| 1 | 1 | | 88R9900 BPG-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Oliverson H.C.R. No. 48 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, State attorneys general play a vital role in curbing |
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| 7 | 7 | | federal government overreach; and |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, In recent years, the nation has drifted away from |
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| 9 | 9 | | the bedrock principle set forth in the Tenth Amendment to the |
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| 10 | 10 | | U.S. Constitution, which states: "The powers not delegated to the |
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| 11 | 11 | | United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the |
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| 12 | 12 | | states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the |
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| 13 | 13 | | people."; ignoring the vision of the nation's founders, the federal |
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| 14 | 14 | | government has shown itself ever more intent on amassing power, |
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| 15 | 15 | | leading to overregulation by its agencies; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, State attorneys general, as the chief law |
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| 17 | 17 | | enforcement officers of their states, have formed a bulwark against |
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| 18 | 18 | | agencies that overstep their constitutional and statutory |
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| 19 | 19 | | authority to promulgate laws and regulations that impinge on |
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| 20 | 20 | | personal freedoms, usurp state authority, and impose unreasonable |
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| 21 | 21 | | costs; in Texas, our attorney general has filed numerous lawsuits |
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| 22 | 22 | | to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the rights of individual |
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| 23 | 23 | | Texans, winning major victories in cases regarding such issues as |
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| 24 | 24 | | religious freedom, immigration, school rights, the environment, |
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| 25 | 25 | | and labor; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | WHEREAS, Overregulation by federal agencies intrudes on the |
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| 27 | 27 | | lives of Texans and hinders economic growth, and it is vital that |
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| 28 | 28 | | our attorney general continue the fight to restore the balance |
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| 29 | 29 | | between federal and state government as outlined in the |
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| 30 | 30 | | U.S. Constitution; now, therefore, be it |
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| 31 | 31 | | RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 32 | 32 | | hereby express support for the attorney general to bring an action |
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| 33 | 33 | | against a federal agency to assert any claim the attorney general |
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| 34 | 34 | | determines is justiciable to prevent the agency from violating |
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| 35 | 35 | | federal law, including a claim to: |
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| 36 | 36 | | (1) prevent the agency from imposing on this state an |
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| 37 | 37 | | obligation that invades the powers of this state; |
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| 38 | 38 | | (2) prevent the agency from discriminatorily denying |
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| 39 | 39 | | this state's rightful status within the federal system; or |
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| 40 | 40 | | (3) protect the health and well-being of this state's |
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| 41 | 41 | | residents; and, be it further |
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| 42 | 42 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an |
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| 43 | 43 | | official copy of this resolution to the Texas attorney general. |
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