Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HR704 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R5619 BPG-D
2	2	By: Workman H.R. No. 704
3	3
4	4
5	5	R E S O L U T I O N
6	6	WHEREAS, Under Article IV, Section 3, of the United States
7	7	Constitution, "The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make
8	8	all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other
9	9	property belonging to the United States"; and
10	10	WHEREAS, The Constitutional Convention intended this
11	11	provision of the constitution to maintain the status quo that had
12	12	been established to transfer federal territorial lands only to
13	13	create new states with the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, and
14	14	independence as the original states; under these express terms of
15	15	trust, over time the states claiming federal territorial land ceded
16	16	their western land to the confederated union to allow the
17	17	confederated government to dispose of the lands only to create new
18	18	states and apply the net proceeds of any sales of the lands only to
19	19	pay down the public debt; and
20	20	WHEREAS, The constitution contains no expression of intent to
21	21	authorize the federal government to indefinitely exercise control
22	22	over western public lands beyond the duty to manage the lands
23	23	pending the disposal of the lands to create new states; moreover,
24	24	limiting the ability of western states to access and utilize the
25	25	natural resources on public lands within their borders is having a
26	26	negative impact upon the economy of the western states and
27	27	therefore on the economy of the entire nation; and
28	28	WHEREAS, The lands should be returned to the western states,
29	29	and upon transfer, in order to promote legitimate federal
30	30	interests, the states where the land is located should agree to
31	31	affirmatively cede lands for the National Park System and the
32	32	National Wilderness Preservation System, as well as lands reserved
33	33	for federal military use, military parks, and military reservations
34	34	to the federal government on condition that the lands permanently
35	35	remain national park lands, and that they not be sold, transferred,
36	36	left in substantial disrepair, or conveyed to any party other than
37	37	the state where the land is located; and
38	38	WHEREAS, A fair, just, and equitable remedy for the federal
39	39	government's past and continuing breaches of its solemn promises to
40	40	the western states requires that the federal government transfer
41	41	title to all federal public lands within the western states to the
42	42	state where the land is located; now, therefore, be it
43	43	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
44	44	Legislature hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to
45	45	engage in good faith communication, cooperation, and consultation
46	46	with the western states to coordinate the transfer of the public
47	47	lands; and, be it further
48	48	RESOLVED, That upon transfer of the public lands, the states
49	49	involved be called upon to agree to affirmatively cede to the
50	50	federal government all lands currently designated as part of the
51	51	National Park System or the National Wilderness Preservation System
52	52	or for military use, military parks, or military reservations; and,
53	53	be it further
54	54	RESOLVED, That if any public land in the western states be
55	55	sold to private owners, the states selling the land be urged to
56	56	designate 95 percent of the net proceeds for the purpose of paying
57	57	down the federal debt; and, be it further
58	58	RESOLVED, That all other states of the United States be
59	59	called upon to pass a similar resolution in support of the transfer
60	60	of the federal public lands to the western states; and, be it
61	61	further
62	62	RESOLVED, That the chief clerk of the Texas House of
63	63	Representatives forward official copies of this resolution to the
64	64	president of the United States, to the president of the Senate and
65	65	the speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States
66	66	Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to Congress
67	67	with the request that this resolution be entered in the
68	68	Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United
69	69	States of America.