Biden makes comments after attending a briefing on the Chinese Communist virus with medical experts in Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 28, 2020.
After Texas and Arizona sued Biden for breaking the law by signing executive orders suspending deportations of illegal immigrants, Republican lawmakers in North Dakota have also called for a review of all executive orders issued by the Biden Administration.
The National File, a conservative news site, reported last week that a new bill (HB1164) has been introduced in the North Dakota Legislature that would direct the state’s attorney general to review every executive order issued by President Biden for compliance with the U.S. Constitution.
The bill is co-sponsored by North Dakota House Republican Rep. Tom Kading (R) and eight other Republican lawmakers.
Under the proposed bill, if the state’s attorney general, Wayne Stenehjem, finds any executive order to be unlawful or unconstitutional, the executive order would be “nullified” and the new bill would prohibit any state, county, local agency or public The new bill would prohibit any state, county, local agency, or public funding organization from enforcing the executive order.
The bill provides that a federal executive order may be deemed invalid if it addresses the following six areas.
- an Epidemic or other health emergency.
- regulation of natural resources, including coal and oil
- regulation of the agricultural industry.
- the use of land.
- regulation of the financial sector as it relates to environmental, social or governance standards.
- regulation of the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
In addition, another bill (HB1282), introduced by the state’s Republican Representative Sebastian Ertelt, would also have a restraining effect on unconstitutional orders from the Commonwealth.
Ertelt’s bill would create a “Committee on Neutralization of Federal Laws,” a committee of state legislators and their appointees that would review whether a federal law or regulation is is unconstitutional.
If it is determined to be unconstitutional, the North Dakota Legislature will pass a concurrent resolution declaring the unconstitutional federal order null and void. The state, county, and local agencies would be prohibited from enforcing the federal law or regulation until the state Legislature has issued a resolution.
According to the report, North Dakota’s House and Senate have been dominated by Republicans, so it is more certain to pass the above bill.
South Dakota has similar legislation. The state’s HB1194 would require the creation of an executive council to review the legality of all presidential executive orders.
Under the U.S. Constitution, states are required to follow only those federal laws that are consistent with the Constitution and only on issues for which the Constitution grants the federal government the authority to decide. If the federal government – whether the executive, legislative or judicial branches – acts unconstitutionally, the states have the right to ignore the unconstitutional statute.
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