HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

53

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO CONVENE A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION TO PROPOSE A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO OVERTURN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT'S DECISION IN CITIZENS UNITED V. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the first president of the United States, George Washington, stated, "[t]he basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government"; and

 

     WHEREAS, it was the intention of the framers of the Constitution of the United States (Constitution), as stated by James Madison in the Federalist Papers, that the Congress of the United States (Congress) should be "dependent on the people alone"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the dependency on the people alone has evolved into a dependency on those who spend excessively in elections, through political campaigns or third-party groups; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) (Citizens United) removed restrictions on amounts of independent political spending; and

 

     WHEREAS, the removal of those restrictions resulted in the unjust influence of powerful economic forces, which has supplanted the will of the people by undermining the people's ability to choose their political leadership, write their own laws, and determine the fate of their state; and

 

     WHEREAS, Article V of the Constitution requires Congress to convene a constitutional convention upon application of two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution; now, therefore

 

     BE IT RESOLVED pursuant to Article V of the Constitution, the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the Senate concurring, requests Congress convene a constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United and related cases and events and to eliminate the corrupting influence of money with the reasonable regulation of the money spent to influence American elections; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the constitutional convention shall consider: whether expenditures on candidate elections constitute "speech" that is protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution; whether independent expenditures on candidate elections "corrupt" the democratic process; and whether the regulation of expenditures on candidate elections advances the public's interest to prevent "corruption" and protect the democratic process; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this continuing application shall be considered together with the 2013-2014 Vermont legislature's  Resolution No. 454, the 2013-2014 California legislature's Assembly Joint Resolution No. 1, the 2013-2014 Illinois legislature's Senate Joint Resolution No. 42, the 2014-2015 New Jersey State legislature's Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 132, and all other past, pending, and future applications for a constitutional convention until at least two-thirds of the several states have applied for and Congress has convened a constitutional convention; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this application for a constitutional convention is limited to the purposes set forth in this Concurrent Resolution; and this application does not grant Congress the authority to convene a constitutional convention for any other purpose; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the delegates to the constitutional convention shall be comprised of individuals who are currently elected to state and local office or individuals who are elected as delegates from each congressional district; and provided that all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, shall not serve as delegates to the convention; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature retains its authority to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the limits expressed above; and the delegates shall have no discretion beyond that granted by the Legislature; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Citizens United V. Federal Election Commission; Corporate Campaign Spending; Federal Constitutional Amendment