After much wrangling over two different versions of the bill and various amendments to the language in committee, it looks like a reasonably effective version of the TSA anti-groping bill is poised to pass the Texas legislature and move on for the Governor’s signature on Wednesday. The most significant change is a downgrading of the level of proof required for a legitimate search from “probable cause” to “reasonable suspicion” but the basic objective of the bill – to hold TSA employees accountable for their actions – remains intact.

At this point it would still be helpful to make more calls and send more emails to Texas House members. Their have the final say on the bill in a concluding floor vote sometime Wednesday. You can use this handy tool to send an email, or call your representative directly by looking them up on the House website. If you don’t live in Texas just pick one and call to let them know they’re doing this for all of us.

Our friends at StopAustinScanners.org offer a full report on the steps the bill has gone through and its current status:

This evening, Texas Senate Bill 29 (SB 29), which proposes state prosecution and punishment for the offense of official oppression by the intrusive touching–(a euphemism for TSA groping)–of persons seeking access to public buildings and transportation and defines criminal penalties for such offenses, was moved out of the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee without amendment by a vote of 7 ayes, 1 nay, 1 not present, with no abstentions.  This puts SB 29 on track for final passage on the House floor tomorrow, Wednesday, June 29th.

Both SB 29 and House Bill 41 (HB 41) were passed in their respective chambers yesterday, although HB 41 was subject to multiple amendments that alarmed true proponents of the legislation.  Upon passage in the House, Robert Kepple, Executive Director, of the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, recommended abandoning HB 41 for the judicial problems the amendments introduced.

The principal concerns introduced by the amendments to HB 41 were:

1) lowering the standard by which a pat-down might be permitted from “probable cause” to “reasonable suspicion”,

2) providing a defense if the “actor” (TSA agent) was performing the search pursuant to an explicit grant of federal statutory authority, which is the case for all TSA agents and renders the legislation effectively meaningless,

and,

3) effectively giving the U.S. Supreme Court ultimate authority in defining the propriety of a search.

Mr. Kepple had testified earlier in the day before the Senate Transportation and Homeland Security committee in favor of amending a substituted version of SB 29 to eliminate vagueness and firmly structure the legislation as a matter of Texas state law, and make it enforceable to the maximum extent that is “consistent with federal constitutional requirements”.  This was proposed to correct bad language that was snuck into a version of SB 29 substituted in committee by Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa.

The amendments suggested by Mr. Kepple were later adopted in the Senate version, and are believed to legally restrict TSA agents from offensive touching in the same manner that FBI agents and federal Marshalls are now restricted.  It is believed this modification will provide the public a greater measure of protection, and the State of Texas greater standing in future judicial proceedings.

The language that provided the TSA wider lattitude when defending itself from criminal penalties when performing unlawful searches by lowering the standard from “probable cause” to “reasonable suspicion” is included in SB 29.  Another perceived shortcoming introduced into the bill by amendment allowed grounds for a TSA search to be an “unknown, prohibited or unlawful object”.

While the bill’s proponents strongly objected to this language, wanting the phrase “unknown object” to be stricken, there was general consensus that it would better serve the public good to have slightly flawed statutory law that could be amended as the flaws became more widely known than to have no law at all.

We think the public can now reasonably expect the TSA to use the “unknown object” defense in its vigorous quest to discover all those diaper bombs carried by infants and cancer victims in their last days of life.

The passage of SB 29 in the House Criminal Jurisprudence committee effectively sidelines HB 41, its companion bill, from further consideration, which StopAustinScanners considers to be a major victory.

If you’re a real political action junkie you can watch the final vote live online tomorrow at the Texas House website.

We look forward to seeing you at our next members-only meeting at the:
University Club,
1301 Riverplace Boulevard, 27th Floor,
Jacksonville FL,
Tuesday, July 5th 2011, at 6:00pm

Come and joining us as we celebrate the founding of our nation, founded to secure Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for us and for our children.

New Hampshire Democrat Governor John Lynch announced that he will let a $10.2 billion, Republican-crafted budget for the state become law without his signature.

The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire sent out a press release congratulating House Speaker William O’Brien and House Republicans for passing a responsible budget that completely reverses the course of previous legislatures and historically cuts spending in New Hampshire by 11.7 percent, setting state government on a new course to fiscal sanity.

