Can Bills That Become Laws Have Negative Impact?
Proposed bills intended for enactment into law by our state legislature often have hidden agendas buried under the ostensible target and scope of their influence. An astounding number of bills proposed every session are highly flawed. Some flaws are serious, simply because they do not comply with American jurisprudence or values. Many flaws lead to unintended consequences, although those who read current law may rightly question whether the consequences may be quite predictable and desirable to some actors in our government on both sides of the aisle.
It is also important to realize that sooner or later most bills, often future laws—and thus forever open to future amendment—will harm freedom, safety, personal economic well-being, promote government expansion, or otherwise have negative consequences. Acknowledging this reality can help anyone begin to consistently recognize “bad bills” with just a little practice.
Vocabulary in Tip One also helps identify these pitfalls, although recognizing pitfalls is actually easy and self-evident after minimal reading or even thinking about bills and laws.
The broad trends listed below are present throughout the entire set of SC Statutes, not to mention embedded in regulations, frameworks, standards, etc.
Legislators and proposed legislation require close monitoring and feedbackfrom citizens. There is plenty of work to be done to mitigate harm from the 2-300 laws coming over the next two years.
This is a “starter” list, not exhaustive, not targeted to any specific area, but all laws fall into the one or more of the following categories.
LEGISLATIVE TRENDS AND PITFALLS
Bills or laws that legislators must REPEAL, STOP and/or CURTAIL include those that:
MAY BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Key point: When a bill subordinates the right of the State to determine its unique laws to a federal law regarding an area or responsibility NOT given to the federal government in the United States Constitution but for which federal laws have unconstitutionally been enacted ( e.g. IDEA or any federal education law), the State MUST refuse to subordinate its laws to federal controls that contradict the interests and express powers left to each State. The promise of “federal” funding (our taxpayer money minus “processing” costs) often lures states to accept the federal overreach. This practice of complying with unconstitutional federal laws and taking federal money must be opposed.
Any law that contradicts any part of the United States or South Carolina Constitutions is, de facto, unconstitutional. One case in point is the recent ESA law, passed in flagrant disregard of the sanctity of the South Carolina Constitution.
INCREASE STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL
A disturbing number of bills expand the control and police power of the State over the powers, rights and freedoms of the people through financial impacts, bureaucratic expansion, centralized (anti-local control) state oversight and regulations, and direct interference with natural actions of daily life.
IMPELEMENT UNDESIRABLE SOCIAL/CULTURAL ENGINEERING
Bills with this kind of impact cover many social and cultural issues such as hate crimes laws, education initiatives such as school choice and SEL, parents’ rights, child services, welfare, workforce qualifications such as “competencies,” medical services, redistribution of wealth (often carefully hidden) and other areas that directly impact individual choices for, access to, and distribution of tangible benefits or services in order to reshape and endanger our American way of life.
Bills that target special interest groups of any kind generally facilitate undesirable social and cultural changes.
LIMIT FREEDOM/ENDANGER PERSONAL SAFETY/REPRESS INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY
Such bills remove or curtail rights specified in the US Bill of Rights and include social welfare programs, education bills, attempts to legislate morality, or identify intangible traits for the purposes of determining the severity of an illegal act.  There are already punitive laws on the books for criminal acts. This cavernous and spurious virtue signaling must be stopped.
Laws often open doors for regulations to extend total State control over everycitizen and every aspect of citizen’s lives, including not just actions, but thought—and even speech. Obviously, they are also unconstitutional.
INVADE PRIVACY
Data collection, reporting requirements, record keeping, applications for
certain privileges (often rights that become de facto privileges when under the control of law), etc. required to satisfy the demands of a law often go far beyond reasonable disclosure.
FACILITATE A GLOBAL AGENDA
This goal is particularly evident in bills that address workforce needs, subsidize and entice large, often international business and industrial complexes to the detriment and at the expense of American citizens, as well as some education bills, DEI consideration, etc.
This agenda is often seen in bills that are replicated in other states, obviously following a controlled plan that is deliberately and specifically customized for each targeted state to further a greater agenda than might otherwise be evident.
INCLUDE A FISCAL/TAX/FINANCIAL IMPACT
Legislation demands taxpayer funding—even if only that taxpayers pay for legislators to talk about it and subject us to the laws they create. Clearly many laws inherently need funding—to implement, meet regulations, staff, etc. While determining the exact cost may require some expertise or serious research, if a bill is going to require funds, the money will, in the final analysis, have to come from taxpayers, directly or indirectly.
One of the biggest financial threats in many bills is wealth transfer, with landmines of negative consequences, also a tenet of the communist/totalitarian control that is taking over our lives. Monitoring this trend may impede the destruction wealth transfer is producing.
CREATE A PLATFORM FOR FUTURE ANTI-AMERICA LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Enacting legislation often and easily creates and codifies “modern” (woke) vocabulary by defining terms within a bill. Even these codified definitions often are ambiguous and left to be determined by judges and “experts,” so such definitions do not ensure consistent application of a law.
The structure of most bills and statutory protocol, with enforcement processes, regulations and authorities not always specified within the Code of Law, lend themselves easily to amendment, rewording, or other alteration that can dramatically change the critical consequences of a law through small, often unnoticed amendments, even after a bill becomes law.
CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY
By trying to pass laws that are vague or ambiguous, social, cultural or moral in content, deal with any important topic including but not limited to judicial reform, law enforcement, constitutionally guaranteed rights, taxation, workforce and job opportunities, healthcare, education, child welfare and parents’ rights, and more, the dangers our state legislators are creating for our future cannot be overstated.
LEGISLATIVE TRENDS AND PITFALLS
MAY BE UNCONSTITUTIONAL
INCREASE STATE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT CONTROL
IMPELEMENT UNDESIRABLE SOCIAL/CULTURAL ENGINEERING
LIMIT FREEDOM/ENDANGER PERSONAL SAFETY/REPRESS INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY
INVADE PRIVACY
FACILITATE A GLOBAL AGENDA
INCLUDE A FISCAL/TAX/FINANCIAL IMPACT
CREATE A PLATFORM FOR FUTURE ANTI-AMERICA LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Meg Johnson Education Specialist, MA, MEd, MBA megjohn49@comcast.net
Read all tips HERE.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not constitute legal or professional advice. ConservaTruth assumes no liability for any actions taken based on this content. Read more.
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