Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB313 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R3527 TJB-F
2	2	By: Hall S.B. No. 313
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Texas Sovereignty Act.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. (a) This Act may be cited as the Texas
10	10	Sovereignty Act.
11	11	(b) The legislature finds that:
12	12	(1) The people of the several states forming the
13	13	United States of America created the federal government to be their
14	14	agent for certain enumerated powers delegated by the states and the
15	15	people to the federal government through the United States
16	16	Constitution.
17	17	(2) The Tenth Amendment to the United States
18	18	Constitution confirms the intent and understanding of the people of
19	19	the United States that all powers not delegated to the United States
20	20	by the Constitution, or prohibited by it to the states, are reserved
21	21	to the states respectively, or to the people.
22	22	(3) Each power delegated to the federal government by
23	23	the United States Constitution is constitutionally limited to that
24	24	power as it was understood and exercised at the time it was
25	25	delegated. An amendment to the Constitution as ratified by the
26	26	states is required to expand or limit a constitutionally delegated
27	27	power.
28	28	(4) The United States Constitution authorizes the
29	29	United States Congress to exercise only those specific powers
30	30	enumerated in Section 8, Article I, United States Constitution, and
31	31	those other powers as may be delegated to Congress through
32	32	amendments to the Constitution as ratified by the states.
33	33	(5) Article VI, United States Constitution, makes
34	34	supreme the Constitution and federal laws enacted pursuant to the
35	35	Constitution, further requiring that public officials at all levels
36	36	and in all branches of government support the Constitution.
37	37	(6) The power delegated to the United States Congress
38	38	to regulate commerce among the several states under Section 8,
39	39	Article I, United States Constitution, is limited to federal
40	40	regulation of actual commerce between the states and among foreign
41	41	nations. Regulation of intrastate commerce is reserved to the
42	42	states and to the people of the states. The Commerce Clause of the
43	43	Constitution constrains the legislative, executive, and judicial
44	44	branches of the federal government.
45	45	(7) The power delegated to the United States Congress
46	46	to make all necessary and proper federal laws under Section 8,
47	47	Article I, United States Constitution, allows Congress to enact
48	48	only those laws necessary and proper to execute the
49	49	constitutionally delegated powers vested in the federal
50	50	government, all other powers being reserved to the states and to the
51	51	people of the states.
52	52	(8) The power delegated to the United States Congress
53	53	to provide for the general welfare of the United States under
54	54	Section 8, Article I, United States Constitution, in the General
55	55	Welfare Clause constitutionally constrains Congress when
56	56	exercising a delegated power to act in a manner that serves the
57	57	states and the people of the states well and uniformly.
58	58	(9) Sections 1 and 2, Article I, Texas Constitution,
59	59	provide that this state and the people of this state retain the
60	60	sovereign power to regulate the affairs of Texas, subject only to
61	61	the United States Constitution.
62	62	(c) The federal government does not have the power to take
63	63	any legislative, executive, or judicial action that violates the
64	64	United States Constitution.
65	65	(d) The contract with the State of Texas has been willfully
66	66	violated by the federal government and must be constitutionally
67	67	restored.
68	68	(e) This Act calls on all officials in federal, state, and
69	69	local government, in all branches and at all levels, to honor their
70	70	oaths to preserve, protect, and defend the United States
71	71	Constitution and its ratified amendments against any federal action
72	72	that:
73	73	(1) would unconstitutionally undermine, diminish, or
74	74	disregard the balance of powers between the sovereign states and
75	75	the federal government established by the United States
76	76	Constitution and its ratified amendments; or
77	77	(2) is outside the scope of the power delegated to the
78	78	federal government by the United States Constitution.
79	79	SECTION 2. Subtitle Z, Title 3, Government Code, is amended
80	80	by adding Chapter 394 to read as follows:
81	81	CHAPTER 394. ENFORCEMENT OF UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
82	82	Sec. 394.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
83	83	(1) "Committee" means the Joint Legislative Committee
84	84	on Constitutional Enforcement.
85	85	(2) "Federal action" includes:
86	86	(A) a federal law;
87	87	(B) a federal agency rule, policy, or standard;
88	88	(C) an executive order of the president of the
89	89	United States;
90	90	(D) an order or decision of a federal court; and
91	91	(E) the making or enforcing of a treaty.
92	92	(3) "Unconstitutional federal action" means a federal
93	93	action enacted, adopted, or implemented without authority
94	94	specifically delegated to the federal government by the people and
95	95	the states through the United States Constitution.
