amended
the language of the Constitution of the United States.
7. It is not uncommon for Congress and the federal courts to
erroneously elevate federal executive orders to the status of "law",
sometimes even regardin g executive orders as having amended the
language of the Constitution of the United States .
8. The principle of "separation of powers " is so innately
representative of a republican fo rm of government that the
Constitution of Oklahoma (Article IV, Section 1) upholds and
reinforces this principle of horizontal "separation of powers "
within the three departments of Oklahoma state government.
9. When creating a federal government by ratif ying the
Constitution of the United States, the people and the states also
designed a second, and more important, "separation of powers, " that
being a vertical separation of powers between the superior sovereign
states and the inferior federal government .
10. A vertical "separation of powers " was explicitly set out in
Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution of the United States,
wherein only limited, enumerated, lawmaking powers were granted to
the federal government .
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11. This vertical "separation of powers" was also incorporated
into the United States Bill of Rights, whereby:
a. in the First Amendment, Congress was specifically
denied lawmaking power within those fields listed in
the First Amendment,
b. in the Ninth Amendment, the federal government wa s
specifically prohibited from interfering with righ ts
not mentioned in the C onstitution of the United
States, and
c. in the Tenth Amendment, the federal government was
specifically denied powers not delegated to it in the
Constitution of the United States .
12. This vertical "separation of powers " was generally well-
known by the people and the states, and was known and respected by
the federal government, for over one hundred (100) years of our
nation's history, but the principle has in more recent decades been
first disregarded, and subsequently even dis believed, as if the
federal government was supreme in all areas and was unlimited in its
jurisdiction. Whether this shift in jurisprudence was intentional
or accidental, active or passive, the shift is nev ertheless not
supported by the Constitution of the United States, by the laws of
the United States, or by the constitutions of any of the sovereign
states. The shift is thus an illegal usurpation of the Constitution
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of the United States, of the various st ate constitutions, and of the
unalienable rights o f the people.
13. Any federal action that violates the horizontal "separation
of powers" imposed by the Constitution of the United States, or that
exceeds the jurisdictional limits imposed by the vertical
"separation of powers, " is therefore void, since the Consti tution of
the United States is the supreme law of the land .
14. "[A] law repugnant to the Constitution is void. " An act of
congress repugnant to the Constitution of the United States cannot
become a law. The Constitution supersedes all other laws and the
individual's rights shall be liberally enforced in favor of him, the
clearly intended and expressly designated beneficiary. Marbury v.
Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803).
15. "An unconstitutional law i s void and is as no law. An
offense created by it is not crime. A conviction under it is not
merely erroneous but is illegal and void and cannot be used as a
legal cause of imprisonment. " Ex parte Siebold, 100 U.S. 371
(1879).
16. "An unconstitutional act is not law; it confers no rights;
it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it creates no
office; it is, in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it
had never been passed. " Norton v. Shelby County , 118 U.S. 425
(1886).
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17. "Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved,
there can be no rule-making or legislation which would abrogate
them." Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
18. As Thomas Jefferson explained in the Kentucky Resolution of
1798: "Whenso-ever the [Federal] go vernment assumes undelegated
power, its acts are unauth oritative, void and of no force." He
added, "Where powers are assumed which have not been delegated, a
nullification of the act is the remedy. That every state has a
natural right and duty in cases n ot within [the authority of the
Constitution]... to nul lify of their own authority all assumptions
of powers by others within their own states boundaries. " The
Constitution of the United States binds federal lawmakers by oath to
support the Constitution, and when they fail to do so, the rightful
remedy is for states to nullify their usurpations and to declare
their acts void.
19. Every constitutional officeholder, whether local, state, or
federal, must first know and understand these important
constitutional limitations of power, and thereafter, must determi ne
individually how best to defend the rights of the people and to
fulfill the oath of office. As illustrative of this principle, in
1832, Andrew Jackson, as President, vetoed a bill to recharter the
Bank of the United States.
President Jackson opposed the bank's political power and
financial influence, but his veto was based substantially on
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constitutional grounds, notwithstanding the judgment of prior
Presidents and Congress, not to mention the Supreme Court's decision
upholding the bank's validity. President Jackson argued that the
"separation of powers" principle meant that none of the branches of
the federal government can pretend to hav e exclusive or supreme
right to settle constitutional differen ces of opinion among them,
since each public officer who takes an oath to support the
Constitution swears that he will support it as he understands it,
and not as it is understood by others. He further said the opinion
of judges has no more authority over congress than the opinion of
congress has over judges, and on that point, the president is
independent of both of them .