The RLC endorsed over 80 of the current elected House members. That coalition, no doubt, has given the Republican House the backbone needed to tackle the budget, Right to Work, and a favorable business climate.

“There is no doubt that this budget is historically positive for the people of New Hampshire,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “Speaker O’Brien and the House members we elected in November [did] exactly what they promised voters they would do by cutting taxes and spending without any budget gimmickry.”

The balanced $10.2 billion New Hampshire budget for Fiscal Years 2012-2013 relied heavily on House leadership’s position that budget writers could not exceed revenue projections. The Senate was only able to shift revenue projections by 0.4 percent from the House projections in January. At the same time, House leadership was also able to convince Senators not to raise new taxes, fees or add additional downshifting to the counties, cities or towns of the state. In fact, the House was even able to secure additional tax cuts to increase business traffic from out-of-state shoppers.

In general and education trust fund spending, the House was able to secure a $4.42 billion budget, a 12.8 percent decline from the previous cycle. The budget cut is the largest in modern history—maybe longer.

“As an organization that understands the principles that lead to the most prosperity for the most people involve less government spending, lower taxes and fewer bureaucrats enforcing senseless regulations, we are looking at this budget as the first gleam of light from a new dawn of common sense governing,” Hemingway said. “I expect the voters of New Hampshire to respond quite favorably to the principled stand taken by House Republicans, and against the scare tactics and deception of those who would prefer politics as usual.”

Not only did this budget historically reduce appropriations by about $1 billion in all funds and $467 million in general funds, it also eliminated 1,500 unneeded government positions (most of them unfilled, anyway), and it reduced some of the more onerous taxes and fees instituted by the Democrats when they were in power, such as the surcharge on auto registrations. The budget also included comprehensive reforms to the State Retirement system—the first step toward eliminating an unrealistic system that taxpayers can no longer afford.

At the same time, the House compromise budget fully funds education by sending $4 million more than the governor’s budget and 9.5 percent more than the current budget to the local cities and towns. As recognition that restorative change takes time, the budget also funds Health and Human Services programs for the developmentally disabled, children in need of services, children with special needs, domestic violence programs and adoption subsidies, while also prohibiting the use of taxpayers’ money for abortions.

The lead-up to the 2008 presidential election included debates sponsored by YouTube and Facebook — and now it appears 2012 will have at least one debate conducted via Twitter.

A GOP debate that organizers are calling the “First Presidential Townhall on Twitter” has been slated for July 20.

The virtual event—organized by the Andrew Hemingway of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire and sponsored by TheTeaParty.net—is scheduled to take place between 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET.

So far, only Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann and Georgia businessman Herman Cain have been announced as participants. But organizers say others are slated to announce their involvement later.

Learn more about the event here.

For Immediate Release: June 28, 2011

Contact: Dave Nalle, 512-656-8011

The Republican Party has been handed many opportunities by the need to redraw congressional districts on the basis of the 2010 census. Some strong Republican states like Texas have grown substantially, offering the opportunity for several new seats for Republicans in Congress. Other states lost population, leaving Republican lawmakers with difficult decisions and scrambling to hold onto gains made in the 2008 election.

This situation has the potential to reverse some of the gains made by grassroots candidates supported by groups like the tea parties and the Republican Liberty Caucus who brought many new Republicans into the House of Representatives last fall, some of them in states which are losing seats in redistricting and are controlled by very small Republican majorities in their state legislatures.

Early indications are that in states where Republicans face redistricting losses the priorities of the establishment lawmakers in those states and the interests of the people of the states who brought the party gains in the last election are drastically out of sync and as they redistrict, party leaders seem poised to do a lot of harm to their relationship with the grassroots activists who are becoming increasingly necessary if they want to keep winning elections.

Early indications are that the inclination of state party leaders is to solve tough redistricting challenges by sacrificing newly elected candidates favored by the grassroots in order to strengthen the positions of establishment incumbents who are not nearly as popular with grassroots voters. The superficial benefits of this strategy for the party elite may quickly be outweighed by the backlash from activists who are not pleased with the way the Republican Party is run and just need a little nudge like this to start challenging large numbers of Republican incumbents in party primaries.

