THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

57

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

Requesting Hawaii's Congressional Delegation to Support an Amendment to the United States Constitution to Prohibit Judicial Taxation.

 

WHEREAS, under the United States Constitution, states are afforded great discretion in matters relating to public policy issues that directly impact its citizenry; and

WHEREAS, it is the duty of the judicial branch of government to interpret the law, not create law; and

WHEREAS, the use of federal mandates by the federal government raises serious constitutional questions as to whether those mandates are consistent with the enumerated duties of the federal government as set forth in the text of the Constitution; and

WHEREAS, these mandates by way of statute, administrative rule, or judicial decision have required states to act as administrators for various federal programs and initiatives; and

WHEREAS, it would appear that federal courts, based upon dicta in a United States Supreme Court decision, Missouri v. Jenkins, 495 U.S. 33 (1990), have the authority to order states to levy and increase taxes in order to comply with federal mandates; and

WHEREAS, if federal courts were to levy or order tax increases based upon this dicta, this action would appear unconstitutional as the courts would intrude into public policy matters better addressed by the legislature; and

WHEREAS, it is necessary to reaffirm the principle of separation of powers by stating that the authority to tax remains vested in duly elected state officials who were elected by the citizenry of their respective states, thus they alone retain the authority and responsibility in all fiscal matters that impact the State; and

WHEREAS, the lawmakers of the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Guam, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, the Mariana Islands, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming have passed similar resolutions to this effect; and

WHEREAS, an amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting judicial taxation was previously introduced in Congress to prevent the federal courts from levying or increasing taxes without the popular consent of the State and its citizenry; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the House of Representatives concurring, that it respectfully requests the members of Hawaii's congressional delegation to introduce legislation proposing a constitutional amendment to outlaw judicial taxation or to support similar legislation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that any proposed constitutional amendment include the following language: "Neither the Supreme Court nor any inferior court of the United States shall have the power to instruct or order a state or political subdivision thereof, or an official of such a state or political subdivision, to levy or increase taxes"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, United States Senator Daniel K. Inouye, United States Senator Daniel K. Akaka, United States Representative Neil Abercrombie, and United States Representative Ed Case.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Requesting a Constitutional amendment to prohibit judicial taxation.