Bill Text: MS SC653 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urge federal transfer of public lands to the states.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Failed) 2015-04-01 - Died In Committee [SC653 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2015-SC653-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Hill, Tindell
Senate Concurrent Resolution 653
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR THE FEDERAL TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LANDS TO THE STATES.
WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 3 of the United States Constitution provides that: "The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State"; and
WHEREAS, the Constitutional Convention intended this provision of the Constitution to maintain the status quo that had been established to transfer federal territorial lands only to create new states with the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and independence as the original states; and
WHEREAS, in 2013, the United States Supreme Court reiterated the foundational doctrine that "the constitutional equality of the states is essential to the harmonious operation of the Republic" and that "our nation was, and is a union of states, equal in dignity, power and authority"; and
WHEREAS, under these express terms of trust, over time the states claiming territorial land ceded their claims to land to the Union to afford the federal government clean title to dispose of the lands only to create new states and apply the net proceeds of any sales of the lands only to pay down the public debt; and
WHEREAS, the United States Constitution does not authorize the federal government to indefinitely exercise control over vast tracts of public lands beyond the duty to manage the lands pending the disposal of the lands to create new states, and therefore, the lands within each state should be transferred to that same state as it requests; and
WHEREAS, limiting the ability of states to access and utilize the public lands' natural resources within their borders produces a negative impact upon the economy of the states and, therefore, the economy of the United States; and
WHEREAS, states and local governments are charged with the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of its citizens and such protections depend upon the proper management of adjacent natural resources and elements of nature; and
WHEREAS, in many cases federal regulation and management has resulted in catastrophic environmental degradation, loss of life, irreparable damage to local ecosystems, and loss of priceless cultural resources; and
WHEREAS, in order to provide a fair, just, and equitable remedy for the federal governments past and continuing breaches of its solemn promises to all states, particularly western states, the Mississippi Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives deem it imperative to: (a) call on the federal government to transfer title to all federal public lands within any state to the state where the land is located, as that state requests; (b) call on all other states of the United States to pass a similar resolution in support of the transfer of federal public lands to the states, particularly the western states:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby express support to all states, particularly the western states of the United States of America, urging the federal transfer of public lands to the states.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That, upon its adoption, copies of this resolution be transmitted by the Secretary of State to the United States Department of the Interior, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the members of the Mississippi Congressional Delegation and the Governors, Senate Presidents and Speakers of the House of Representatives of the 49 other states, and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.
