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.