96	96	Sec. 394.002. JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON
97	97	CONSTITUTIONAL ENFORCEMENT. (a) The Joint Legislative Committee
98	98	on Constitutional Enforcement is established as a permanent joint
99	99	committee of the legislature. The committee is established to
100	100	review federal actions that challenge the sovereignty of the state
101	101	and of the people for the purpose of determining if the federal
102	102	action is unconstitutional.
103	103	(b) The committee consists of the following 12 members:
104	104	(1) six members of the house of representatives
105	105	appointed by the speaker of the house; and
106	106	(2) six members of the senate appointed by the
107	107	lieutenant governor.
108	108	(c) Not more than four house members of the committee may be
109	109	members of the same political party. Not more than four senate
110	110	members of the committee may be members of the same political party.
111	111	(d) Members of the committee serve two-year terms beginning
112	112	with the convening of each regular legislative session.
113	113	(e) If a vacancy occurs on the committee, the appropriate
114	114	appointing officer shall appoint a member of the house or senate, as
115	115	appropriate, to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
116	116	(f) The speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor
117	117	shall each designate one member of the committee as a joint chair of
118	118	the committee.
119	119	(g) The committee shall meet at the call of either joint
120	120	chair.
121	121	(h) A majority of the members of the committee constitute a
122	122	quorum.
123	123	Sec. 394.003. COMMITTEE REVIEW OF FEDERAL ACTION. (a) The
124	124	committee may review any federal action to determine whether the
125	125	action is an unconstitutional federal action.
126	126	(b) When reviewing a federal action, the committee shall
127	127	consider the plain reading and reasoning of the text of the United
128	128	States Constitution and the understood definitions at the time of
129	129	the framing and construction of the Constitution by our forefathers
130	130	before making a final declaration of constitutionality, as
131	131	demonstrated by:
132	132	(1) the ratifying debates in the several states;
133	133	(2) the understanding of the leading participants at
134	134	the constitutional convention;
135	135	(3) the understanding of the doctrine in question by
136	136	the constitutions of the several states in existence at the time the
137	137	United States Constitution was adopted;
138	138	(4) the understanding of the United States
139	139	Constitution by the first United States Congress;
140	140	(5) the opinions of the first chief justice of the
141	141	United States Supreme Court;
142	142	(6) the background understanding of the doctrine in
143	143	question under the English Constitution of the time; and
144	144	(7) the statements of support for natural law and
145	145	natural rights by the framers and the philosophers admired by the
146	146	framers.
147	147	(c) Not later than the 180th day after the date the
148	148	committee holds its first public hearing to review a specific
149	149	federal action, the committee shall vote to determine whether the
150	150	action is an unconstitutional federal action.
151	151	(d) The committee may determine that a federal action is an
152	152	unconstitutional federal action by majority vote.
153	153	(e) The committee shall submit each determination that a
154	154	federal action is an unconstitutional federal action to the Supreme
155	155	Court of Texas for review. The Supreme Court of Texas shall review
156	156	the determination and make a written finding as to whether the
157	157	federal action is an unconstitutional federal action. The Supreme
158	158	Court of Texas shall provide the written finding to the committee
159	159	not later than the 30th day after the date the committee's
160	160	determination is submitted to the court.
161	161	Sec. 394.004. LEGISLATIVE DETERMINATION. (a) If the
162	162	supreme court finds under Section 394.003(e) that a federal action
163	163	is an unconstitutional federal action, the committee shall report
164	164	the finding to the house of representatives and to the senate
165	165	during:
166	166	(1) the current session of the legislature if the
167	167	legislature is convened when the supreme court makes the finding;
168	168	or
169	169	(2) the next regular or special session of the
170	170	legislature if the legislature is not convened when the supreme
171	171	court makes the finding.
172	172	(b) Each house of the legislature shall vote on whether the
173	173	federal action is an unconstitutional federal action. If a
174	174	majority of the members of each house determine that the federal
175	175	action is an unconstitutional federal action, the determination
176	176	shall be sent to the governor for approval or disapproval as
177	177	provided by Section 14, Article IV, Texas Constitution, regarding
178	178	bills.
179	179	(c) A federal action is declared by the state to be an
180	180	unconstitutional federal action on the day:
181	181	(1) the governor approves the vote of the legislature
182	182	making the determination; or
183	183	(2) the determination would become law if presented to
184	184	the governor as a bill and not objected to by the governor.
185	185	(d) The secretary of state shall forward official copies of
186	186	the declaration to the president of the United States, to the
187	187	speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the
188	188	Senate of the Congress of the United States, and to all members of
189	189	the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that the
190	190	declaration of unconstitutional federal action be entered in the
191	191	Congressional Record.
