South Carolina General Assembly
112th Session, 1997-1998

Bill 4985


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                    4985
Type of Legislation:            Concurrent Resolution CR
Introducing Body:               House
Introduced Date:                19980408
Primary Sponsor:                Hamilton
All Sponsors:                   Hamilton, Easterday, Leach,
                                Loftis, Haskins, Tripp, Cato, Sharpe
                                and Vaughn 
Drafted Document Number:        egm\18701djc.98
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:   19980527
Subject:                        Biosphere Program, Congress
                                requests to urge proposed Biodiversity
                                Treaty not be ratified by U.S.; Federal
                                Government

History

Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________

House   19980527  Received from Senate
Senate  19980526  Adopted, returned with concurrence
Senate  19980521  Committee report: Favorable              01 SANR
Senate  19980428  Introduced, referred to Committee        01 SANR
House   19980423  Adopted, sent to Senate
House   19980422  Committee report: Favorable              24 HIMR
House   19980408  Introduced, referred to Committee        24 HIMR


View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

COMMITTEE REPORT

May 21, 1998

H. 4985

Introduced by Reps. Hamilton, Easterday, Leach, Loftis, Haskins, Tripp, Cato, Sharpe and Vaughn

S. Printed 5/21/98--S.

Read the first time April 28, 1998.

THE COMMITTEE ON

AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

To whom was referred a Concurrent Resolution (H. 4985), to memorialize the President of the United States, the representative of the United States to the United Nations, etc., respectfully

REPORT:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the same do pass:

PHIL P. LEVENTIS, for Committee.

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

TO MEMORIALIZE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE UNITED NATIONS, AND THE CONGRESS TO OPPOSE THE BIOSPHERE RESERVES DESIGNATION OF THE MAN AND THE BIOSPHERE PROGRAM AND TO URGE THAT THE PROPOSED BIODIVERSITY TREATY NOT BE RATIFIED BY THE UNITED STATES.

Whereas, the United Nations has promoted a Biosphere Program throughout the world; and

Whereas, the Biosphere Program threatens to place millions of acres of land under the control of the United Nations via agreements or executive orders; and

Whereas, the United Nations Cultural, Educational, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) has created a worldwide system of 328 Biosphere Reserves in 82 nations; and

Whereas, 47 United Nations designated Biosphere Reserves are within the sovereign borders of the United States, and one United Nations designated Biosphere Reserves is within the State of South Carolina; and

Whereas, neither the legislature of the State of South Carolina nor the Congress of the United States has considered, debated, or approved such designations; and

Whereas, such designations require strict land use management procedures as are set forth in the 1994 Strategic Plan for the United States Man and the Biosphere Program, as published by the United States State Department, and further described in the Global Biodiversity Assessment, published by the United Nations Environment Program, expressly for the Conferences of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity; and

Whereas, Biosphere Reserves are, by definition, designed to continually expand each of the three zones: core protected zone, buffer zone, and zone of cooperation; and

Whereas, Biosphere Reserves are expected to be the nucleus of the system of protected areas required by Article 8 of the Convention on Biological Diversity as expressed in the minutes of the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties; and

Whereas, no land owner within reach or potential reach of the Biosphere Reserves has input or recourse to land use management policies of UNESCO or the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity; and

Whereas, no body of elected officials, whether local, state, or federal, has input, recourse, or veto power over such land use management policies that may be prescribed by either UNESCO or the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity; and

Whereas, even though the Convention on Biological Diversity has not been ratified by the United States Senate, the very presence of United Nations Biosphere Reserves on American soil demonstrates the compliance with an international treaty that has not been ratified; and

Whereas, the use of land in biosphere areas for ordinary commercial or agricultural purposes may be severely restricted or eliminated; and

Whereas, 22,200 acres of the area of the Congaree Swamp National Monument have already been designated as Biosphere Reserves; and

Whereas, none of the current areas included within the Biosphere Program in South Carolina has been included at the request of, or with the consent of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina; and

Whereas, the General Assembly does not believe that a request from the National Park Service or a tourist and convention service should be adequate to subject land in South Carolina to the control of the United Nations or any other foreign parties; and

Whereas, the areas encompassed by these reserves may 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 Biodiversity Treaty, if ratified by the United States, would ultimately lead to the reality that citizens of South Carolina could not use their private and public lands in the manner to which they have been accustomed; and

Whereas, there are no proposals either to purchase the private lands by the United States or the United Nations; and

Whereas, the restrictions contemplated together with the outside control of the land encompassed by a Biosphere Reserve constitutes an unlawful taking of that land in violation of the Constitution of the United States, to wit:

Article I, Section 8, Clause 17, delegates to the United States only the power "[T]o exercise exclusive legislation...and...like authority over all places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines and arsenals, dock yards, and other needful buildings."

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 restrictions contemplated together with the outside control of the land encompassed by a Biosphere Reserve is contrary to the State of South Carolina's ultimate property in lands in violation of the Constitution of South Carolina, to wit:

Article XIV, Section 3, providing, in part, that "[T]he people of the State are declared to possess the ultimate property in and to all lands within the jurisdiction of the State;"; and

Whereas, the virtual ceding of these lands to the United Nations leaves the residents who own the land, local governments, and the State of South Carolina without any legitimate form for redress of grievances for input into any decision-making process relating to the Biosphere Reserve; and

Whereas, under the Supremacy Clause in Article VI of the Constitution of the United States, this treaty would become part of the supreme law of the land and be given equal footing with the Constitution of the United States, thus effectively precluding any legal means of redress; and

Whereas, the State of South Carolina does not wish to have portions of its land area controlled by foreign minions over which it has no control and who are not subject to its laws. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina are unalterably opposed to the inclusion of any land within the borders of the State of South Carolina within the purview of the Biodiversity Treaty or any biodiversity program without the express consent of the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, as provided by the Constitution of the United States, and the laws and Constitution of South Carolina, 1895; and that the General Assembly urges the members of the Congress of the United States, and especially the South Carolina Congressional Delegation, to oppose ratification of this treaty and the inclusion of any land within the State of South Carolina in any biosphere program of the United Nations.

Be it further resolved that copies of this resolution be forwarded to the President of the United States, the Honorable Bill Clinton, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20500; the representative of the United States to the United Nations, the Honorable Bill Richardson, United States Mission to the United Nations, 799 United Nations Plaza, New York, New York, 10017; the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of the South Carolina Congressional Delegation.

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