INDIANA SOVEREIGNTY PROTECTION ACT

INTRODUCTION

Self evident in the creation are the truths that the earth and all therein belong to our Creator, that having made man lower than the Creator and in his image, the Creator gave man stewardship over the earth, in so doing the Creator endowed man with certain inalienable rights, among them, the right to be secure in our lives, our liberties, and our possessions, thereby establishing man as the Sovereign from whom all authority flows to government. Our

founding fathers appealed to the Creator for wisdom and his providence in establishing a government through which this nation founded upon these truths could ensure peaceful and prosperous lives for the People, free from tyranny. Our founding fathers rejected every then known form of government. Instead, the Creator inspired them to establish a Republican Form of Government, a government where the People are Sovereign, a limited government

which arises from the People to local, then state, then federal governments respectively. To ensure this new government would not become a threat to the Sovereignty of the People, the Creator inspired our founders to divide our Republican Form of Government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches. These truths were set down in our nation's founding documents and are preserved today in the Constitution of The United States and the

Constitutions of the States. For more than 200 years, every generation of the People have given their energy, fortunes, and blood to protect and preserve our Constitutions, thus ensuring our Republican Form of Government as a heritage for future generations of the People.

Repudiating the blood shed by every generation of the People who have preserved and protected our Constitutions, many have abandoned these truths. Our Republic is in danger, not from invading armies, but from within by those acting not for the People, but for special interests. Many of the constitutional protections limiting our government and thus preserving our freedom have been effectively annulled by proclamations, agreements, or executive

orders. A government created by executive fiat has been established inside our Republic. Contrary to our nations founding documents these proclamations, agreements, and executive orders make our federal government subordinate to international tribunals, make the states subordinate to federal government, and remove local government as the primary agent and protector of the People.

Special interests have joined with federal and state officials in opposition to our Constitutions, our laws, without the consent of our General Assembly, and have attempted to place outside foreign designations on Indiana lands and waters, beyond the scope of local zoning ordinances by proclamation, agreement, and executive order.

WHEREAS, these designations threaten to place millions of acres of land under the control of special interests via proclamations, agreements and / or executive orders; and

WHEREAS, neither the General Assembly of the State of Indiana nor the Congress of the United States has considered, debated, or approved such designations; and

WHEREAS, such designations threaten land use management regulations, policies, and procedures beyond the control of our local elected governments; and

WHEREAS, these designations threaten local and state tax revenues, thus placing undue burden upon taxpayers; and

WHEREAS, these designations threaten to become unfunded mandates upon Indiana property owners, local and state governments; and

WHEREAS, these designations threaten to separate property ownership from the right to use and gain from our properties, a concept not contemplated by our Creator, our Constitutions, or the founders of our nation; and

WHEREAS, Our Indiana General Assembly has no input, recourse, or veto power over such land use management policies created by proclamation, agreement, or executive order; and

WHEREAS, these proclamations, agreements, and executive orders threaten the imposition of international treaties by executive branch regulations, policies, and procedures without ratification by the United States Senate as provided by the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, the use of land in these designations for ordinary commercial, industrial, or agriculture purposes may be severely restricted or eliminated; and

WHEREAS, there is no provision in our Constitutions to place designations on Indiana lands and waters by agreements, proclamations, or executive orders, thus subjecting Indiana lands and waters to the control of special interests or other foreign parties; and

WHEREAS, the areas encompassed by these designations include not only public, but private lands; and

WHEREAS, the placing of environmental or other restrictions upon the use of private lands has been held by a number of recent United States Supreme Court decisions to constitute a taking of the land for public purposes; and

WHEREAS, the proposed designations may ultimately lead to the reality that the People of Indiana could not use their private and public lands in the manner to which they have been accustomed; and

WHEREAS, there are no proposals to purchase the lands by those seeking the designations in accordance with the United States Constitution or the Indiana Constitution; and

WHEREAS, the restrictions contemplated by the designations together with the outside control of the land constitutes an unlawful taking of that land in violation of the Constitution of the United States, to wit:

Article I, Section 8, Clause 17, before any state lands can be purchased the consent of the state legislature and not the state executive branch must be obtained.

Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2, we note that, "{N}othing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular state."

Article IV, Section 4, we note that, "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government."

