Florida Senate - 2011                                   SCR 1558
       
       
       
       By Senator Benacquisto
       
       
       
       
       27-00502A-11                                          20111558__
    1                    Senate Concurrent Resolution                   
    2         A concurrent resolution calling for the Congress of
    3         the United States to call a convention pursuant to
    4         Article V of the United States Constitution to propose
    5         a constitutional amendment permitting repeal of any
    6         federal law or regulation by vote of two-thirds of the
    7         state legislatures.
    8  
    9         WHEREAS, Article I of the United States Constitution begins
   10  “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a
   11  Congress,” and
   12         WHEREAS, the Congress has exceeded the legislative powers
   13  granted in the Constitution thereby encroaching on the powers
   14  that are “reserved to the states respectively, or to the people”
   15  as the Tenth Amendment affirms and the rights “retained by the
   16  people” to which the Ninth Amendment refers, and
   17         WHEREAS, this encroachment includes the accumulation of
   18  federal debt, which combined with interest represents a future
   19  tax, and is of such great proportion that responsibility for its
   20  payment will be passed to future, unborn generations of
   21  Americans to assume without their consent, thereby disparaging
   22  their rights, and
   23         WHEREAS, this encroachment also includes compelling state
   24  and local governments to comply with federal laws and
   25  regulations without accompanying funding for such mandates, and
   26         WHEREAS, in Federalist No. 85, Alexander Hamilton wrote in
   27  reference to Article V of the Constitution and the calling of a
   28  convention for the purpose of proposing amendments that, “We may
   29  safely rely on the disposition of the State legislatures to
   30  erect barriers against the encroachments of the national
   31  authority,” and
   32         WHEREAS, the Constitution should be amended in order to
   33  halt federal encroachment and restore a proper balance between
   34  the powers of Congress and those of the several states, and to
   35  prevent the denial or disparagement of the rights retained by
   36  the people, NOW, THEREFORE,
   37  
   38  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida, the House
   39  of Representatives Concurring:
   40  
   41         That the State of Florida hereby applies and makes
   42  application to the Congress of the United States to call a
   43  convention pursuant to Article V of the United States
   44  Constitution for the limited purpose of proposing a
   45  constitutional amendment that permits the repeal of any federal
   46  law or regulation by vote of two-thirds of the state
   47  legislatures, and the Florida delegation to such convention,
   48  when called, shall propose the following amendment: “Any
   49  provision of law or regulation of the United States may be
   50  repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be
   51  effective when the legislatures of two-thirds of the several
   52  states approve resolutions for this purpose that particularly
   53  describe the same provision or provisions of law or regulation
   54  to be repealed,” and
   55         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this resolution is revoked and
   56  withdrawn, nullified, and superseded to the same effect as if it
   57  had never been passed, and retroactive to the date of passage,
   58  if it is used for the purpose of calling a convention or used in
   59  support of conducting a convention to amend the Constitution of
   60  the United States for any purpose other than consideration of
   61  the amendment proposed in this resolution, and
   62         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State of Florida reserves
   63  its right to add future amendments as the Legislature deems
   64  warranted to this application, and
   65         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that delegates to such convention,
   66  when called, be selected according to procedures established by
   67  the legislatures of the several states, and
   68         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of the
   69  foregoing resolution be immediately forwarded by the Secretary
   70  of State of the State of Florida, under the great seal, to the
   71  President of the United States, the Secretary of State of the
   72  United States, the President of the Senate of the United States,
   73  the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United
   74  States, and the Administrator of General Services of the United
   75  States, and to each member of the Florida delegation to the
   76  United States Congress so that they may be apprised of the sense
   77  of the Florida Legislature in this matter.