Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR145 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.C.R. No. 145
	1	+	85R31203 KSM-D
	2	+	By: Klick H.C.R. No. 145
2	3
3	4
4		-	~~HOUSE~~ CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	5	+	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
5	6		WHEREAS, Through a persistent decade-long crusade that
6	7		culminated in changing the U.S. Constitution, Gregory D. Watson of
7	8		Austin has earned the unique distinction of completing what
8	9		Founding Father James Madison left unfinished as well as
9	10		successfully getting the overall course grade for his 1982
10	11		University of Texas at Austin government class elevated from a C to
11	12		an A after the intervention of 35 years; and
12	13		WHEREAS, In the spring of 1982, Mr. Watson, then a UT
13	14		student, was enrolled in a Government 310 course on American
14	15		government; while researching a term paper on the proposed Equal
15	16		Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, he happened upon some
16	17		old constitutional amendments that had been proposed by Congress
17	18		but not ratified by enough state legislatures to officially become
18	19		part of the federal Constitution; and
19	20		WHEREAS, One such amendment, dated 1789, mandated that any
20	21		approved congressional pay raise not take effect until after the
21	22		next biennial election; the measure specifically reads that "No
22	23		law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and
23	24		Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of
24	25		Representatives shall have intervened"; only nine states had
25	26		ratified that measure by 1978, and ratification by three-fourths of
26	27		the states is required before an amendment to the Constitution can
27	28		be certified; at the same time, the compensation amendment included
28	29		no ratification deadline, in contrast to amendments proposed since
29	30		the year 1917, when Congress began the practice of including a
30	31		provision requiring that proposed federal constitutional
31	32		amendments be ratified by the states within seven years; and
32	33		WHEREAS, Inspired to change the focus of his research,
33	34		Mr. Watson submitted a paper suggesting that unratified
34	35		constitutional amendments from before 1917, which did not contain
35	36		the built-in time limit, could still be ratified, even 200 years
36	37		later, if they received the support of enough states; he further
37	38		noted in the paper that there continued to be concerns among the
38	39		American people relative to the methods used by members of Congress
39	40		to increase congressional salaries; the course instructor and her
40	41		teaching assistant were not convinced, however, and Mr. Watson
41	42		received a grade of C for the paper and a final grade of C for the
42	43		course overall; and
43	44		WHEREAS, Shortly afterward, in April 1982, Mr. Watson
44	45		embarked upon a labor-intensive campaign to prove the thesis of his
45	46		paper; he began the 10-year process of writing letters to
46	47		legislators in states across the nation, urging them to consider
47	48		ratifying the measure, and by May 5, 1992, Alabama lawmakers
48	49		furnished the pivotal 38th ratification, thus making it the 27th
49	50		Amendment to the Constitution; since then, eight more states have
50	51		ratified the amendment--most recently Nebraska in 2016--bringing
51	52		the total to 46 of the 50 states; and
52	53		WHEREAS, Impressed by what she publicly described as
53	54		Mr. Watson's "heroic effort" to prove the validity of his thesis,
54	55		his former professor has officially requested that his grade for
55	56		Government 310 be raised from a C to an A; Mr. Watson was informed
56	57		of her decision in March 2017, when he was invited to attend what he
57	58		thought would be a mere Q and A about his work on the 27th Amendment
58	59		and unexpectedly found his campaign being recounted in Pop-Up
59	60		Magazine, a live news program performed onstage and resembling a
60	61		stand-up comedy routine; and
61	62		WHEREAS, Mr. Watson has continued to be engaged in federal
62	63		constitutional amendment issues: in 1995, at his prompting, the
63	64		Mississippi Legislature symbolically post-ratified the
64	65		Constitution's 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery; at his urging,
65	66		the Tennessee General Assembly ceremonially post-ratified the 15th
66	67		Amendment in 1997, extending the right to vote to former male
67	68		slaves; and, at his behest, the Texas Legislature, in 2009,
68	69		formally endorsed the end of poll taxes by post-ratifying the 24th
69	70		Amendment; furthermore, references to Mr. Watson's constitutional
70	71		amendment-related activities are chronicled in countless books,
71	72		newspapers, magazines, law reviews, video and audio recordings,
72	73		resolutions, and entries in the Congressional Record; and
73	74		WHEREAS, Gregory Watson's dogged determination resulted in a
74	75		significant change in this nation's founding document, and he may
75	76		indeed take great pride in his achievement and in his demonstration
76	77		of what committed civic engagement can accomplish; now, therefore,
77	78		be it
78	79		RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas
79	80		hereby congratulate Gregory D. Watson on receiving a revised grade
80	81		of A in his 1982 Government 310 class at The University of Texas at
81	82		Austin--albeit after the intervention of 35 years--and extend to
82	83		him sincere best wishes for continued success and happiness; and,
83	84		be it further
84	85		RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
85	86		prepared for Mr. Watson as an expression of high regard by the Texas
86	87		House of Representatives and Senate.
87		-	Klick
88		-	______________________________ ______________________________
89		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
90		-	I certify that H.C.R. No. 145 was adopted by the House on May
91		-	25, 2017, by a non-record vote.
92		-	______________________________
93		-	Chief Clerk of the House
94		-	I certify that H.C.R. No. 145 was adopted by the Senate on May
95		-	26, 2017, by a viva-voce vote.
96		-	______________________________
97		-	Secretary of the Senate
98		-	APPROVED: __________________
99		-	Date
100		-	__________________
101		-	Governor