The first stand-out example of this problem appears to be over redistricting in Michigan and the fate of its recently elected third district representative, Justin Amash. Amash won a strong victory in a mixed district. Since his election he has been one of the most followed freshman congressmen and one of the most politically consistent in his adherence to the fiscal conservatism and constitutional principles which characterized the anti-establishment uprising on the right in 2010. Amash has not exactly been a clone of Ron Paul, but he exhibits the same adherence to principle over party and this makes the party leadership kind of nervous.

In his short term in office Amash has won even more support from his constituents by making himself unusually accessible, sponsoring innovative legislation including a new constitutional amendment to balance the budget, and even posting explanations of every vote he makes to his Facebook page. Amash has been singled out as one of the best new congressmen by conservative groups and even received praise from the libertarian press. He’s also angered Democrats in his district who have launched several recall petitions against him, another sign he is doing what his radical supporters want. He is in many ways the model of the kind of new political leader which the reawakened base of the political right wants to see in Washington.

Yet Amash’s popularity and success are apparently of little interest to party leaders in Michigan. When the state’s House Redistricting Committee met this week the redistricting map which they were given for approval by the state Senate would make it very difficult for Amash to win reelection while protecting and strengthening the districts of other more establishment-friendly legislators like Thaddeus McCotter, Bill Huizinga, Fred Upton and Dave Camp. It even helps solidify the districts of some Democrat incumbents like John Dingell.

The specific threat to Amash is that parts of his district had to be removed to strengthen the districts of more favored Republicans, replaced by areas which are more evenly balanced between the parties. This includes giving several towns and suburbs where he won very strong majorities in 2010 to the neighboring 2nd District held by Bill Huizinga and replacing them with parts of Calhoun county which have traditionally voted Democrat. They also moved the home of popular Democrat former representative Mark Schauer into Amash’s district, giving the Democrats a ready made challenger for the young radical.

The reasoning behind this may be that the libertarian-leaning Amash has the ability to win more independent and crossover votes than an establishment Republican, but it also means that Amash faces a much closer election, has to spend more time fundraising and campaigning, and will therefore be less effective in Congress this year if he wants to remain there after next November. Party leaders are not engineering a guaranteed loss for Amash, but they are dumping as many of their problems as they can in his district while smoothing the way for their cronies, leaving Amash to deal with their mess.

Any redistricting effort is always a series of trade-offs, and with Michigan losing one of their congressional seats the division of the remaining voter base to keep Republicans in power has to be tricky. One Democrat will clearly be out of office, but the other outcome is that the mix of Republicans may be different and Amash could very well no longer be part of the Michigan delegation. I doubt that they actively want Amash to lose, but they are putting most of the pressure and most of the risk of the election on Amash, almost offering him as a sacrificial lamb to the Democrats so that if the Democrats have a surge in 2012 and Republicans have to lose one district it will be Amash who gets voted out, not someone less principled and better connected.

Of course, if I had to pick one Republican to win against these odds with little support from his state party establishment, it would be Justin Amash. His appeal transcends the limits of the Republican Party and goes directly to disaffected and independent voters who understand that a representative with his firm principles and dedication to serving the public is worth a lot more than the R or D after their name.

No matter the outcome, this little example of how party insiders use redistricting to protect their own at the expense of those whose main allies are the grassroots voters, is a warning which every candidate and political activist ought to keep in mind when deciding where to put their support in 2012. Amash and others like him still need and deserve our support while party leaders continue to earn our disregard and disapproval by their self-serving actions. Justin Amash serves his constituents and the interests of the American people. Those who are working against him within his own party are only serving their own interests.

This article appeared previously in Blogcritics Magazine.

CONCORD, N.H.—The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire celebrates the Legislature’s decision today to send a strong message to Washington, D.C., which all of the citizens of this great state should support: “Mr. President, members of Congress, do not try to force unconstitutional laws on us. We will fight back.”

“The vast majority of Americans, including the majority of citizens in New Hampshire, told Congress not to pass the unconstitutional Obamacare law, but Congress didn’t care and forced the law down the People’s throats,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “The People fought back with the November elections, and now their voice has been heard through their representation in the New Hampshire Legislature.”

With the passing of HB 601 and SB 148, the New Hampshire Legislature has used its 10^th Amendment authority to nullify the individual mandate in the so-called Obamacare bill so no citizen in this state will have to buy health insurance against their will, and they won’t face fines for exercising their right to pay out of pocket for their medical care. The Legislature has also sent back $666,000 to Washington designed to bribe the state into implementing the law. Finally, the Legislature has set up an oversight committee to make sure that no member of the Executive Branch tries to enforce the provisions of Obamacare against the will of the Legislature and the People.

“This strong gesture by the New Hampshire Legislature is a perfect example of a state using its appropriate 10^th Amendment authority to exercise power that was not granted to the federal government, but instead reserved for the states or the people,” Hemingway said. “Nowhere in the U.S. Constitution does the federal government have the authority to force people to buy a product, or to force states to fund certain medical procedures.”

The Tenth Amendment states: “The Powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” As recently as this year, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the 10^th Amendment authority, saying in Bond v. United States that a person may defend himself by showing that a statute has exceeded the federal government’s enumerated powers.

Justice Sandra Day O’Connor discussed the 10^th Amendment authority this way: “The Constitution divides authority between federal and state governments for the protection of individuals. State sovereignty is not just an end in itself: “Rather, federalism secures to citizens the liberties that derive from the diffusion of sovereign power.”

As recently as 2007, the New Hampshire Legislature nullified the federal REAL ID Act, considering it “contrary and repugnant” to the U.S. Constitution. The 2007 bill said “the State of New Hampshire shall not participate in any driver’s license program pursuant to the Real ID Act of 2005 or in any national identification card system that may follow therefrom.” That law has withstood the test of time, and the federal government has backed down from its unconstitutional power grab.

“The Founders gave State Legislatures and individuals the 10^th Amendment so they could tell the federal government to back down when it has gone too far,” Hemingway said. “The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized this power and this very state has used this authority as recently as 2007. The Legislature’s nullification of the individual mandate in Obamacare is just another example of the 10^th Amendment being used properly. The people of New Hampshire should take pride in their votes last November to elect a principled, constitutionally minded Legislature, and they should thank the Legislature for standing up for their rights today with their support of these two bills to nullify the unconstitutional components of Obamacare.”

According to a Rasmussen Reports survey, only 32 percent of Americans believe the Obamacare law will be good for the country and at least 53 percent of Americans want the bill to be repealed by Congress.

CONCORD, N.H.—In a brilliant rebuke of a radical Democratic executive, House Republicans backed by the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire stood for parents’ rights and common sense by voting to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would require children to let their parents know they’re pregnant before they can get an abortion.

“Clearly, this parental notification bill is a step in the right direction for parents’ rights in New Hampshire; it’s embarrassing that Gov. Lynch would take such a partisan stance in favor of a state-knows-best mentality,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “For too long, this governor and his party have disrespected the natural rights of parents to raise and direct their own children as they see fit. I truly hope the Senate follows the common sense override vote of the House so radical ideologues will no longer be able to steal children away from their parents’ love and guidance and take them to an abortion clinic for an invasive surgery that will change their lives forever.”

The parental notification bill, a Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire campaign issue, only requires minor females to notify their parents of their pregnancy, but still gives these teens a way around the discussion with their parents through the courts. The court exemption was required by a Supreme Court ruling on a previous version of the law for the odd chance that a child’s parents would harm her if they knew she was pregnant. Rather than fix the law per the court’s request, the radical Democratic Legislature at the time repealed parental notification outright.

“With this veto override vote, House Republicans are restoring the right of parents to help their minor children make a life-altering decision,” Hemingway said. “At the same time, it’s important to note that parents’ right to actually control the decisions of their children is usually protected by the law, since parents know much better than minor children how to reason through difficult scenarios. Further, parents surely know their own children better than the government and can provide much better counseling than any paid school employee with no real connection to the child.”

Under current law, minors must have permission from their parents to go on field trips from school or to take an Aspirin from a school nurse. For some reason, the law currently doesn’t protect parents’ right to even know that their child is about to undergo an invasive, surgical procedure that could put her life in jeopardy.

“This law would at least restore the right for parents to know about their child’s pending abortion, and I am hopeful that there is no hesitation to override the governor’s radical veto of this bill in the Senate,” Hemingway said. “Again, this law is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough. I truly hope this Legislature further secures parents’ rights by introducing and passing a bill to require parental consent before a child can have an abortion.”

CONCORD, N.H.—The Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire congratulates House Speaker William O’Brien and the House Republicans for passing a responsible budget that completely reverses the course of previous legislatures and historically cuts spending in New Hampshire by 11.7 percent, setting state government on a new course to fiscal sanity.

“There is no doubt that this budget is historically positive for the people of New Hampshire,” said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire. “Not only did Speaker O’Brien and the House members we elected in November actually do exactly what they promised voters they would do by cutting taxes and spending without any budget gimmickry, this Legislature has set the stage for a stronger economy, which will lead to job creation in the private sector.”

Due to principled leadership from the House Conference Committee members, the budget agreement with the Senate favored the House position in most instances. The balanced $10.2 billion New Hampshire budget for Fiscal Years 2012-2013 relied heavily on House leadership’s position that budget writers could not exceed revenue projections. The Senate was only able to shift revenue projections by 0.4 percent from the House projections in January. At the same time, House leadership was also able to convince Senators not to raise new taxes, fees or add additional downshifting to the counties, cities or towns of the state. In fact, the House was even able to secure additional tax cuts to increase business traffic from out-of-state shoppers.

In general and education trust fund spending, the House was able to secure a $4.42 billion budget, a 12.8 percent decline from the previous cycle. The budget cut is the largest in modern history—maybe longer.

“As an organization that understands the principles that lead to the most prosperity for the most people involve less government spending, lower taxes and fewer bureaucrats enforcing senseless regulations, we are looking at this budget as the first gleam of light from a new dawn of common sense governing,” Hemingway said. “I expect the voters of New Hampshire to respond quite favorably to the principled stand taken by House Republicans, and against the scare tactics and deception of those who would prefer politics as usual.”

Not only did this budget historically reduce appropriations by about $1 billion in all funds and $467 million in general funds, it also eliminated 1,500 unneeded government positions (most of them unfilled, anyway), and it reduced some of the more onerous taxes and fees instituted by the Democrats when they were in power, such as the surcharge on auto registrations. The budget also included comprehensive reforms to the State Retirement system—the first step toward eliminating an unrealistic system that taxpayers can no longer afford.

At the same time, the House compromise budget fully funds education by sending $4 million more than the governor’s budget and 9.5 percent more than the current budget to the local cities and towns. As recognition that restorative change takes time, the budget also funds Health and Human Services programs for the developmentally disabled, children in need of services, children with special needs, domestic violence programs and adoption subsidies, while also prohibiting the use of taxpayers’ money for abortions.

There are a host of upcoming Republican Liberty Caucus events that we want you to be a part of!

………………JUNE
______________________

• San Jose Area RLC Monthly Meeting
June 20, San Jose
RSVP/learn more.

• Utah RLC Convention
June 21, Draper
RSVP/learn more.

• Los Angeles RLC Chartering Meeting
June 22, Los Angeles
RSVP/learn more.

• Virginia RLC at TV Filming Tutorial
June 22, Fairfax
RSVP/learn more.

• Minnesota RLC Meeting
June 22, S. Saint Paul
RSVP/learn more.

………………JULY
______________________

• Arizona RLC Meeting
July 9, Tucson
Contact us for details.

• Los Angeles RLC Meeting
July 13, Los Angeles
RSVP/learn more .

• Central Texas RLC Meeting
July 15, Austin
RSVP/learn more.

• Lake County (Indiana) RLC Meeting
July 16, Schererville
RSVP/learn more

• Arizona RLC Social
July 19, Tucson
RSVP/learn more.

………………AUGUST
______________________

• Heartland Liberty Conference
(Sponsored by the Nebraska RLC)
August 6, Omaha
RSVP/learn more.

• Central Texas RLC Meeting
August 12, Austin
RSVP/learn more.

• Gary Johnson at the National Press Club
Topic: Social Issues and the Republican Party
August 19, Washington, DC
RSVP/learn more.

• Calvin Coolidge Clambake with Gov. Gary Johnson
(Sponsored by the Maine RLC)
August 26, Portland
RSVP/learn more

Republican Party of Bloomfield Hosts Rep. Justin Amash
(Sponsored by the Michigan RLC)
August 29, Metro Detroit
RSVP/learn more.