Texas Takes Step Toward Reclaiming Sovereignty with Bill to Fight Federal Overreach

This week, the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee made a powerful statement about the relationship between Texas and the Federal Government when they voted 10-1 to advance Senate Bill 707, legislation that would create a process for Texas to end state enforcement of unconstitutional federal actions.

The bill, filed by Senator Phil King, would empower the Texas Legislature to pass concurrent resolutions declaring specific federal directives unconstitutional. These directives include federal laws, executive orders, and agency rules that either infringe on powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment, limit Texas’s ability to provide for its citizens’ health, safety, and welfare, or restrict our state’s prosperity.

Once such a resolution passes, state and local government officers would be prohibited from enforcing or assisting with the enforcement of these unconstitutional federal actions.

This legislation is not a declaration of independence, but it is a shot across the bow of the Federal superstate. The message is clear: Texas will no longer be a willing participant in the Federal Government’s continued expansion of power at the expense of the sovereign states.

Standing on Solid Legal Ground

For those handwringing Federalists who would immediately cry “rebellion” or “insurrection,” they should take a moment to review both history and legal precedent. The bill rests squarely on the anti-commandeering doctrine, which has been consistently upheld by the Supreme Court.

The doctrine, affirmed in multiple Supreme Court cases dating back to 1842, establishes that the Federal Government cannot force states to implement or enforce federal regulatory programs. As Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the landmark Printz v. U.S. case, “The Federal Government may neither issue directives requiring the States to address particular problems, nor command the States’ officers, or those of their political subdivisions, to administer or enforce a federal regulatory program.”

This isn’t a fringe legal theory but established constitutional law that Texas is perfectly within its rights to exercise.

Preemptive Protection for Texit

Perhaps the most strategic element of SB707 is how it provides crucial legal protection for a future Texas Independence Referendum. The legislation establishes a clear precedent that Texas has the right to declare certain federal actions unconstitutional and refuse to enforce them.

Should the Federal Government attempt to block a Texit referendum through executive orders, Department of Justice actions, or other federal directives, SB707 would give the Texas Legislature the legal framework to declare such obstruction unconstitutional and prevent state officials from cooperating with federal attempts to derail the democratic process.

The Texas Independence Referendum Act falls squarely within our rights under both the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article 1 Section 2 of the Texas Constitution, which explicitly states: “All political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think expedient.”

SB707 ensures that when Texans exercise this inalienable right through a referendum on independence, the Federal Government won’t be able to use state resources or personnel to interfere. By passing this legislation now, Texas is wisely getting ahead of potential federal pushback and removing one of the most significant obstacles to a fair and free vote on Texit.

The Fundamental Problem with Washington

The Federal Government has grown to a size and scope that would be unrecognizable to the Founding Fathers. With over 180,000 pages of federal laws administered by 440 separate agencies and 2.5 million unelected bureaucrats, the current system has buried states’ rights at the bottom of a landfill.

When the Federal Republican Constitution of their country, which they have sworn to support, no longer has a substantial existence, and the whole nature of their government has been forcibly changed without their consent, from a restricted federative republic composed of sovereign states to a consolidated central bureaucratic despotism, it becomes not just the right but the duty of states to push back.

SB707 is Texas pushing back.

Why This Matters for Texans

The political class in Washington would have you believe that the Federal Government always knows best – that without their guidance and direction, states would flounder and fail. But let’s remember that Texas has the 8th largest economy in the world. We consistently outperform the rest of the United States economically despite the Federal Government’s unrelenting tsunami of regulations that has disproportionately affected our state.

For too long, Texans have been forced to foot the bill for an inefficient, ineffective, incompetent Federal bureaucracy that doesn’t understand our needs or desires. We pay approximately $265 billion per year in taxes to the Federal Government while receiving back only about $162 billion in expenditures – a $103 billion annual overpayment.

Imagine what we could do with that money if it stayed in Texas.

A Critical Step on the Road to Texit

Make no mistake – SB707 is more than just routine legislation about state sovereignty. It represents a crucial milestone in the journey toward Texas independence. By establishing a formal, legal mechanism for Texas to resist federal overreach, this bill lays important groundwork for the ultimate goal of full independence.

The path to Texit doesn’t happen overnight. It requires methodical steps that build the legal and practical framework for Texas to function as a self-governing nation. This bill directly addresses one of the most critical challenges in that process – how to disentangle Texas from the Federal bureaucracy in an orderly, lawful manner.

By creating a process to end state enforcement of unconstitutional federal actions, Texas begins the practical work of reclaiming its sovereignty piece by piece. Each federal program Texas refuses to enforce represents another strand cut in the web of dependency that binds us to Washington.

More importantly, this legislation helps normalize the concept of Texas acting independently from the Federal Government. It shifts the Overton window, making discussions of greater autonomy – and eventually full independence – more mainstream and acceptable in public discourse.

As Texans witness the benefits of standing up to federal overreach – better prosperity, more responsive government, and policies that actually reflect Texas values – support for complete independence will naturally grow. SB707 offers a preview of what’s possible when Texas reclaims its right of self-government.

Next Steps

SB707 now moves to the full Senate for consideration. If it passes there and makes it through the House, it will significantly strengthen Texas’s ability to protect itself from federal overreach.

This legislation will establish the legal and practical precedents necessary for Texas to eventually stand as a free and independent nation. Each step toward greater autonomy brings us closer to the day when Texas will take its rightful place among the nations of the world.

The Federal Government has been telling Texas what we can and cannot do for far too long. SB707 reminds them that power flows from the people to the government, not the other way around. And when a government no longer serves the people who created it, those people have every right to alter or abolish it.

That day is coming. Texas will be free.