Idaho Constitution

On July 3, 1890 Idaho, following the Idaho Constitutional Convention of 1889, Idaho Constitution was adopted. We often speak of States Rights and specifically the US Constitution’s 10th Amendment. There is no doubt in my mind that the founding fathers of the US Constitution were serious about States Rights. The 10th Amendment reads: “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.

The Idaho Constitution has been amended 138 times. It requires a two-thirds approval of both the Idaho House of Representatives and Idaho Senate to place on the ballot for a simple majority of the voters. With respect to States Rights, the Idaho Constitutional Convention of 1889 established a strong relationship to the US Constitution in Article I, Section 3 confirms that Idaho is an inseparable part of the Union and the Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the Land. Article XXI, Section 20 further confirms that we the US Constitution was adopted by the people of Idaho. While the Idaho Constitution is more prescriptive and detailed, it recognized the US Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land. Thus, when Federal Laws encroach on State Rights we must assert states rights, recognizing any final determinations by the Idaho and US Supreme Courts. Judicial activism by the lower courts is a threat to individual and state’s rights.