AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
The United States Constitution contains no restriction on the power of the federal government to incur a budget deficit.
Article V of the United States Constitution provides that on application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states Congress shall call a convention for proposing amendments to the constitution.
RESOLVED
That the 82nd Texas Legislature apply to Congress to call a convention under Article V of the United States Constitution for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the constitution providing that except in time of war or other national emergency the total of all federal appropriations for a fiscal year may not exceed the total of all estimated federal revenue for that fiscal year.
That, unless rescinded by a succeeding legislature, this application by the 82nd Texas Legislature constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the United States Constitution until at least two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states have applied to Congress to call a convention to propose an amendment to the constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget, but if Congress proposes a constitutional amendment identical in subject matter to that contained in this resolution, this application is no longer of any force.
That this application is rescinded in the event that a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution includes purposes other than providing for a balanced federal budget.
That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate of the Congress of the United States, and to all members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as an application to Congress for a convention to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget.
That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the secretaries of state and to the presiding officers of the legislatures of the several states with the request that they join this state in applying to Congress for a convention to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to provide for a balanced federal budget.