By: Creighton H.C.R. No. 17
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Article I of the United States Constitution begins
"All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in
Congress," and
WHEREAS, the Congress has exceeded the legislative powers
granted in the Constitution thereby encroaching on the powers that
are "reserved to the states respectively, or to the people" as the
Tenth Amendment affirms and the rights "retained by the people" to
which the Ninth Amendment refers; and
WHEREAS, this encroachment includes the accumulation of
federal debt, which combined with interest represents a future tax,
and is of such great proportion that responsibility for its payment
will be passed to future, unborn generations of Americans to assume
without their consent, thereby disparaging their rights; and
WHEREAS, this encroachment also includes compelling state
and local governments to comply with federal laws and regulations
without accompanying funding for such mandates; and
WHEREAS, in Federalist No. 85, Alexander Hamilton wrote in
reference to Article V of the Constitution and the calling of a
convention for the purpose of proposing amendments that, We may
safely rely on the disposition of the State legislatures to erect
barriers against the encroachments of the national authority"; and
WHEREAS, the Constitution should be amended in order to halt
federal encroachment and restore a proper balance between the
powers of Congress and those of the several states, and to prevent
the denial or disparagement of the rights retained by the people;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Congress of the United States be urged to
call a constitutional convention pursuant to Article V of the
United States Constitution for the purpose of proposing a
constitutional amendment that permits the repeal of any federal law
or regulation by vote of two-thirds of the state legislatures, and
the Texas Delegation to such Convention, when called, shall propose
the following amendment: "Any provision of law or regulation of the
Unites States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal
shall be effective when the legislature of two-thirds of the
several state approve resolutions for this purpose that
particularly describe the same provision or provisions of law or
regulation to be repealed; and be it
RESOLVED, that delegates to such Convention, when called, be
selected according to procedures established by the legislatures of
the several states; and be it
RESOLVED, That the Texas Secretary of State forward official
copies of this resolution to the senators and representatives of
Texas in 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; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas Secretary of State forward a copy of
this resolution to the President of the United States of America,
the Vice President of the United States of America, and the Speaker
of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, so
that they may be apprised of the sense of the Texas House of
Representatives in this matter.