Alabama 2023 Regular Session

Alabama Senate Bill SJR57 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	SJR57INTRODUCED
2	2	Page 0
3	3	YAB56N-1
4	4	By Senator Carnley
5	5	RFD: RULES
6	6	First Read: 02-May-23
7	7	2023 Regular Session
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13	13	6 YAB56N-1 04/26/2023 EVP (L)evp 2023-1682
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15	15	SJR___ RESCINDING ALL PREVIOUS RESOLUTIONS OF THE ALABAMA
16	16	LEGISLATURE WHICH REQUEST CONGRESS TO CALL A CONVENTION
17	17	PURSUANT TO ARTICLE V OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION.
18	18	WHEREAS, the Federal Constitution Convention of 1787
19	19	was called for the sole and express purpose of revising the
20	20	Articles of Confederation, yet this convention decided
21	21	instead to discard the Articles of Confederation and draft a
22	22	new constitution which created a new system of government;
23	23	and
24	24	WHEREAS, the Articles of Confederation provided that
25	25	an amendment to the Articles had to be approved by the
26	26	Continental Congress and all of the then 13 states before
27	27	the amendment would be effective; the new constitution
28	28	drafted at the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787
29	29	provided that an amendment would be ratified when only nine
30	30	of the states approved the amendment; and
31	31	WHEREAS, the United States Constitution has served as
32	32	the cornerstone of American liberty since its creation in
33	33	1787; it was the first written national constitution to set
34	34	forth a system of separation of powers into three branches
35	35	and to enumerate the powers delegated to each of the
36	36	branches; and
37	37	WHEREAS, the powers delegated by the Constitution of
38	38	1787 to the federal government are few and defined, and our
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68	68	problems arise from not knowing and not enforcing those
69	69	existing limitations on the federal government; and
70	70	WHEREAS, James Madison wrote in The Federalist No. 43
71	71	that the purpose of amendments to the United States
72	72	Constitution are to repair discovered constitutional faults
73	73	or for amendments of constitutional errors, and that no
74	74	framer said the purpose of amendments are to rein in the
75	75	federal government when it usurps powers not delegated; and
76	76	WHEREAS, James Madison showed in The Federalist No.
77	77	49 that a convention is neither proper nor effective to
78	78	restrain government when it encroaches; and
79	79	WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution
80	80	provides for two methods of amendment, Congress proposes
81	81	amendments and sends them to the states for ratification, or
82	82	upon the applications of the legislatures of two-thirds of
83	83	the states, Congress calls a convention for proposing
84	84	amendments; and
85	85	WHEREAS, James Madison trembled at the prospect of
86	86	another convention; Alexander Hamilton dreaded one; and four
87	87	former Justices of the United States Supreme Court warned
88	88	that another convention would run "extravagant risques" and
89	89	that delegates to a convention cannot be controlled; and
90	90	WHEREAS, if delegates to a convention called by
91	91	Congress pursuant to Article V decide to discard our
92	92	Constitution of 1787 and create a new constitution with a
93	93	new system of government, the new constitution will have its
94	94	own new mode of ratification; and
95	95	WHEREAS, each of the existing 27 Amendments to the
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125	125	United States Constitution were proposed by Congress and
126	126	submitted to the states for ratification; we have never had
127	127	a convention called under Article V of our Constitution; and
128	128	WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution
129	129	delegates to Congress the power to call a federal
130	130	constitutional convention; Article I, Section 8, last
131	131	clause, delegates to Congress the power to make all laws
132	132	necessary and proper for carrying out all powers vested by
133	133	the Constitution in Congress; and
134	134	WHEREAS, the Congressional Research Service Report,
135	135	dated April 11, 2014, shows that in Congress' preliminary
136	136	preparations for Article V conventions in the past, Congress
137	137	has traditionally laid claim to broad responsibilities in
138	138	connection with a convention, including determining the
139	139	number and selection process for its delegates, setting
140	140	internal convention procedures, including formulae for
141	141	allocation of votes among the states; and
142	142	WHEREAS, the states have no constitutional authority
143	143	to determine the rules of order or operational aspects of a
144	144	constitutional convention called by Congress pursuant to
145	145	Article V of the Constitution; and
146	146	WHEREAS, nothing in Article V of the Constitution
147	147	provides for, nor can any state application guarantee, equal
148	148	suffrage or equal franchise to each state at a
149	149	constitutional convention; and
150	150	WHEREAS, the states have no authority to impose any
151	151	penalty, sanction, or limitation on convention delegates,
152	152	for the delegates represent the people and the sovereign
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182	182	right of the people to alter or abolish their government and
183	183	to institute a new government; and
184	184	WHEREAS, the Alabama Legislature has at various times
185	185	since at least as early as 1833 passed resolutions
186	186	requesting Congress to call a convention, pursuant to
187	187	Article V of the Constitution, to propose amendments to the
188	188	Constitution relating to a variety of subjects; and
189	189	WHEREAS, nothing in Article V of the Constitution
190	190	permits Congress or the states to limit the convention to
191	191	any specific topic or topics; and
192	192	WHEREAS, over the course of time, the will of the
193	193	people of the State of Alabama may have changed relating to
194	194	these previous resolutions; and
195	195	WHEREAS, a constitutional convention called by
196	196	Congress could result in the imposition of a new
197	197	constitution with its own new mode of ratification, which
198	198	could fundamentally transform our country by establishing a
199	199	new system of government which denies the existence of
200	200	unalienable, God-given rights and establishes a tyranny,
201	201	thereby denying liberty to future generations of Alabama
202	202	residents; and
203	203	WHEREAS, the Alabama Legislature is aware that other
204	204	state legislatures have made applications requesting that
205	205	Congress call a constitutional convention; and
206	206	WHEREAS, the Alabama Legislature no longer supports
207	207	its previous resolutions which request that Congress call a
208	208	constitutional convention, many of which were adopted many
209	209	decades ago, and does not wish for these resolutions to be
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239	239	included with applications made by other state legislatures;
240	240	now therefore,
241	241	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA, BOTH
242	242	HOUSES THEREOF CONCURRING, That the members of the Alabama
243	243	Legislature hereby rescind, repeal, cancel, void, nullify,
244	244	and withdraw each and every previous resolution passed by
245	245	the Alabama Legislature which requests or urges the Congress
246	246	of the United States to call a constitutional convention
247	247	pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution.
248	248	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the members of the
249	249	Alabama Legislature urge each state legislature which has
250	250	requested Congress to call a constitutional convention to
251	251	withdraw those requests.
252	252	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State
253	253	shall transmit certified copies of this resolution to the
254	254	President and Secretary of the United States Senate, to the
255	255	Speaker and Secretary of the United States House of
256	256	Representatives, the members of the Alabama Congressional
257	257	Delegation, and to the presiding officers of each house of
258	258	the several state legislatures attesting the adoption of
259	259	this resolution by the Alabama Legislature.
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