PRINTER'S NO. 3324
No. 402 Session of 1998
INTRODUCED BY FLICK, ARMSTRONG, BARRAR, SAYLOR, ORIE, WOGAN, CLARK, NAILOR, MARSICO, EGOLF, KIRKLAND, HANNA, CORRIGAN, PISTELLA, HERSHEY, GEIST, FARGO, ZUG, READSHAW, HENNESSEY, STEVENSON, WILT, YOUNGBLOOD AND SEYFERT, MARCH 31, 1998
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, MARCH 31, 1998
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1 Declaring the sovereignty of the states and of the people, and 2 proposing principles by which the sovereignty of the states 3 and of the people may be restored to their intention under 4 the Constitution of the United States. 5 WHEREAS, More than two centuries ago, the sovereign states of 6 this nation, representing the sovereign people did, of their own 7 volition, ratify the Constitution of the United States and in so 8 doing, established the Federal Government to perform certain 9 limited and enumerated functions; under the Tenth Amendment of 10 the Constitution of the United States, the powers not delegated 11 to the Federal Government were "reserved to the States 12 respectively, or to the people"; and 13 WHEREAS, Throughout the history of the United States, and 14 especially in recent decades, the Federal Government has, 15 without right, blatantly disregarded state sovereignty by 16 arrogating unto itself powers that were to have been reserved to 17 the states and to the people, namely:
1 (1) It has conscripted states and their subordinate 2 levels of government to implement its programs through 3 Federal mandates, funded and unfunded. 4 (2) It has requisitioned officers of states and their 5 subordinate levels of government to perform duties on its 6 behalf, bypassing state constitutional and legislative 7 processes. 8 (3) It has, as a result of expanding power, imprudently 9 increased spending, increased taxation and increased 10 regulation, which have, in consequence, reduced economic 11 growth by unnecessarily discouraging investment and job 12 creation. 13 (4) It has, through deficit spending and other actions, 14 created massive Federal obligations that threaten the living 15 standards of the people, the solvency of the states and the 16 future of generations yet unborn. 17 (5) It has, by centralizing power in Washington, D.C., 18 created a "democratic deficit," a condition under which the 19 Federal Government has assumed control over functions of 20 government that should have been reserved to state and local 21 governments, making effective control of government more 22 difficult for the people. 23 (6) It has, through unwarranted judicial intervention, 24 interposed itself between the states and the people on 25 matters not of Federal jurisdiction. 26 (7) It has, through imprudent judicial review, 27 systematically expanded the power of Congress and the 28 Executive by usurping powers that were not intended under the 29 Constitution of the United States. 30 (8) It has evaded the restraints of the nation's 19980H0402R3324 - 2 -
1 fundamental law, the Constitution of the United States, and 2 has in so doing engaged in the imposition of arbitrary laws, 3 administrative actions and judicial decisions; 4 and 5 WHEREAS, Through these actions, the Federal Government has 6 usurped the sovereignty of the states and, through these 7 actions, the Federal Government has usurped the sovereignty of 8 the people; and 9 WHEREAS, The Federal Government cannot, on its own volition, 10 legitimately diminish the sovereignty of the states and of the 11 people under the Constitution of the United States, the 12 fundamental law of the nation which may only be altered in the 13 manners prescribed by that fundamental law; and 14 WHEREAS, The policy failures that have accompanied expanded 15 central authority provide, in themselves, powerful testimony to 16 the importance of limiting the Federal Government to those 17 powers enumerated in the Constitution of the United States; to 18 correct these failures and to secure a more favorable future for 19 the nation, it is necessary that the powers expropriated by the 20 Federal Government be returned to the states and to the people; 21 and 22 WHEREAS, The following principles are necessary to the 23 restoration of the sovereignty of the states and of the people, 24 as required under the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution of the 25 United States: 26 (1) The Federal Government should be restored to the 27 role assigned to it under the Constitution of the United 28 States. The powers usurped from the states and from the 29 people by the Federal Government should be returned in an 30 expeditious and orderly manner. Mechanisms exist for 19980H0402R3324 - 3 -
