INTRODUCTION
Under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, states retain powers not reserved to the federal government. Supreme Court precedent dating back to 1905 affirms that these include broad police powers in emergency situations. In Jacobson v. Massachusetts, a Cambridge pastor refused state-mandated smallpox vaccination for himself and his children amid an outbreak. The Court deferred to the actions of the Massachusetts Legislature, ruling the vaccination law was “necessary in order to protect the public health and secure the public safety,” and did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s “equal protection” clause.
A critical need exists to ensure government mechanisms can respond quickly and effectively to emergencies, but state law proscribes the boundaries of this authority. It is the duty of each state’s legislature to ensure it is an appropriate counterbalance to the executive branch.
For those who value constitutional government, the separation and diffusion of power between co-equal branches is paramount. As the American founders warned, concentrated power most certainly will bend towards tyranny.