20. President Andrew Jackson 's veto illustrates that every
officeholder must reach an independent judgment about the
jurisdictional scope of the federal government un der the
Constitution of the United States and must thereafter act
consistently on those judgments .
21. The Constitution of the United States assures the people
and the states that their respective rights and powers will be
respected by the federal gov ernment.
22. Each member of the Legislature shall, before they proceed
to business, take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution
of Oklahoma, and of the United States, and also the following oath:
"I ______ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that as a member of this
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Legislature, I will, in all app ointments, vote without favor,
affection, partiality, or prejudice; and that I will not propose or
assent to any bill, vote, or resolution, which shall appear to me
injurious to the people, or consent to any act or thing, whatever,
that shall have a tenden cy to lessen or abridge their rights and
privileges, as declared by the Constitution of this state. "
23. The people are the ultimate source of human governmental
power under our constitutions, and the states, through their elected
officers, are dutybou nd to fulfill their oath of office to preserve
the rights of the people, it is therefore long overdue, and
therefore urgently necessary, for this state to prescribe the manner
in which, under the authority of the Constitutions of the United
States and of Oklahoma, the people's rights and the state 's
sovereignty may be asserted as against federal officeholders,
whether individually or collectively .
24. This act is written to aid the people and the government of
this state in the implementation and enfo rcement of the vario us
provisions of the Constitution of the United States that expressly
limit federal power and federal jurisdiction, and in fu rtherance of
the rights of the people as set forth in Section 1 of Article I and
Section 2 of Article I of the Constitution of Oklahoma.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15003 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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This act contemplates the rev iew of any federal action to
determine whether the action is an unconstitutional f ederal action.
When evaluating a federal action, the Legislature shall consider the
plain reading and reasoning of the text of the United States
Constitution and the underst ood definitions at the time of the
framing and construction of the Constitut ion by the framers before
making a final declaration of constitutionality, as demons trated by:
1. The ratifying debates in the several states;
2. The understanding of the leadi ng participants at the
Constitutional Convention;
3. The understanding of the doctrine in question by the
constitutions of the several states in existence at the time the
United States Constitution was adopted;
4. The understanding of the United States Constitution by the
first United States Congress;
5. The opinions of the first Chief Justice of the United States
Supreme Court;
6. The background understa nding of the doctrine in question
under the English Constitution of the time; and
7. The statements of support for nat ural law and natural rights
by the framers and the philosophers admired by the framers.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15004 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplicat ion in numbering, reads as follows:
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It is declared that federal laws, federal executive actions, and
federal court opinions must comply with the jurisdictional
limitations of the United States Constitution. It is further
declared that any federal action o utside the enumerated powers set
forth in the United States Constitution are in violation of the
peace and safety of the people of this state, and therefore, said
acts are declared void and must be resisted.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15005 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in n umbering, reads as follows:
The proper manner of resistance is a state action of
nullification of the fe deral action.
SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of law to b e codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15006 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in n umbering, reads as follows:
A. Nullification is the process where by this state makes an
official declaration that:
1. A specific federal action has exceeded the prescribed
authority under the United States Constitution;
2. That said action, as being ult ra vires, will not be
recognized as valid within the bounds of t his state;
3. That said action, as being ultra vires, is null and void in
this state;
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4. That an officeholder, agency, or government employee,
whether state, county, or city, serving under t he authority of the
Constitution of Oklahoma shall not assist in any attempted
enforcement of said federal action; and
5. That state or local funds collected under the author ity of
the Constitution of Oklahoma shall not be used to assist in any
attempted enforcement of said federal action.
B. The Legislature has sole authority to prescribe th e crimes,
penalties, fines, or other consequences of the violation of a bill
of nullification by any person found within the boundary of this
state. Said consequence s must be specified in the bill of
nullification before a fin al vote is taken on its passa ge.
SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be cod ified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15007 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
State nullification of federal action may be acc omplished in any
of the following ways:
1. The Governor may, by the Governor's own executive authority,
issue an executive order nullifying the same, whereby all exe cutive
departments of the state are bound by said order;
2. Any member of the Legislature may introduce a bill of
nullification in the Legislature. For any such proposed bill of
nullification, the bill is not subject to debate or passage in
committees, and proceeds directly to the floor of each hous e, where
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said bill shall, within five (5) le gislative days, be scheduled for
debate on the floor of each house, and thereafter, within three (3)
legislative days after the debate is closed, shall be presented f or
a roll call vote on each floor. The bill, if passed in the same
manner as other genera l law, has the force and e ffect of law, and
becomes effective immediately upon enactment. The time constraints
listed in this paragraph may be changed by majority vo te of any
house of subsequent general as semblies;
3. Any court operating under the author ity of the Constitution
of Oklahoma may render a finding or a holding of nullification in
any case of which it otherwise has proper venue and jurisdiction,
wherein the parties to said case will, upon fina l judgment, be bound
thereby in the same manner as i n other cases;
4. Any combination of ten (10) counties and municipalities may,
through the action of the executive or through the action of a
majority of the governi ng legislative body, submit a petitio n of
nullification to the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of
Representatives, with a copy to the Office of the Attorney General,
and upon satisfactory proof that said petitions are valid, the
Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives shall proceed to
introduce the bill and follow the same methods and pr otocols as
described in paragraph 2 of this section; and
5. Subject to the requirements of this paragraph, the signed
petitions of two thousand (2,000) registered vo ters of this state
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may submit a petition of nullification to the Speaker of the
Oklahoma House of Representatives, with a copy to the Office of the
Attorney General, and upon satisfactor y proof that said signatures
are valid, the Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
shall proceed to introduce the bill and follow the same methods and
protocols as described in paragraph 2 of this section. Said voter
petitions must not be submitt ed individually, but said petitions
must be coordinated and compiled in batches, by county of voter
registration, of not less than twenty -five (25) voters per county in
a bundled batch. In addition to the other requirements of this
paragraph, at least twenty-five (25) signatures of the total number
of signatures shall be required to have been obtained from the
residents of two-thirds (2/3) of the seventy -seven (77) counties of
the state which shall for purposes of this provision be counted as
fifty-two (52) counties of the state.
SECTION 8. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15008 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Before conducting a roll call vote on the floor of each house of
the Legislature, the several committees of the Legislature may
debate any bill of nullification, express its approval or
disapproval, and add any penalty for violations of the bill. The
results of all committee actions, as well as the result of the roll
call vote on each house floor, s hall be published in the official
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records of each chamber and disseminated to the people i n the same
manner as with other bills.
SECTION 9. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15009 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
The procedures contained in this act are available to challenge
any federal action, whether said action is past, present, or future.
A bill of nullification must not be rejected because of any
perceived statute of limitation or because said federal action was
taken in the distant past. Any federal action may be considered, or
reconsidered, as the people or their representatives may think
proper.
SECTION 10. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15010 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Regarding the same federal action, a bill of nullifica tion must
not be considered by t he Legislature more than once each year. If
said bill fails, then it may be c onsidered again in any succeeding
year, but not more than once per year.
SECTION 11. NEW LAW A new section of law to be c odified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 15011 of Title 74, unless there
is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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Formal pleadings or petitions are not required for a bill of
nullification. It is sufficient if the pleading or petition is in
substantially the form as set forth below:
Petition for Action Under the
"Restoring State Sovereignty Throu gh Nullification Act."
Regarding your claim that the federal government has exceeded its
authority under the U.S. Constitution, please list the following:
1. Date or Year of federal action: __________ ___________
2. Identify the federal branch, official, or agency:
_________________________
3. Give the official name of the action, if known. If not known,
then give the name by which the action is commonly known or
identified: __________________________ _____________________________
____________________________________ ________________________________
__________________________ __________________________________________
4. Identify the specific action, or part of the action, that you
assert is unconstitutional:
_____________________________________________________________ _______
_______________________________________________________________ _____
Identification of Petitioner (Registered Voter):
____________________________ _____________________________
Signature Printed Name
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_________________________________ ___________________________________
______________________________ Street Address, City, County — Must
match voter registration.
SECTION 12. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
59-2-8566 MAH 01/16/24