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Every year on Sept. 17, we mark Constitution Day — an opportunity to reflect both on the genius of the document, but also on the system of government it established. All too often, our political attention is fixated solely on Washington — Congress, the president, the Supreme Court. However, the Framers never intended for all authority to flow from the nation’s capital. They not only instituted horizontal separation of powers (legislative, executive and judicial) but also vertical separation of powers (national, state and local,). This structure provided the states with the authority to be a barrier or check against federal overreach.
The Constitution created a national government with limited and enumerated powers. The Tenth Amendment is very clear, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution… are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. As James Madison explained in Federalist 45: “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite.”
The Framers’ design was deliberate because they understood that concentrated power often leads to abuse. Madison proclaimed that “State Legislatures (are) to be (the) sure guardians of the people’s liberty.” The states were to guard against federal encroachment, keeping decisions about schools, public safety and infrastructure close to the people most affected by them.
However, in recent decades, power has steadily drifted toward Washington D.C. Congress has passed sweeping mandates that reach deep into state affairs. Federal agencies have imposed regulations with little regard for local realities. And even the courts, intended to be neutral arbiters, have sometimes expanded federal reach rather than restraining it. The result is an erosion of the balance the Constitution sought to protect.
Restoring that balance is a passion of mine and will require that states reclaim their rightful role. Governors, legislatures, and local officials have both the constitutional authority and the civic duty to stand firm when federal laws and policies stray beyond their proper bounds. We’re not rejecting collaboration with Washington, but when we experience this overreach, we’re obliged to push back and return those decisions that belong closer to home.
It also means strengthening local sovereignty. When local leaders are empowered to govern effectively, they provide a powerful counterweight to centralized power.
There is, however, one challenge the Framers could not have anticipated: the flood of money into state politics from out-of-state and even international sources. Such spending distorts representation and weakens accountability. In the true spirit of the Constitution and federalism, if we are serious about re-centering power in the states, we must also ensure that state policy reflects the will of those who live there — not the priorities of distant donors.
Constitution Day is a reminder that America’s strength lies not in power concentrated in Washington, but in power shared among fifty states, thousands of communities and her citizens. Preserving that design is how we safeguard liberty for all— and how we keep faith with the Constitution.
Lisa Fink is a Republican Arizona representative for Legislative District 27.
