Federalism and International Relations
Task Force Description
State legislators and their constituents are stakeholders in many of the most important national and international issues of the day. The members of the Federalism and International Relations Task Force believe in the power of free markets and limited government to propel economic growth in the United States and around the globe, and that these guiding principles are just as relevant overseas as they are in America. The Task Force brings together state legislators, policy experts and industry representatives to develop model policy to increase exports, safeguard intellectual property rights, promote the nation’s security, and restore the Constitutionally-designated balance of power between the states and the federal government.
The Task Force has considered and adopted model policy on the very initiatives that grow the U.S. economy, create American jobs and unleash the innovative policy-making capacity of all 50 states. Model policy to address the finalization of a truly free-market Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as well as leverage America’s growing ability to export domestically produced energy are among those in the International policy portfolio. However, American ingenuity and the intellectual property (IP) underpinning it are the engines driving U.S. economic growth. Underscoring the important role that strong IP rights play in creating high-paying American jobs and spurring America’s innovation economy round out the Task Force’s International model policy library.
Real solutions to America’s challenges can be found in the states – America’s fifty laboratories of democracy – not in one-size-fits-all federal government policies that disregard regional differences and local community needs. The nation has drifted away from our Founding Fathers’ vision by concentrating more power with national government structures. Overregulation and redundant bureaucracy that hinder economic growth, a ballooning national debt that threatens our nation’s security, and federal mismanagement of our country’s most precious resource – the lands within America’s borders – have been the consequences of this federal overreach. The Task Force has adopted model policy supporting the use of Article V of the U.S. Constitution as a tool to restore appropriate control to the states including the proposal of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution. ALEC has established the Center to Restore the Balance of Government to serve as a resource to state on setting priorities on state sovereignty issues and to provide the tools lawmakers need to champion policies that lead to state control over state issues.
This unique partnership between those interested in international issues and those whose primary focus is federalism has served Task Force members and the model policy adopted in the Task Force well. Our models are discussed at the highest levels of U.S. federal and state governments, and foreign governments and international bodies are familiar with ALEC model policy related to their regions.
In order to capitalize on the specialized knowledge of the Task Force members we have formed three subcommittees: Federalism, Intellectual Property and National Security. Subcommittee Chairs are specialists in their respective disciplines having worked on these issues within their legislatures and/or in their careers outside the legislature.
Meeting Information
Draft Model Policies
- Resolution Commending This State’s and the United States’ Cordial and Mutually Beneficial Relationship with the Nation of Israel
- Taiwan Friendship Caucus Resolution
- Resolution Urging the United States to Invite Taiwan to Join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
- Act to Prohibit This State’s Board of Regents from Investing Public University Trust Funds in Companies Associated with the Government of China
- Article V Application for a Federal Fiscal Responsibility Amendments Convention to Curb Runaway Inflation and Restore Fiscal Sanity
- State Infrastructure Protection Act
- An Act to Prohibit State Contracts with Chinese Government-Owned or Affiliated Technology Manufacturers
- Resolution in Support of Deepening Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Republic of Moldova
- Resolution on the Importance of Pursuing Trade Agreements that Contain Robust Intellectual Property Rights Protections
Task Force Meeting Agenda (Joint Meeting with Homeland Security Task Force)
Thursday, July 28, 2022
2:00 PM EDT – 5:00 PM EDT
Call to Order
Presentation: China’s Policy Outlook Ahead of the 20th Party Congress
Presentation: Update on Combatting Antisemitism Initiatives
Model Policy Consideration: Resolution Commending This State’s and the United States’ Cordial and Mutually Beneficial Relationship with the Nation of Israel
Presentation: America First policy begins in America first: A state-based perspective for dealing with China, engaging Taiwan, promoting freedom and opportunity
Model Policy Consideration: Taiwan Friendship Caucus Resolution
Model Policy Consideration: Resolution Urging the United States to Invite Taiwan to Join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
