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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Each member of the legislature has sworn a solemn |
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oath to defend our United States and Texas Constitutions and takes |
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great pride in being a citizen of the United States of America, |
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where citizens have the right to petition their government for |
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redress of grievances; and |
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WHEREAS, Section 1, Article I, Texas Constitution, states |
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that "the perpetuity of the Union depend[s] upon the preservation |
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of the right of local self-government, unimpaired to all the |
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States"; Section 2, Article I, declares, "All political power is |
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inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on |
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their authority, and instituted for their benefit. The faith of the |
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people of Texas stands pledged to the preservation of a republican |
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form of government, and, subject to this limitation only, they have |
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at all times the inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish their |
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government in such manner as they may think expedient"; and |
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WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the |
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United States of America reads as follows: "The powers not |
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delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited |
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by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to |
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the people"; and |
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WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the |
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United States of America defines the total scope of federal power as |
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being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United |
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States of America and no more; and |
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WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the |
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United States of America means that the federal government was |
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created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states with |
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powers both limited and enumerated; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, in 2015, the states are demonstrably treated |
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as agents of the federal government; and |
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WHEREAS, Many powers assumed by the federal government as |
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well as federal laws and mandates are in direct violation of the |
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Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of |
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America; and |
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WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of |
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the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union |
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of States, have always had rights that the federal government may |
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not usurp; and |
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WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the constitution says, |
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"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a |
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Republican Form of Government," and the Ninth Amendment states, |
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"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not |
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be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people"; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in |
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New York v. United States, 505 U.S. 144 (1992), that Congress may |
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not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of |
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the states; and |
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WHEREAS, A number of proposals from previous administrations |
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and some pending with the present administration, as well as from |
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Congress, may further violate the Constitution of the United States |
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of America; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the |
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Constitution of the United States of America over all powers not |
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otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the |
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Constitution of the United States of America; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That this serve as notice and demand that the |
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federal government, as our agent, halt and reverse, effective |
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immediately, its practice of assuming powers and imposing mandates |
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and laws upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the |
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Constitution of the United States of America; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation not |
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necessary to ensure rights guaranteed the people under the |
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Constitution of the United States that directs states to comply |
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under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that |
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requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be |
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prohibited and repealed; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all members |
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of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this |
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resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |