SB57 creates a formal process for the state Legislature to block federal laws or orders they believe violate Utah’s state sovereignty. It sets rules for passing a resolution to stop local enforcement of such federal actions and requires consulting the attorney general and notifying tribal governments. Once passed, the resolution becomes law and prevents state or local officials from enforcing the targeted federal directive. The bill also clarifies that inaction by the legislature doesn’t mean the federal directive is accepted as lawful.
The Utah State House of Representatives passed SB57 on January 20, 2024 by a vote of 57 to 14. We have assigned pluses to the ayes because Article VI, Clause 2, of the U.S. Constitution requires that federal laws be made “in Pursuance” of the Constitution in order to be the “supreme Law of the Land.” As such, any federal act that violates the Constitution is unconstitutional and therefore null, void, and of no force. Given that Article VI, Clause 3, further requires that state officials “shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution,” Utah legislators indeed have a solemn duty to uphold the sovereign right of the people to resist and obstruct usurpations of power by the federal government. Nullification is the Constitution’s solution to reining in out-of-control government.