Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR79 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		84R646 TJB-D
2		-	By: Workman, Keffer, Otto, et al. H.J.R. No. 79
	2	+	By: Workman, Keffer, Otto, Raymond, Guillen, H.J.R. No. 79
	3	+	et al.
3	4
4	5
5	6		A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	7		applying to the Congress of the United States to call a convention
7	8		under Article V of the United States Constitution for the limited
8	9		purpose of proposing an amendment to the constitution to provide
9	10		for a federal balanced budget.
10	11		WHEREAS, The drafters of the United States Constitution
11	12		empowered state legislatures to be guardians of liberty against
12	13		abuses of power by the federal government; and
13	14		WHEREAS, The federal government has abused its power by
14	15		creating a crushing national debt through improper and imprudent
15	16		spending; and
16	17		WHEREAS, The federal government has ceased to abide by a
17	18		proper interpretation of the United States Constitution; and
18	19		WHEREAS, In 1977 the 65th Texas Legislature submitted to the
19	20		federal government H.C.R. No. 31 requesting Congress to prepare and
20	21		submit to the several states an amendment to the United States
21	22		Constitution providing for a federal balanced budget, or
22	23		alternatively requesting Congress to call a constitutional
23	24		convention for the purpose of proposing such an amendment; and
24	25		WHEREAS, Congress has not acted to amend the United States
25	26		Constitution to provide for a federal balanced budget or to
26	27		otherwise impose fiscal restraints on the federal government; and
27	28		WHEREAS, It is the solemn duty of state legislatures to
28	29		protect the liberty of the people and of future generations by
29	30		proposing amendments to the United States Constitution that place
30	31		clear restraints on federal power; and
31	32		WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution
32	33		authorizes the several state legislatures to restrict the power of
33	34		the federal government through the amendment process; and
34	35		WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution provides
35	36		that on application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the
36	37		several states Congress shall call a convention for the purpose of
37	38		proposing amendments to the constitution; now, therefore, be it
38	39		RESOLVED, That the 84th Texas Legislature hereby applies to
39	40		Congress to call a convention under Article V of the United States
40	41		Constitution for the limited purpose of proposing an amendment to
41	42		the constitution requiring, in the absence of a national emergency,
42	43		that the total of all federal appropriations made by Congress for
43	44		any fiscal year may not exceed the total of all estimated federal
44	45		revenue for that fiscal year; and, be it further
45	46		RESOLVED, That, unless rescinded by a succeeding
46	47		legislature, this application by the 84th Texas Legislature
47	48		constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V
48	49		of the United States Constitution until at least two-thirds of the
49	50		legislatures of the several states have applied to Congress to call
50	51		a convention for the limited purpose of proposing an amendment to
51	52		the constitution to provide for a federal balanced budget; and, be
52	53		it further
53	54		RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
54	55		copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
55	56		the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the
56	57		Senate of the Congress of the United States, and to all members of
57	58		the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this
58	59		resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as an
59	60		application to Congress for a convention under Article V of the
60	61		United States Constitution for the limited purpose of proposing an
61	62		amendment to the constitution to provide for a federal balanced
62	63		budget; and, be it further
63	64		RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
64	65		copies of this resolution to the secretaries of state and to the
65	66		presiding officers of the legislatures of the several states with
66	67		the request that they join this state in applying to Congress for a
67	68		convention under Article V of the United States Constitution for
68	69		the limited purpose of proposing an amendment to the constitution
69	70		to provide for a federal balanced budget.