I’m glad to see someone in Missouri finally doing something about the federal government overreach. Unfortunately, the Republican majority in Missouri is comprised of a bunch of idiots.
For those who don’t know, State Rep. Mike Moon introduced a bill that would basically stop any agency in Missouri from enforcing federal laws unless they are approved by the state legislature. This means any federal law would need to be reviewed by the legislature, debated, voted upon, and approved by the Governor. This obviously would not stop federal agents from enforcing federal laws within the state, but it does stop state and local agencies from using their funding to enforce laws that haven’t been approved.
This is likely to stir up other problems, such as loss of federal funding for a variety of programs and projects, but I don’t see that as a bad thing. Citizens in different states should not be funding projects and programs here in Missouri. By losing federal funding and forcing those within the state to fully fund local projects people will begin to see where their money is going and, therefore, can more easily hold those in power accountable.
This also begins to put a price on the enforcement of federal laws because costs cannot be pawned off on local agencies and hidden from view. Right now all we really know is that state agency X received Y amount as part of a program. Does that mean the local agency utilized that money in the best way possible? No. Is it possible that the local costs of the program exceeded the funding they received? Yes, but we don’t know.
I doubt this will ever receive any real momentum, but I believe that if states started creating this kind of law and following them that we could begin to reign in those who continue to exceed their constitutional powers.