Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HJR120 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R12176 JRJ-F
2	2	By: Hinojosa H.J.R. No. 120
3	3
4	4
5	5	A JOINT RESOLUTION
6	6	applying to Congress for a limited national convention for the
7	7	exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the United States
8	8	Constitution to restore balance and integrity to our elections.
9	9	WHEREAS, The framers of the Constitution of the United States
10	10	intended that the Congress of the United States should be
11	11	"dependent on the people alone" (James Madison, Federalist No. 52);
12	12	and
13	13	WHEREAS, That dependency has evolved from a dependency on the
14	14	people alone to a dependency on powerful special interests, through
15	15	campaigns or third-party groups, that has created a fundamental
16	16	imbalance in our representative democracy; and
17	17	WHEREAS, Americans across the political spectrum agree that
18	18	elections in the United States should be free from the
19	19	disproportional influence of special interests and fair enough that
20	20	any citizen can be elected into office; and
21	21	WHEREAS, The Constitution of the State of Texas states: "All
22	22	political power is inherent in the people, and all free governments
23	23	are founded on their authority, and instituted for their benefit"
24	24	and the people have the right at all times to reform their
25	25	government "in such manner as they may think expedient" (Section 2,
26	26	Article I); and
27	27	WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution requires
28	28	Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments to that
29	29	constitution on the application of two-thirds of the legislatures
30	30	of the several states; and
31	31	WHEREAS, The 85th Texas Legislature perceives the need for an
32	32	amendments convention in order to restore balance and integrity to
33	33	our elections by proposing an amendment to the federal constitution
34	34	that will permanently protect free and fair elections in America,
35	35	and desires that said convention be so limited; and
36	36	WHEREAS, The 85th Texas Legislature intends that this joint
37	37	resolution be a continuing application considered together with
38	38	applications calling for a convention on this subject, such as
39	39	those approved by Vermont legislators (2014 Vermont, Joint
40	40	Resolution Senate No. 27, 160 Congressional Record S4331,
41	41	POM-284), by California legislators (2014 California, Assembly
42	42	Joint Resolution No. 1, 160 Congressional Record S5507, POM-320),
43	43	by Illinois legislators (2014 Illinois, Senate Joint Resolution
44	44	No. 42), by New Jersey legislators (2015 New Jersey, Senate
45	45	Concurrent Resolution No. 132), by Rhode Island legislators (2016
46	46	Rhode Island, Senate Resolution No. 2589 and House Resolution
47	47	No. 7670), and all other passed, pending, and future applications
48	48	until such time as the legislatures of two-thirds of the several
49	49	states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose and said
50	50	convention is convened by Congress; now, therefore, be it
51	51	RESOLVED, That the State of Texas desires that the delegates
52	52	to said convention be composed equally of individuals currently
53	53	elected to state and local office, or be selected by election, in
54	54	each congressional district in Texas, for the purpose of serving as
55	55	Texas delegates, though all individuals elected or appointed to
56	56	federal office now, or in the past, be prohibited from serving as
57	57	Texas delegates to the convention and intends to retain the ability
58	58	to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the limits
59	59	herein expressed; and, be it further
60	60	RESOLVED, That the people of the State of Texas speaking
61	61	through their legislature, and pursuant to Article V of the United
62	62	States Constitution, hereby apply to the United States Congress to
63	63	call a convention for the exclusive and limited purpose of
64	64	proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States
65	65	that will restore free and fair elections as described herein as
66	66	soon as two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states have
67	67	applied for a convention for a similar purpose; and, be it further
68	68	RESOLVED, That the chief administrative officer of the Texas
69	69	House of Representatives or Senate transmit copies of this
70	70	resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of
71	71	the House of Representatives of the United States, to the vice
72	72	president of the United States in the vice president's capacity as
73	73	the presiding officer of the Senate of the United States, to the
74	74	minority leader of the United States House of Representatives, to
75	75	the president pro tempore of the United States Senate, to all
76	76	members of the Texas delegation to Congress, with the respectful
77	77	request that the full and complete text of this resolution be
78	78	printed in the Congressional Record, and to the presiding officers
79	79	of each legislative body of each of the several states, requesting
80	80	the cooperation of the states in issuing an application compelling
81	81	Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments pursuant to
82	82	Article V of the United States Constitution.