By Chisum H.C.R. No. 18 74R1867 CCK-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The history of the adoption of the United States 1-2 Constitution and Bill of Rights makes clear that the framers of 1-3 those documents intended a system of federalism in which the 1-4 national government and states were to be equal partners in 1-5 achieving the goals of American self-governance; and 1-6 WHEREAS, In The Federalist Papers, James Madison and 1-7 Alexander Hamilton clarified that the assumption of new powers by 1-8 the national government would leave the states still sovereign in 1-9 areas of authority outside those constitutionally enumerated as 1-10 possessed by the national government; and 1-11 WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment, the last item in a Bill of 1-12 Rights promised to appease anti-federalist sentiment, reiterated 1-13 the principle stated by Madison and Hamilton, providing that "(T)he 1-14 powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor 1-15 prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States 1-16 respectively, or to the people"; and 1-17 WHEREAS, Over the last two centuries, the courts have 1-18 provided little substantive interpretation of that amendment, while 1-19 the government in Washington, D.C., has expanded its powers by 1-20 proactive constitutional interpretation, leading to a situation in 1-21 which issues tend toward a single national solution and the 1-22 opportunity for experimental democracy by the 50 states is 1-23 relentlessly eroded; and 1-24 WHEREAS, Increasingly, the states are saddled with unfunded 2-1 federal mandates, the implementation of which robs them of revenue 2-2 that might otherwise be applied to alternative, and more 2-3 innovative, public investment as determined by the voters and 2-4 leadership of each state; and 2-5 WHEREAS, In 1989, the Intergovernmental Partnership Task 2-6 Force of the Council of State Governments issued a report 2-7 containing proposals for restoring greater balance to America's 2-8 system of federalism; and 2-9 WHEREAS, More recently, the National Governors' Association, 2-10 the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the United 2-11 States Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations have 2-12 called for summit meetings on the subject of federalism; and 2-13 WHEREAS, Recognizing that the collective voice of the 50 2-14 states is geographically dispersed, concerned state officials have 2-15 proposed an informal and bipartisan Conference of the States for 2-16 the summer of 1995, to be attended by delegations from the several 2-17 states; and 2-18 WHEREAS, Delegates would focus narrowly on the subject of 2-19 structural reform in the system of federalism, and the product of 2-20 their deliberations would be submitted to the legislatures and 2-21 governors of the 50 states for their formal consideration; and 2-22 WHEREAS, The Republican and Democratic governors of Utah and 2-23 Nebraska, respectively, are working toward gathering support for 2-24 the Conference of the States proposal, and the Council of State 2-25 Governments has agreed to serve as coordinator and sponsor of the 2-26 effort; now, therefore, be it 2-27 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 3-1 hereby authorize a delegation to represent Texas at a Conference of 3-2 the States for the purpose of reexamining this nation's system of 3-3 federalism and devising means to constitutionally reassert the 3-4 principle of state sovereignty; and, be it further 3-5 RESOLVED, That the governor and presiding officers of the 3-6 legislature have authority to determine the size, composition, 3-7 membership, and chair of the Texas delegation to the conference; 3-8 and, be it further 3-9 RESOLVED, That Texas agree to parliamentary rules adopted by 3-10 the conference, provided that those rules entitle each state 3-11 delegation, regardless of size, to one vote, and provided that each 3-12 vote by the Texas delegation be in accordance with the majority of 3-13 its members present and voting internally within the delegation; 3-14 and, be it further 3-15 RESOLVED, That the conference agenda extend, if supported by 3-16 participants, to the drafting of one or more potential amendments 3-17 to the United States Constitution reaffirming and strengthening 3-18 state sovereignty under the American system of federalism; and, be 3-19 it further 3-20 RESOLVED, That the conference agenda extend also to common 3-21 language to be used in state petitions to the United States 3-22 Congress for a constitutional amendment convention under Article V 3-23 of the United States Constitution, incorporating within that 3-24 language the text of any amendments drafted by the Conference of 3-25 the States for consideration by the constitutional amendment 3-26 convention; and, be it further 3-27 RESOLVED, That the Texas delegation report fully on the 4-1 proceedings of the conference to the Texas Legislature and the 4-2 governor, including any action plan, constitutional amendment 4-3 drafts, or constitutional amendment convention petitions receiving 4-4 the support of conference participants; and, be it further 4-5 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be forwarded to the 4-6 president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of 4-7 representatives and the president of the senate of the United 4-8 States Congress, to the members of the Texas delegation to the 4-9 congress, and to the presiding officers of the legislatures of the 4-10 other 49 states.