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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the |
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United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the |
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United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the |
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States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people"; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of |
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federal power as being that specifically granted by the |
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Constitution of the United States and no more; and |
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WHEREAS, The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment |
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means that the federal government was created by the states |
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specifically to be an agent of the states; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated |
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as agents of the federal government; and |
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WHEREAS, Many federal laws are directly in violation of the |
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Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and |
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WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of |
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the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union |
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of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal |
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government may not usurp; and |
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WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution says, |
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"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a |
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Republican Form of Government," and the Ninth Amendment states that |
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"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not |
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be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people"; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New |
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York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that congress may not |
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simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the |
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states; and |
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WHEREAS, A number of proposals from previous administrations |
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and some now pending from the present administration and from |
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congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the |
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Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise |
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enumerated and granted to the federal government by the |
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Constitution of the United States; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That this serve as notice and demand to the federal |
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government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective |
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immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these |
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constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation that |
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directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal |
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penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation |
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or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the |
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senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the |
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Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this |
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resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |