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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Idaho AG’s opinion says ‘nullification’ bills violate Idaho and U.S. constitutions

The Idaho Statesman's Brian Murphy reports that a new Idaho Attorney General's opinion says "nullification" legislation - like the bill in the works in the Idaho House that seeks to "nullify" the federal health care reform law - would violate both the U.S. Constitution and the Idaho Constitution, along with lawmakers' oath of office. "There is no right to pick and choose which federal laws a State will follow," states the opinion, which was requested by Rep. Bill Killen, D-Boise. "Aside from ignoring the Supremacy Clause in Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, that contention cannot be reconciled with Article I, § 3 of the Idaho Constitution or the oath of office prescribed in Article III, § 25." You can read Murphy's full post here, and the full opinion here.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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