Amendment V of the Constitution of the United States, "nor {shall any person} be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation"; and

WHEREAS, the virtual ceding of these lands by designations imposed by proclamations, agreements, or executive orders upon the residents who own the land, local governments, and the State of Indiana without any legitimate form for redress of grievances or input into the decision-making process related to the designation; and

WHEREAS, the People of Indiana do not wish to have portions of our land area controlled by special interests or by foreign minions over which we have little control and who may not be subject to our laws;

NOW, THEREFORE,

Be it resolved by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:

Section 1. The General Assembly of the State of Indiana is unalterably opposed to the inclusion of any land within Indiana in designations beyond the scope of local zoning ordinances without the express consent of the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, as provided by the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of The Sovereign State of Indiana.

Section 2. The General Assembly of the Sovereign State of Indiana finds designations by proclamations, agreements, or executive orders without the consent of the Indiana General Assembly as provided by the Constitution of The United States and the Constitution of the Sovereign State of Indiana threaten the inalienable rights of our Citizens to be secure in their properties and enjoy the full benefit and use thereof.

Section 3. The Indiana General Assembly of the Sovereign State of Indiana does hereby enact the "Indiana Sovereignty Protection Act" and declares any designation upon Indiana lands and waters not arising in the Indiana General Assembly, and beyond the scope of local zoning ordinances, must begin with an application to each County Executive included in the proposed designation. Such application is to include:

• 1. the names, legal addresses, and signatures of each person, organization, or agent of those seeking the designation

• 2. by what authority under the United States Constitution and the Indiana Constitution the designation is proposed
• 3. a full description of the proposed designation, to include the purpose of the proposed designation
• 4. the duration of the proposed designation
• 5. the impact of the proposed designation upon local and state tax revenues

• 6. a list of each property to be included in the proposed designation

• 7. the impact of the designation upon property values, property rights including, but not limited to, any impact upon the right to use and prosper from property

• 8. the full scope and impact of any regulations policies, or procedures, which will, or may, result from the proposed designation, to include by what authority those regulations, policies, or procedures may, or will, be imposed, the penalties those regulations, policies, or procedures may, or will, impose

• 9. the impact of the proposed designation upon local and state economies

• 10. a ten thousand dollar expense deposit to be applied to the hearing and notification costs.

Section 4. Upon receiving an application for a proposed designation on Indiana Lands or Waters, beyond the scope of local zoning ordinances, each County Executive shall, after at least thirty days and four public notices, conduct a public hearing on the proposed designation where testimony shall be recorded and exhibits received into evidence, both for and against the proposed designation. No limits shall be imposed upon reasonable public input and exhibits presented as evidence. The County Executive shall issue findings of fact within thirty days after the public hearing, approved by roll call vote at a public meeting, based upon the testimony and exhibits presented, and attach those findings of fact, testimony, and exhibits to the application for the proposed designation. All records of the application for the proposed designation, testimony, exhibits, and finding of fact shall be preserved by the County Executive.

Section 5. After issuing the finding of fact, the County Executive shall, within one year, notify every property owner included in the application for the proposed designation and include a summary description of the proposed designation, the location where the hearing testimony, exhibits, and findings of fact can be reviewed, and seek notarized written permission from each property owner for said property to be included in the proposed designation. Ninety days after the notice to property owners is issued, the County Executive shall determine the assessed value of all property whose owners have not voluntarily given permission for their property to be included in the proposed designation. The County Executive shall then notify those filing the application of the property owners included in the application who have voluntarily given written permission for their property to be included in the proposed designation, and assess a bond requirement of ten percent of the assessed value of all property included in the application for the proposed designation, for which permission was not obtained from the property owners. The County Executive shall assess those filing the application for the cost of the hearing and the cost of notifying property owners, less the expense deposit included with the application. Property owners who give permission for their property to be included in the designation can revoke that permission upon thirty days written notice to the County Executive. Upon receipt of the ten percent bond and the assessed hearing and notification costs, the County Executive shall forward copies of the application for the proposed designation, including copies of the hearing testimony, exhibits, findings of fact, and designation bond, to the Indiana General Assembly for consideration. Upon a majority roll call vote, the proposed designation shall be passed by the Indiana General Assembly and forwarded to the Governor.

Section 6. Any claims for damages resulting from the imposed designation including, but not limited to, court costs, increased cost of production, loss of production, loss of income, loss of property value, or loss of property use, upon property involuntarily included in the designation shall be filed in the local County Court where the property is located. Any award of damages shall be collected from the designation bond. If at any time the designation bond lapses or damage awards exceed the bonded amount, those securing the bond shall be notified by registered mail. If thirty days after such notification the designation bond is not fully restored to reflect the higher of the damage awards, or ten percent of the assessed value of property involuntarily included in the designation, the designation shall be immediately and irrevocably terminated.