1 interstate cooperation where necessary, such as interstate 2 compacts, voluntary uniform standards and amendments to the 3 Constitution of the United States. 4 (2) Constitutional clauses that have been the source of 5 illegitimate Federal expansion should be restored to their 6 original meaning. Federal expansion has often been based upon 7 unreasonably permissive interpretations of enumerated powers 8 under the Constitution of the United States, especially the 9 "commerce" clause. 10 (3) The Federal Government should not impose mandates, 11 unfunded or funded, on the states or on their subordinate 12 governments. The Constitution of the United States delineates 13 Federal responsibilities and reserves all other 14 responsibilities to the states or to the people. Federal 15 mandates on state or local governments are unnecessary and 16 inappropriate. 17 (4) The Federal Government should be the exclusive 18 financier of its programs. By partially funding Federal 19 programs, such as through matching grants, the Federal 20 Government distorts the priorities of state and local 21 governments and establishes a democratic deficit that 22 virtually disenfranchises state and local voters. The Federal 23 Government has a legal obligation to fully fund its programs 24 and should neither require nor entice state or local 25 governments to participate in the funding of Federal 26 programs. 27 (5) All Federal Government relationships with local 28 governments should be through the states. All governments in 29 the United States are the creation of the states, which are 30 the creation of the people. One government, the Federal 19980H0402R3324 - 4 -
1 Government, was created in concert by the states. All other 2 governments are the creation of and subordinate to the states 3 respectively. Direct Federal Government-local government 4 relationships are inappropriate, except to the extent 5 specifically authorized by the constitution or laws of a 6 particular state. 7 (6) The Federal government should not assign Federal 8 responsibilities to officers of state or local governments. 9 Various Federal laws designate state or local government 10 officers to perform Federal functions. The Federal Government 11 should enlist state officers or departments to assist it in 12 the performance of its duties only when specifically 13 authorized by the constitution or laws of a particular state. 14 (7) The Federal Government's treaty-making power should 15 be limited to powers that are clearly within the Federal 16 scope of responsibility. The states have delegated treaty- 17 making powers only with respect to those areas of authority 18 that have been delegated to the Federal Government. 19 (8) Congress should not act to displace state and local 20 police power, and the courts should not permit such 21 displacement, except where the Constitution authorizes. 22 Congress has preempted entire areas of regulation that have 23 traditionally been matters of state and local police power. 24 In addition, the Federal courts have improperly condoned 25 these congressional assaults on local governance, under the 26 doctrine of implied preemption, the so-called "dormant" 27 commerce clause and other constitutional provisions. 28 (9) A Constitutional mechanism should be established 29 that would give the states a direct and dispositive role in 30 protecting their sovereign powers against unwarranted 19980H0402R3324 - 5 -
1 encroachments pursuant to Federal statutes and regulations. 2 The Supreme Court of the United States, itself an organ of 3 the Federal Government, has forsaken the constitutional 4 principles of limited Federal power and state sovereignty. 5 Therefore, a constitutional amendment should be proposed by 6 Congress and ratified by the states whereby a provision of 7 Federal law may be repealed upon the adoption by two-thirds 8 of the states during any five-year period of a "Resolution of 9 Disapproval"; 10 and 11 WHEREAS, In support of these principles, we commit ourselves 12 to the pursuit of such remedies as may be necessary to restore 13 the sovereignty of the states and of the people, by: 14 (1) Legal actions to challenge the illegitimate exercise 15 of Federal power. 16 (2) Repeals of laws by which Federal power has been 17 illegitimately expanded. 18 (3) Constitutional amendments to curtail unwarranted 19 Federal power. 20 (4) Such other actions as may be appropriate; 21 therefor be it 22 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly 23 do hereby reaffirm the sovereignty of the states and of the 24 people of the United States; and be it further 25 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 26 the presiding officers of each house of Congress, to each member 27 of Congress from Pennsylvania, to the Secretary of the United 28 States Senate, to the Chief Clerk of the United States House of 29 Representatives, to the presiding officers of each legislative 30 house of each of the other states in the nation and to members 19980H0402R3324 - 6 -
1 of the communications media. I18L82JAM/19980H0402R3324 - 7 -