Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3842 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 248 FILED ON: 1/7/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3842
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Carmine Lawrence Gentile and David T. Vieira
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying
12	12	resolution:
13	13	Resolutions for a United States constitutional amendment and a limited amendment proposing
14	14	convention.
15	15	_______________
16	16	PETITION OF:
17	17	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Carmine Lawrence Gentile13th Middlesex1/7/2025David T. Vieira3rd Barnstable1/13/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/10/2025Natalie M. Higgins4th Worcester2/23/2025Mary S. Keefe15th Worcester3/4/2025Kelly W. Pease4th Hampden1/14/2025 1 of 4
18	18	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 248 FILED ON: 1/7/2025
19	19	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3842
20	20	By Representatives Gentile of Sudbury and Vieira of Falmouth, a petition (accompanied by
21	21	resolutions, House, No. 3842) of Carmine Lawrence Gentile, David T. Vieira and others for the
22	22	adoption of resolutions memorializing the Congress of the United States to call for a convention
23	23	to propose amendments in order to address concerns about the integrity of our elections and the
24	24	ability of the people to participate in effective self-government. Veterans and Federal Affairs.
25	25	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
26	26	SEE HOUSE, NO. 3502 OF 2023-2024.]
27	27	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
28	28	_______________
29	29	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
30	30	(2025-2026)
31	31	_______________
32	32	Resolutions for a United States constitutional amendment and a limited amendment proposing
33	33	convention.
34	34	1 WHEREAS, the 1st President of the United States George Washington stated, “The basis
35	35	2of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of
36	36	3Government."; and
37	37	4 WHEREAS, it was the stated intention of the framers of the Constitution of the United
38	38	5States of America that the Congress of the United States of America should be "dependent on the
39	39	6people alone." (James Madison, Federalist 52); and
40	40	7 WHEREAS, that dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone to a
41	41	8dependency on those who spend excessively in elections, through campaigns or third-party
42	42	9groups; and 2 of 4
43	43	10 WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal
44	44	11Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) removed restrictions on amounts of independent
45	45	12political spending; and
46	46	13 WHEREAS, the removal of those restrictions has resulted in the unjust influence of
47	47	14powerful economic forces, which have supplanted the will of the people by undermining our
48	48	15ability to choose our political leadership, write our own laws, and determine the fate of our state;
49	49	16and
50	50	17 WHEREAS, corporations are artificial entities that governments create and, as such, do
51	51	18not possess the same unalienable rights of natural persons protected by the Constitution; and
52	52	19 WHEREAS, corporations have used a claim to the rights enumerated in the US
53	53	20Constitution, including under the 1st, 4th, 5th and 14th Amendments, to challenge and overturn
54	54	21democratically enacted laws protecting the public interest; and
55	55	22 WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution requires the United States
56	56	23Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds of the
57	57	24legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the United States
58	58	25Constitution; and
59	59	26 WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts sees the need for a convention to
60	60	27propose amendments in order to address concerns about the integrity of our elections and about
61	61	28the ability of the people to participate in effective self-government, specifically those concerns
62	62	29arising from the United States Supreme Court’s rulings limiting the ability of the legislature to
63	63	30regulate the raising and spending of money in elections and granting constitutional rights to
64	64	31corporations; and desires that said convention should be so limited; and 3 of 4
65	65	32 WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts desires that the delegates to said
66	66	33convention shall be comprised equally from individuals currently elected to state and local
67	67	34office, or be selected by election in each Congressional district for the purpose of serving as
68	68	35delegates, though all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be
69	69	36prohibited from serving as delegates to the Convention, and intends to retain the ability to restrict
70	70	37or expand the power of its delegates within the limits expressed above; and
71	71	38 WHEREAS, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts intends that this application shall
72	72	39constitute a continuing application, considered together with applications on this subject such as
73	73	40those passed in the 2013-2014 Vermont legislature as R454, the 2013-2014 California legislature
74	74	41as Resolution Chapter 77, the 98th Illinois General Assembly as SJR 42, the 2014-2015 New
75	75	42Jersey legislature as SCR 132, the 2015-2016 Rhode Island legislature as HR 7670 and SR 2589,
76	76	43and all other passed, pending, and future applications, the aforementioned concerns of
77	77	44Massachusetts notwithstanding until such time as two-thirds of the Several States have applied
78	78	45for a Convention and said Convention is convened by Congress;
79	79	46 Therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the Commonwealth of
80	80	47Massachusetts that it calls on Congress to propose an amendment to the Constitution that would
81	81	48affirm that (a) the rights protected by the Constitution of the United States are the rights of
82	82	49natural persons, i.e. human individuals, only and (b) Congress and the states shall place limits on
83	83	50political contributions and expenditures to ensure that all citizens have access to the political
84	84	51process, and the spending of money to influence elections is not protected free speech under the
85	85	52First Amendment; and 4 of 4
86	86	53 Be it further Resolved, that if Congress does not propose this constitutional amendment
87	87	54within 6 months of the passage of this bill, then this bill constitutes a petition by the
88	88	55Commonwealth of Massachusetts, speaking through its legislature, and pursuant to Article V of
89	89	56the United States Constitution, to the Congress to call a limited Convention for the exclusive
90	90	57purpose of proposing Amendments, as prescribed previously herein, to the Constitution of the
91	91	58United States of America addressing, inter alia, concerns raised by Citizens United v. FEC,
92	92	59McCutcheon v. FEC and related decisions, as soon as two-thirds of the several States have
93	93	60applied for a Convention; and
94	94	61 Be it further Resolved, that this petition shall not be considered by the U.S. Congress
95	95	62until 33 other states submit petitions for the same purpose as proposed by Massachusetts in this
96	96	63resolution and unless the Congress determines that the scope of amendments to the Constitution
97	97	64of the United States considered by the convention shall be limited to the same purpose requested
98	98	65by Massachusetts; and
99	99	66 Be it further Resolved, that the Clerk of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and
100	100	67Clerk of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the
101	101	68United States and addressed to him at the legislative office which he maintains in Suite No. S-
102	102	69212 of the United States Capitol Building, the Speaker of the United States House of
103	103	70Representatives, the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the
104	104	71President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, to each Senator and Representative from
105	105	72Massachusetts in the Congress of the United States, to the Governor of each State, and to the
106	106	73presiding officers of each legislative body of each of the several States, requesting the
107	107	74cooperation of the several States in issuing an application compelling Congress to call a
108	108	75convention for proposing amendments pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution.