By: Toth H.C.R. No. 86

C

ONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, When presidents use executive orders to legislate, they usurp the powers of the United States Congress or the states and undermine our federalist system of government; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly vest the president with the authority to issue executive orders; presidential power to issue such orders has been derived from implied constitutional authority and express or implied statutory authority; in addition, the 1952 Supreme Court ruling in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer created a framework for analyzing these orders in the judicial context; and

WHEREAS, The framers of the constitution recognized that separation of powers is essential and, accordingly, established checks and balances not only among the branches of the federal government but also between the federal government and state governments; the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "[t]he powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people"; and

WHEREAS, Over the course of American history, some presidents have encroached on congressional power and the powers reserved to the states through the overly broad use of executive orders to effectuate policy goals.

WHEREAS, The U.S. Congress has a continuing obligation to remain vigilant and ensure that its institutional prerogatives and the legislative process are not diminished or disregarded; moreover, Congress has a role in raising public awareness of policies implemented through executive orders; and

WHEREAS, The Supreme Court noted in Youngstown that "[t]he Founders of this Nation entrusted the lawmaking power to the Congress alone in both good and bad times"; the separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of federal government and the powers reserved to the states form the very bedrock of our democracy, and freedom and liberty are imperiled when this system of checks and balances is disregarded; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas hereby respectfully urge the president of the United States to refrain from issuing executive orders that exceed his authority and that violate the U.S. Constitution; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas Legislature hereby memorialize the U.S. Congress to carefully guard its institutional prerogatives, the legislative process, and the powers reserved to the states from executive overreach; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.