192	192	Sec. 394.005. OTHER DETERMINATIONS OF UNCONSTITUTIONAL
193	193	FEDERAL ACTS. (a) This chapter does not limit or alter the
194	194	authority of the governor, the attorney general, a statewide
195	195	elected official, a state or federal court, a judge or justice, a
196	196	state or local appointed or elected official, or the governing body
197	197	of a political subdivision of this state to issue a verbal or
198	198	written opinion determining a federal action to be
199	199	unconstitutional.
200	200	(b) An opinion issued under Subsection (a) may be referred
201	201	to the committee for review under this chapter.
202	202	Sec. 394.006. EFFECT OF DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL FEDERAL
203	203	ACTION. (a) A federal action declared to be an unconstitutional
204	204	federal action under Section 394.004 has no legal effect in this
205	205	state and may not be recognized by this state or a political
206	206	subdivision of this state as having legal effect.
207	207	(b) The state and a political subdivision of the state may
208	208	not spend public money or resources or incur public debt to
209	209	implement or enforce a federal action declared to be an
210	210	unconstitutional federal action.
211	211	(c) A person authorized to enforce the laws of this state
212	212	may enforce those laws, including Section 39.03, Penal Code,
213	213	against a person who attempts to implement or enforce a federal
214	214	action declared to be an unconstitutional federal action.
215	215	(d) This chapter does not prohibit a public officer who has
216	216	taken an oath to defend the United States Constitution from
217	217	interposing to stop acts of the federal government which, in the
218	218	officer's best understanding and judgment, violate the United
219	219	States Constitution.
220	220	(e) Texas officials in federal, state, and local government
221	221	shall honor their oaths to preserve, protect, and defend the United
222	222	States Constitution and shall act to constitutionally defend this
223	223	state and the people of this state.
224	224	Sec. 394.007. AUTHORITY OF ATTORNEY GENERAL. (a) The
225	225	attorney general may defend the state to prevent the implementation
226	226	and enforcement of a federal action declared to be an
227	227	unconstitutional federal action.
228	228	(b) The attorney general may prosecute a person who attempts
229	229	to implement or enforce a federal action declared to be an
230	230	unconstitutional federal action using Section 39.03, Penal Code, or
231	231	another provision of law.
232	232	(c) The attorney general may appear before a grand jury in
233	233	connection with an offense the attorney general is authorized to
234	234	prosecute under Subsection (b).
235	235	(d) The authority to prosecute prescribed by this chapter
236	236	does not affect the authority derived from other law to prosecute
237	237	the same offenses.
238	238	SECTION 3. Chapter 37, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
239	239	amended by adding Section 37.0056 to read as follows:
240	240	Sec. 37.0056. DECLARATIONS RELATING TO UNCONSTITUTIONAL
241	241	ACTS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. (a) In this section, "federal
242	242	action" and "unconstitutional federal action" have the meanings
243	243	assigned by Section 394.001, Government Code.
244	244	(b) Any court in this state has original jurisdiction of a
245	245	proceeding seeking a declaratory judgment that a federal action
246	246	effective in this state is an unconstitutional federal action.
247	247	(c) A person is entitled to declaratory relief if the court
248	248	determines that a federal action is an unconstitutional federal
249	249	action.
250	250	(d) In determining whether to grant declaratory relief to a
251	251	person under this section, a court:
252	252	(1) may not rely solely on the decisions of other
253	253	courts interpreting the United States Constitution; and
254	254	(2) must rely on the plain meaning of the text of the
255	255	United States Constitution and any applicable constitutional
256	256	doctrine as understood by the framers of the constitution.
257	257	(e) Section 37.008 does not apply to relief sought under
258	258	this section.
259	259	SECTION 4. (a) Not later than the 30th day following the
260	260	effective date of this Act:
261	261	(1) the speaker of the house of representatives and
262	262	the lieutenant governor shall appoint the initial members of the
263	263	Joint Legislative Committee on Constitutional Enforcement
264	264	established under Section 394.002, Government Code, as added by
265	265	this Act; and
266	266	(2) the secretary of state shall forward official
267	267	copies of this Act to the president of the United States, to the
268	268	speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the
269	269	Senate of the Congress of the United States, and to all members of
270	270	the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this Act be
271	271	officially entered in the Congressional Record.
272	272	(b) Not later than the 45th day following the effective date
273	273	of this Act, the speaker of the house of representatives and the
274	274	lieutenant governor shall forward official copies of this Act to
275	275	the presiding officers of the legislatures of the several states.
276	276	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
277	277	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
278	278	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
279	279	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
280	280	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.