Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SCR27 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R6111 BHH-D
2	2	By: Johnson S.C.R. No. 27
3	3
4	4
5	5	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, We the people, the U.S. Congress, and the states
7	7	have a compelling interest in fostering robust political debate and
8	8	self-government, securing the liberty, political equality, and
9	9	equal free speech rights of our citizens, guarding against
10	10	corruption, protecting the integrity and fairness of elections, and
11	11	preserving federalism and the interest of the states; and
12	12	WHEREAS, Over time, the U.S. Supreme Court has gradually come
13	13	to equate unlimited spending to influence elections with "free
14	14	speech"; and
15	15	WHEREAS, The very privileges given to corporations or other
16	16	artificial entities that enhance their ability to attract capital
17	17	and maximize the return on their shareholders' investments also
18	18	give them financial capacity to engage in spending that drowns out
19	19	the individual voices of natural persons; and
20	20	WHEREAS, Corporations and other artificial entities may be
21	21	under the control of citizens of foreign countries who are
22	22	ineligible to participate in our elections; and
23	23	WHEREAS, Money from outside of Texas increasingly influences
24	24	the selection of candidates and election results in the state; and
25	25	WHEREAS, The influence of concentrated capital on our
26	26	political system, whether from wealthy individuals, corporations,
27	27	or other artificial entities, is damaging the interests of free
28	28	debate and speech for all citizens, weakening the rights of states
29	29	to self-governance in our federal system, increasing the risk of
30	30	systemic corruption, and forcing candidates and elected officials
31	31	to engage in a money arms race that distracts from their
32	32	responsibilities to their constituents; and
33	33	WHEREAS, As with previous occasions when the people have been
34	34	called to correct Supreme Court misinterpretations of the
35	35	Constitution, a constitutional amendment is necessary to correct
36	36	this situation; and
37	37	WHEREAS, Reasonable, content-neutral limits on the role of
38	38	money used to influence outcomes of elections are necessary to
39	39	secure the rights of all the citizens of our state to be represented
40	40	and to participate in elections and self-government regardless of
41	41	wealth, to protect the integrity of elections and government
42	42	against out-of-state and foreign interests and undue influence of
43	43	concentrated economic capital, and to advance other values
44	44	identified herein; now, therefore, be it
45	45	RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas
46	46	hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
47	47	propose and submit to the states for ratification an amendment to
48	48	the United States Constitution to clarify that states may set
49	49	reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by
50	50	candidates and others to influence elections and ballot measures in
51	51	the states, and that Congress may set reasonable limits on the
52	52	raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence
53	53	federal elections, and that in so doing the states and Congress may
54	54	distinguish between natural persons and corporations and other
55	55	artificial entities created by law, including prohibiting such
56	56	entities from spending money to influence elections and ballot
57	57	measures; and, be it further
58	58	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
59	59	copies of this resolution to the speaker and the minority leader of
60	60	the United States House of Representatives, to the majority and
61	61	minority leaders of the United States Senate, and to each member of
62	62	the Texas congressional delegation with the request that this
63	63	resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to
64	64	the Congress of the United States of America.