88R9900 BPG-D
By: Oliverson H.C.R. No. 48
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, State attorneys general play a vital role in curbing
federal government overreach; and
WHEREAS, In recent years, the nation has drifted away from
the bedrock principle set forth in the Tenth Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, which states: "The powers not delegated to the
United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the
people."; ignoring the vision of the nation's founders, the federal
government has shown itself ever more intent on amassing power,
leading to overregulation by its agencies; and
WHEREAS, State attorneys general, as the chief law
enforcement officers of their states, have formed a bulwark against
agencies that overstep their constitutional and statutory
authority to promulgate laws and regulations that impinge on
personal freedoms, usurp state authority, and impose unreasonable
costs; in Texas, our attorney general has filed numerous lawsuits
to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the rights of individual
Texans, winning major victories in cases regarding such issues as
religious freedom, immigration, school rights, the environment,
and labor; and
WHEREAS, Overregulation by federal agencies intrudes on the
lives of Texans and hinders economic growth, and it is vital that
our attorney general continue the fight to restore the balance
between federal and state government as outlined in the
U.S. Constitution; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby express support for the attorney general to bring an action
against a federal agency to assert any claim the attorney general
determines is justiciable to prevent the agency from violating
federal law, including a claim to:
(1) prevent the agency from imposing on this state an
obligation that invades the powers of this state;
(2) prevent the agency from discriminatorily denying
this state's rightful status within the federal system; or
(3) protect the health and well-being of this state's
residents; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an
official copy of this resolution to the Texas attorney general.