Bill Text: HI SCR131 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Requesting Congress To Convene A Limited National Convention Under Article V Of The United States Constitution For The Exclusive Purpose Of Proposing An Amendment To The United States Constitution That Will Limit The Influence Of Money In The Electoral Process.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-04-03 - Referred to JUD, FIN, referral sheet 49 [SCR131 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SCR131-Introduced.html

THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

131

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting congress to convene a limited national convention under article v OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the united states constitution that will limit the influence of money in the electoral process.

 

 


     WHEREAS, the framers of the Constitution of the United States of America intended that the United States Congress should be "dependent on the people alone" (James Madison, The Federalist No. 52); and

 

     WHEREAS, many reasonable persons perceive that the intended dependency on people alone has evolved into dependency on powerful moneyed interests, through campaigns or third-party groups, and that a fundamental imbalance in our representative democracy now exists; and

 

     WHEREAS, many Americans agree that elections in the United States of America should be free from the disproportionate influence of powerful moneyed interests and fair enough that any citizen can be elected into office; and

 

     WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution requires Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments to the federal Constitution on the application of two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states; and

 

     WHEREAS, article I, section 1, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii states, "All political power of this State is inherent in the people and the responsibility for the exercise thereof rests with the people.  All government is founded on this authority."; and

 

     WHEREAS, this body understands that a limited Article V convention may be successful in restoring balance and integrity to the elections process by proposing an amendment to the federal Constitution that will permanently protect free and fair elections in America by addressing, inter alia, issues raised by the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), and related cases and events, and desires that the convention should be so limited; and

 

     WHEREAS, as delegates to the national convention will need to be selected by a process to be determined, this body desires that the selection process require that the delegates to said convention be comprised equally of individuals elected or appointed to state or county office and of individuals not holding elective or appointed office; provided that all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited from serving as delegates to the convention, as the State intends to retain the ability to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the limits expressed herein; and

 

     WHEREAS, this body intends that this measure be a continuing application considered together with applications calling for a convention passed in the 2013-2014 Vermont Legislature as Joint Senate Resolution No. 27, the 2013-2014 California Legislature as Assembly Joint Resolution No. 1, the 98th Illinois General Assembly as Senate Joint Resolution 42, the 2014-2015 New Jersey Legislature as Senate Concurrent Resolution 132, the 2015-2016 Rhode Island Legislature as House Resolution 7670 and Senate Resolution 2589, and other past, pending, and future applications until such time as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose and the national convention is convened by Congress; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to call a convention for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America that will limit the influence of money in our electoral process, by overturning the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission and related cases, as soon as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this application is for an Article V convention and does not grant Congress the authority to call a convention for any purpose other than for the sole purpose set forth in this measure, as soon as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body requests the cooperation of the states in issuing an application compelling Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States in his capacity as presiding officer of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, each Senator and Representative from Hawaii in the United States Congress, with the respectful request that the full and complete text of this Concurrent Resolution be printed in the Congressional Record, and to the presiding officers of each legislative body of each of the several states.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Article V National Convention; Campaign Finance Constitutional Amendment; Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission

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