Florida Senate - 2011 CS for SCR 4
By the Committee on Budget; and Senator Haridopolos
576-05027-11 20114c1
1 Senate Concurrent Resolution
2 A concurrent resolution urging Congress to call a
3 convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to
4 the Constitution of the United States to achieve and
5 maintain a balanced federal budget.
6
7 WHEREAS, fiscal discipline and economic integrity have been
8 core principles of American governance, and
9 WHEREAS, the American people have historically demanded the
10 same prudent, responsible, and intellectually honest financial
11 behavior from their elected representatives as ultimately
12 compels individual behavior, and
13 WHEREAS, it is the firm conviction of the Legislature of
14 the State of Florida that it is wrong to fund the prosperity of
15 the present generation by robbing future Americans of their own,
16 and
17 WHEREAS, mortgaging the birthright of our children and
18 grandchildren is a dangerous departure from traditional American
19 values which threatens to permanently undermine the strength of
20 our nation, and
21 WHEREAS, in the 8 months between May 1, 2010, and December
22 31, 2010, the national debt grew by more than $1 trillion, and
23 as of April 1, 2011, the total public debt outstanding for the
24 United States was $14,251,174,516,308, and
25 WHEREAS, Congress has voted to raise the debt limit 10
26 times since 2001, and the United States Secretary of the
27 Treasury has called on the Congress to immediately consider
28 voting to raise it again, and
29 WHEREAS, our debt is owed increasingly to the governments
30 of foreign nations, not to the citizens of the United States;
31 therefore, our wealth is transferred to others and will not be
32 available to supply the means for America’s future growth and
33 prosperity, and
34 WHEREAS, this generation will bequeath to its children one
35 of the world’s most indebted industrial democracies, and
36 WHEREAS, high federal deficits cause increasingly high
37 payments for debt interest in the future, make future borrowing
38 more costly, reduce investment activity, and thus reduce the
39 size of the future economy, and
40 WHEREAS, the people of Florida recognized the wisdom of
41 fiscal discipline and enshrined in its State Constitution the
42 requirement for a balanced budget to place a prudent limit on
43 the tendencies of government, and
44 WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature has made fiscally
45 responsible decisions, maintaining a balanced budget and saving
46 the citizens of this state from crippling deficits, massive debt
47 burdens, and bankruptcy, and
48 WHEREAS, we the Legislature of the State of Florida call
49 for the Constitution of the United States to be amended to
50 require the Federal Government to operate with fiscal
51 responsibility, common sense, and within the revenues granted to
52 it by the people, and
53 WHEREAS, the Federal Government has for too long relied on
54 revenue increases and borrowing against our future, rather than
55 on prudent spending decisions within the limits of current
56 revenues, and
57 WHEREAS, lasting resolution of this nation’s budget deficit
58 will be achieved only by addressing the spending habits of our
59 Federal Government, not by increasing the tax burden under which
60 our citizens already labor, and
61 WHEREAS, Article V of the Constitution of the United States
62 makes provision for amending the Constitution on the application
63 of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, calling
64 a convention for proposing amendments that shall be valid to all
65 intents and purposes if ratified by the legislatures of three
66 fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three
67 fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification
68 may be proposed by Congress, NOW, THEREFORE,
69
70 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida, the House
71 of Representatives Concurring:
72
73 That the Legislature of the State of Florida, with all due
74 respect and great reluctance, does hereby make application to
75 the Congress of the United States pursuant to Article V of the
76 Constitution of the United States to call a convention for the
77 sole purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of
78 the United States to achieve and maintain a balanced budget by,
79 among other things:
80 (1) Requiring that total outlays not exceed total receipts
81 for any fiscal year;
82 (2) Requiring the setting of a fiscal year total outlay
83 limit;
84 (3) Prohibiting increases in taxes or other revenue
85 sources;
86 (4) Providing that, for reasons other than war or military
87 conflict, the limits of this amendment may be waived by law for
88 any fiscal year if approved by at least two-thirds of both
89 houses of Congress;
90 (5) Allowing for provisions of the amendment to take effect
91 within specified time periods;
92 (6) Providing for the waiver of the provisions of the
93 amendment for any fiscal year in which a declaration of war is
94 in effect or the United States is engaged in military conflict
95 that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national
96 security; and
97 (7) Allowing for congressional enforcement.
98 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this concurrent resolution
99 supersedes all previous memorials and concurrent resolutions
100 applying to the Congress of the United States to call a
101 convention for the purpose of proposing a balanced budget
102 amendment to the Constitution of the United States, including
103 Senate Memorial 234 and House Memorial 2801, both passed in
104 1976, and were superseded, revoked, and withdrawn in 1988 by
105 Senate Memorial 302, and Senate Concurrent Resolution 10, passed
106 in 2010, and that such previous memorials and resolutions are
107 hereby revoked and withdrawn, nullified, and superseded to the
108 same effect as if they had never been passed.
109 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this concurrent resolution is
110 revoked and withdrawn, nullified, and superseded to the same
111 effect as if it had never been passed, and retroactive to the
112 date of passage, if it is used for the purpose of calling a
113 convention or used in support of conducting a convention to
114 amend the Constitution of the United States for any purpose
115 other than requiring a balanced federal budget.
116 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this concurrent
117 resolution be dispatched to the President of the United States
118 Senate, to the Speaker of the United States House of
119 Representatives, to each member of the Florida delegation to the
120 United States Congress, and to the presiding officers of each
121 house of the several state legislatures.