By Danburg                                            H.C.R. No. 13

      75R1757 MPC-F                           

                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 1-1           WHEREAS, The triumph of freedom and justice embodied in the

 1-2     Constitution of the United States of America offers contemporary

 1-3     and future generations a structure for ordered liberty that has

 1-4     served this nation well.  Those historic decisions, augmented from

 1-5     time to time by amendment, gave us a constitution that has

 1-6     permitted each generation to overcome the great social disturbances

 1-7     of its time.  The protection of the rights of speech and assembly

 1-8     against overbearing government; the liberation of enslaved

 1-9     Americans; the right of women to vote; restraints on the power of

1-10     concentrated wealth; the intelligent use of government to protect

1-11     the economic interests of all; the use of national military power

1-12     here and abroad, have all been achieved through this constitutional

1-13     framework; and

1-14           WHEREAS, The American people have well understood their

1-15     constitution and the values and powers it embodies.  Liberty,

1-16     justice, and our physical and material security:  these remain the

1-17     goals of our generation and our hope for future generations; and

1-18           WHEREAS, A constitution that protects our personal security

1-19     is the heart of the American system.  Our constitution seeks to

1-20     ensure that each person is free of the threat of attack, free of

1-21     actions by others that diminish life, liberty, health, or property

1-22     or that prevent the "pursuit of happiness"; and

1-23           WHEREAS, The people of this nation are increasingly besieged

1-24     by attacks on their personal security, their health and the health

 2-1     of their families, and their right to enjoy the air, water, and

 2-2     natural resources of the nation.  The continuing and growing threat

 2-3     to the public health and the nation's natural resources is the

 2-4     challenge of our generation; and

 2-5           WHEREAS, We are the custodians of the health of our children,

 2-6     of future generations, whose ability to breathe clean air, drink

 2-7     healthful water, avoid poisons, and share in the spiritual

 2-8     regeneration that comes from wilderness and nature is in danger.

 2-9     We are obliged to protect each citizen from these threats as surely

2-10     as previous generations were obliged to enhance freedom, justice,

2-11     and prosperity; and

2-12           WHEREAS, A constitutional remedy is necessary to accomplish

2-13     this goal; and

2-14           WHEREAS, The decision to seek a constitutional remedy is

2-15     significant and necessary.  The people have historically been

2-16     reluctant to amend the constitution except for the most compelling

2-17     reasons.  Although this body shares that view, the commitment to

2-18     the public health and environmental security of our citizens and of

2-19     future generations is so important, and so deeply a part of

2-20     American tradition and values that it requires constitutional

2-21     status.  We can no more rely on statutory protections for the

2-22     environment and public health than the nation of 130 years ago

2-23     could rely on law alone for the liberation of enslaved Americans,

2-24     nor could the nation of 80 years ago rely on law when it declared

2-25     the right of women's suffrage to be of constitutional value; now,

2-26     therefore, be it

2-27           RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas,

 3-1     Regular Session, 1997, hereby memorialize the United States

 3-2     Congress to propose and submit to the states the following

 3-3     environmental amendment to the United States Constitution:

 3-4                 "The natural resources of the nation are the

 3-5           heritage of present and future generations.  The right

 3-6           of each person to clean and healthful air and water,

 3-7           and to the protection of the other natural resources of

 3-8           the nation, shall not be infringed upon by any person";

 3-9           and, be it further

3-10           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official

3-11     copies of this concurrent resolution to the speaker of the house of

3-12     representatives and president of the senate of the United States

3-13     Congress, and to all members of the Texas delegation to the

3-14     congress, with the request that this concurrent resolution be

3-15     officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the

3-16     Congress of the United States of America.