HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 44

(By Delegates J. Miller, Anderson, Andes, Ashley, Cowles, Duke, Ellem, 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 Constitutional Amendments on Certain Subjects.

    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 constitutional amendments on the following subjects:

    (a) Improving the fiscal management of the federal government by imposing requirements, with any stated exceptions, that federal expenditures during a fixed time period not exceed federal revenues or anticipated revenues during that time period; imposing prohibitions and limits, or both prohibitions and limits on federal debt; and imposing limits on expenditures, revenue and taxes, or on expenditures, revenue or taxes;

    (b) Improving the legislative process by requiring that all bills, orders, votes, and resolutions introduced in and passed by Congress contain only a single subject and by providing a minimum time period before passage for bills, orders, votes and resolutions to be reviewed by members of Congress and members of the general public;

    (c) Restraining the powers of the federal government by clarifying that the Constitution does not authorize Congress to employ its spending power to regulate activities otherwise outside its enumerated powers and prohibiting mandates or requirements on any state, subdivision of any state, or any official thereof, unless the federal government fully funds the cost of compliance; and

    (d) Empowering the legislatures of the several states, with stated exceptions, to repeal all or certain Acts of Congress and administrative regulations; 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. This a is a continuing application and remains in effect until rescission by any sitting session of the Legislature of West Virginia; 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.