Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR123 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.C.R. No. 123
	1	+	89R21149 KSM-D
	2	+	By: Lowe H.C.R. No. 123
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6		-	~~HOUSE~~ CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	7	+	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
7	8		WHEREAS, July 4, 2026, will mark the 250th anniversary of the
8	9		adoption of the American Declaration of Independence by the Second
9	10		Continental Congress, which was convened in Philadelphia in 1776;
10	11		and
11	12		WHEREAS, Beginning in the 1760s, Great Britain's taxation and
12	13		frontier policies became increasingly onerous to residents of its
13	14		13 North American colonies; their vigorous protests were met with
14	15		declaration of martial law in Massachusetts and the closing of the
15	16		port of Boston; delegates from colonial governments met in a
16	17		Continental Congress to organize a boycott of British goods; as
17	18		fighting broke out between colonists and British troops in
18	19		Massachusetts, the Continental Congress coordinated resistance
19	20		efforts; and
20	21		WHEREAS, The prospect of reconciliation with Britain grew
21	22		increasingly unlikely; on December 22, 1775, the British Parliament
22	23		prohibited trade with the colonies, and the Continental Congress
23	24		responded the following April by opening colonial ports; Thomas
24	25		Paine championed the cause of independence in a widely-distributed
25	26		pamphlet, Common Sense, and on June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee
26	27		introduced a motion in the Continental Congress to declare
27	28		independence; although not all members were ready to make this
28	29		break, the Continental Congress formed a committee to write such a
29	30		declaration, composed of five delegates: Thomas Jefferson, John
30	31		Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, and Benjamin Franklin; and
31	32		WHEREAS, Mr. Jefferson, a junior delegate from Virginia, was
32	33		assigned to write the initial draft; drawing on George Mason's
33	34		Virginia Declaration of Rights, as well as Mr. Jefferson's own
34	35		drafts of the Virginia Constitution and Summary View of the Rights
35	36		of British Americans, Mr. Jefferson produced a rough draft in a
36	37		matter of days; Mr. Adams and Mr. Franklin made revisions, followed
37	38		by the full committee, which then presented the final version to the
38	39		full Continental Congress on June 28; and
39	40		WHEREAS, After voting for independence on July 2, 1776, the
40	41		Continental Congress made 39 additional revisions to the committee
41	42		draft; on the morning of July 4, the Declaration of Independence was
42	43		adopted, a defining moment in the American Revolution; and
43	44		WHEREAS, The Declaration of Independence consists of 27
44	45		grievances against England's King George III in which the colonists
45	46		outline the complaints that "impel them to the separation" from the
46	47		"mother country"; among the most familiar and enduring protests has
47	48		been against the oft-repeated "taxation without representation"--a
48	49		refrain that continues in use today in various contexts; and
49	50		WHEREAS, Additionally, the Declaration of Independence
50	51		asserts "Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" to which a people are
51	52		"entitle[d]," including the belief that "all men are created equal,
52	53		that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
53	54		Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
54	55		Happiness"; and
55	56		WHEREAS, The Declaration of Independence provided a firm and
56	57		enduring foundation for our liberty, and over the course of nearly
57	58		two and a half centuries, this pivotal document has been a source of
58	59		inspiration to people the world over; now, therefore, be it
59	60		RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas
60	61		hereby commemorate the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the
61	62		Declaration of Independence, which founded the United States of
62	63		America on July 4, 1776.
63		-	Lowe
64		-	Swanson
65		-	______________________________ ______________________________
66		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
67		-	I certify that H.C.R. No. 123 was adopted by the House on
68		-	April 9, 2025, by a non-record vote.
69		-	______________________________
70		-	Chief Clerk of the House
71		-	I certify that H.C.R. No. 123 was adopted by the Senate on
72		-	April 15, 2025, by a viva-voce vote.
73		-	______________________________
74		-	Secretary of the Senate
75		-	APPROVED: __________________
76		-	Date
77		-	__________________
78		-	Governor