THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

76

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING CONGRESS TO CONVENE A LIMITED NATIONAL CONVENTION UNDER ARTICLE V FOR THE EXCLUSIVE PURPOSE OF PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION THAT WILL LIMIT THE INFLUENCE OF MONEY IN OUR ELECTORAL PROCESS.

 

 


     WHEREAS, the framers of the Constitution of the United States of America intended that the Congress of the United States of America should be "dependent on the people alone" (James Madison, Federalist 52); and

 

     WHEREAS, many reasonable persons perceive that that dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone to a dependency on powerful monied interests, through campaigns or third-party groups, and that a fundamental imbalance in our representative democracy now exists; and

 

     WHEREAS, many Americans agree that elections in the United States of America should be free from the disproportional influence of powerful monied interests and fair enough that any citizen can be elected into office; and

 

     WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution requires Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments to the federal Constitution on the application of two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states; and

 

     WHEREAS, Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii states that all political power "is inherent in the people and the responsibility for the exercise thereof rests with the people. All government is founded on this authority"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Legislature understands that a limited Article V convention may be successful in restoring balance and integrity to our elections by proposing an amendment to the federal Constitution that will permanently protect free and fair elections in America by addressing, inter alia, issues raised by the decisions of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 130 S.Ct. 876 (2010), and related cases and events, and desires that said convention should be so limited; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii desires that the delegates to said convention shall be comprised equally of individuals currently elected to State and county office, or be selected by election, in each Congressional district for the purpose of serving as delegates, provided that all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited from serving as delegates to the convention, as the State intends to retain the ability to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the limits expressed herein; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii intends that this be a continuing application considered together with applications calling for a convention passed in the 2013-2014 Vermont Legislature as R-454; the 2013-2014 California Legislature as Concurrent Resolution No.1, Chapter 77; the 98th Illinois General Assembly as SJR 42; the 2014-2015 New Jersey Legislature as SCR 132; the 2015-2016 Rhode Island Legislature as HR 7670 and SR 2589; and all other passed, pending, and future applications until such time as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose and said convention is convened by Congress; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the House of Representatives concurring, that this body hereby requests the United States Congress to call a convention as soon as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America whose purpose will be to limit the influence of money in our electoral process, by rendering moot the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission and related cases; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this application is for an Article V convention and does not grant Congress the authority to call a convention for any purpose other than for the sole purpose set forth in this resolution, as soon as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States in the Vice President's capacity as presiding officer of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, members of Hawaii's congressional delegation with the respectful request that the full and complete text of this Concurrent Resolution be printed in the Congressional Record, and the presiding officers of each legislative body of each of the several states, requesting the cooperation of the states in issuing an application compelling Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments pursuant to Article V of the U.S. Constitution.

Report Title: 

Requesting Congress to convene a limited national convention for the purpose of amending the United States Constitution.