Model Policy Consideration: Act to Prohibit This State’s Board of Regents from Investing Public University Trust Funds in Companies Associated with the Government of China
Presentation: Stopping Inflation Through a State Drafted, Voter Ratified, Fiscal Responsibility Amendment
Model Policy Consideration: Application Under Article V for an Inflation-Fighting Federal Fiscal Responsibility Amendment Proposing Convention
Presentation: China – National Security, Economic Security and Information Security Threats to the USA
Model Policy Consideration: State Infrastructure Protection Act
Model Policy Consideration: An Act to Prohibit State Contracts with Chinese Government-Owned or Affiliated Technology Manufacturers
Presentation: Europe’s reliance on Russian Fuel Threatens Continental Security
Model Policy Consideration: Resolution in Support of Deepening Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Republic of Moldova
Presentation: Depending on Imports for the Critical and Rare Earths Minerals Fueling the Innovation Economy Is a National Security Vulnerability
Model Policy Consideration: Resolution on the Importance of Pursuing Trade Agreements that Contain Robust Intellectual Property Rights Protections
For the Good of the Order
Adjournment
Draft Policies
- Act to Prohibit This State’s Board of Regents from Investing Public University Trust Funds in Companies Associated with the Government of China
- State Infrastructure Protection Act
- Taiwan Friendship Caucus Resolution
- Resolution Commending This State’s and the United States’ Cordial and Mutually Beneficial Relationship with the Nation of Israel
- An Act to Prohibit State Contracts with Chinese Government-Owned or Affiliated Technology Manufacturers
- Resolution on the Importance of Pursuing Trade Agreements that Contain Robust Intellectual Property Rights Protections
- Resolution in Support of Deepening Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Republic of Moldova
- Resolution Urging the United States to Invite Taiwan to Join the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
- Article V Application for a Federal Fiscal Responsibility Amendments Convention to Curb Runaway Inflation and Restore Fiscal Sanity
All Model Policies
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Act to Prohibit This State’s Board of Regents from Investing Public University Trust Funds in Companies Associated with the Government of China Draft
This state legislative chamber enacts as follows: SECTION 1. Relevant sections of the statutes governing how the state’s Board of Regents of the state’s public university system will be amended to prohibit investment in Chinese owned and associated companies. SECTION 2. The Board of Regents may invest revenues from gifts,…
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State Infrastructure Protection Act Draft
AN ACT relating to prohibiting contracts or other agreements with certain foreign-owned companies in connection with critical infrastructure in this state. BE IT ENACTED BY THIS LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER: SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the State Infrastructure Protection Act. SECTION 2. The relevant section or chapter of the business or commerce code…
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Taiwan Friendship Caucus Resolution Draft
WHEREAS, Taiwan shares the same values of freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, peace, and prosperity with the United States and this state; and WHEREAS, this legislative chamber’s Taiwan Friendship Caucus will continue the bilateral relationship with Taiwan and will continue to affirm and support its meaningful participation…
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Resolution Commending This State’s and the United States’ Cordial and Mutually Beneficial Relationship with the Nation of Israel Draft
WHEREAS, the legal basis for the establishment of the modern State of Israel was a binding act of international law established in the San Remo Resolution, which was unanimously adopted by the League of Nations in 1922 and subsequently affirmed by both houses of the United States Congress; and WHEREAS,…
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An Act to Prohibit State Contracts with Chinese Government-Owned or Affiliated Technology Manufacturers Draft
Definitions (a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) ‘Company’ means any sole proprietorship, organization, association, corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, or other entity or business association, including all wholly owned subsidiaries, majority owned subsidiaries, parent companies, or affiliates of such…
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Resolution on the Importance of Pursuing Trade Agreements that Contain Robust Intellectual Property Rights Protections Draft
WHEREAS, Americans are deeply concerned with job creation, economic stability, and expanding economic prosperity throughout the United States; and WHEREAS, international trade is a critical engine of growth for the U.S. economy; and WHEREAS, the United States exported more than $2.5 trillion in goods and services accounting for 11.2 percent…