By Craddick H.C.R. No. 41 74R525 CCK-D CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, America's system of federalism provides for a 1-2 division of political powers between the national government and 1-3 the 50 states by enumerating and limiting the powers of the 1-4 national government constitutionally and reserving the remainder of 1-5 permissible powers for exercise, if at all, by the states; and 1-6 WHEREAS, The 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution 1-7 declares this principle succinctly: 1-8 "The powers not delegated to the United States by 1-9 the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, 1-10 are reserved to the States respectively, or to the 1-11 people."; 1-12 and 1-13 WHEREAS, The 10th Amendment, together with the 9th Amendment, 1-14 which reserves unenumerated rights to the people, was added for a 1-15 specific purpose relating to the adoption of the Bill of Rights; 1-16 and 1-17 WHEREAS, These two amendments, through their reservation of 1-18 separate powers and rights, were designed to avoid any future 1-19 expansion of the powers of the national government to include other 1-20 possible governmental powers not expressly prohibited; and 1-21 WHEREAS, Two centuries later, the national government has 1-22 acted increasingly to invade the province of state sovereignty, by 1-23 imposing countless mandates on state government and creating new 1-24 state obligations and expenses without the benefit of compensating 2-1 federal funding; and 2-2 WHEREAS, The state response typically has been a rearguard 2-3 action, seeking either to secure federal funding for existing 2-4 mandates or to curb the proliferation in congress of new ones; and 2-5 WHEREAS, A better recourse is to challenge the 2-6 constitutionality of mandates wherever they violate the principle 2-7 of federalism, and to actively reassert the powers of the states as 2-8 guaranteed by the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution; 2-9 now, therefore, be it 2-10 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-11 hereby claim sovereignty under the 10th Amendment to the United 2-12 States Constitution over all other powers not otherwise enumerated 2-13 and granted to the federal government by that constitution; and, be 2-14 it further 2-15 RESOLVED, That the national government be instructed to cease 2-16 and desist, effective immediately, from all mandates that lie 2-17 beyond the scope of its authority under the reservation of powers 2-18 guaranteed to the states by the 10th Amendment; and, be it further 2-19 RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official 2-20 copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to 2-21 the speaker of the house of representatives and president of the 2-22 senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the 2-23 Texas delegation to the congress; and, be it further 2-24 RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared 2-25 for the presiding officers of the legislatures of the other states 2-26 for their consideration.