HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 43

(By Delegates J. Miller, Andes, Cowles, Duke, Ellington, Householder, Howell, C. Miller, O’Neal, Overington, Rowan, Sigler, Sobonya, Storch, Sumner and Walters)

Calling for the Congress of the United States to call an Amendment Convention Pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution for the Limited Purpose to Propose a Constitutional Amendment Permitting Repeal of any federal law or regulation by vote of two-thirds of the State legislatures.

    Whereas, Article I of the United States Constitution begins "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress". The Congress has exceeded the legislative powers granted in the Constitution thereby encroaching on the powers that are "reserved to the states respectively, or to the people" as the Tenth Amendment affirms and the rights "retained by the people" to which the Ninth Amendment refers. This encroachment includes the accumulation of federal debt, which combined with interest represents a future tax, and is of such great proportion that responsibility for its payment will be passed to future, unborn generations of Americans to assume without their consent, thereby disparaging their rights. This encroachment also includes compelling state and local governments to comply with federal laws and regulations without accompanying funding for such mandates; and

    Whereas, Alexander Hamilton wrote, in Federalist No. 85, in reference to Article V of the Constitution and the calling of a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments that, "We may safely rely on the disposition of the state legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority"; and

    Whereas, The Constitution should be amended in order to halt federal encroachment and restore a proper balance between the powers of Congress and those of the several states, and to prevent the denial or disparagement of the rights retained by the people;

therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the State of West Virginia hereby applies and makes application to the Congress of the United States to call an amendment convention pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution for the limited purpose of proposing a constitutional amendment that permits the repeal of any federal law or regulation by vote of two-thirds of the State legislatures, and the West Virginia Delegation to such Convention, when called, shall propose the following amendment: "Any provision of law or regulation of the United States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be effective when the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states approve resolutions for this purpose that particularly describe the same provision or provisions of law or regulation to be repealed;" and, be it

    Further Resolved, That this resolution is revoked and withdrawn, nullified and superseded to the same effect as if it had never been passed, and retroactive to the date of passage, if it is used for the purpose of calling a convention or used in support of conducting a convention to amend the Constitution of the United States for any purpose other than consideration of the amendment proposed in this resolution; and, be it

    Further Resolved, That the State of West Virginia reserves its right to add future amendments as the Legislature considers warranted to this application and that delegates to the convention, when called, be selected according to procedures established by the legislatures of the several states; and, be it

    Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates transmit copies of this resolution to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation so that they may be apprised of the sense of the West Virginia House of Delegates in this matter.