PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 314 PRINTER'S NO. 621
No. 30 Session of 1995
INTRODUCED BY D. W. SNYDER, FLICK, JADLOWIEC, BROWN, CLARK, BATTISTO, STEIL, FARMER, WOGAN, LYNCH, FICHTER, STERN, CONTI, ALLEN, STAIRS, E. Z. TAYLOR, TRUE, ARGALL, GEIST, WAUGH, STISH, CHADWICK, BUNT, FARGO, NYCE, GRUPPO, ZUG, CARONE, PHILLIPS, SATHER, McCALL, ROBERTS, FAIRCHILD, SCHULER, KING, DRUCE, THOMAS, M. N. WRIGHT, HANNA, J. TAYLOR, HENNESSEY, KENNEY, NICKOL AND EGOLF, JANUARY 26, 1995
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, FEBRUARY 6, 1995
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1 Appointing a delegation of the Pennsylvania General Assembly and 2 the Governor and alternates to represent the Commonwealth at 3 a Conference of the States to be convened under the auspices 4 of the Council of State Governments in cooperation with the 5 National Governors' Association and the National Conference 6 of State Legislatures no later than 270 days after at least 7 26 legislatures adopt this resolution without amendment; and 8 imposing duties on the Joint State Government Commission. 9 WHEREAS, The Constitution of the United States established a 10 balanced compound system of governance and through the Tenth 11 Amendment reserved all nondelegated and nonprohibited powers to 12 the states or to the people; and 13 WHEREAS, Over many years, the Federal Government has 14 dramatically expanded the scope of its power and preempted state 15 government authority and increasingly has treated states as 16 administrative subdivisions or as special interest groups, 17 rather than coequal partners; and 18 WHEREAS, The Federal Government has generated massive
1 deficits and continues to mandate programs that state and local 2 government must administer; and 3 WHEREAS, The number of Federal unfunded mandates has grown 4 exponentially during the last 30 years and has profoundly 5 distorted state budgets, thereby handcuffing the ability of 6 state leaders to provide appropriate and needed services to 7 their constituencies; and 8 WHEREAS, Since 1990, the Federal Government has enacted at 9 least 42 major statutes imposing burdensome and expensive 10 regulations and requirements on states and localities, which is 11 nearly equal to all those enacted in the prior two decades 12 combined; and 13 WHEREAS, Persistent, state-led endeavors have consistently 14 failed to generate any substantial reaction or remedy from the 15 Federal Government; and 16 WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly 17 determined that the states must look to the Congress of the 18 United States and related political remedies for protection 19 against Federal encroachments on the reserved powers of the 20 states; and 21 WHEREAS, The Council of State Governments, through its 22 Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, has been a champion of 23 state sovereignty for many years; and 24 WHEREAS, In recent years, states have been the principal 25 agents of government reform, including updating their 26 constitutions, modernizing and restructuring governmental 27 institutions, and, along with local governments, have been the 28 pioneers of government innovation, thus responding to the needs 29 of their citizens; and 30 WHEREAS, The Council of State Governments recognizes a sense 19950H0030R0621 - 2 -
1 of urgency in calling for The Conference of the States, whereby 2 each state government would send a delegation to develop a 3 comprehensive action plan to restore balance in the Federal 4 system; and 5 WHEREAS, The aforementioned experience of The Council of 6 State Governments, in conjunction with its regional structure 7 and groupings of elected and appointed officials from all three 8 branches of state government, reflects an entity ideally suited 9 to promote and facilitate such a conference; and 10 WHEREAS, The Conference of the States will communicate broad 11 bipartisan public concern on the extent to which the American 12 political system has been distorted and provide a formal forum 13 for state governments to collectively propose constructive 14 remedies for a more balanced State-Federal governance 15 partnership for the 21st century; therefore be it 16 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That: 17 (1) A delegation of five voting persons of the 18 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania shall be appointed to represent 19 the Commonwealth at a Conference of the States for the 20 purposes described in paragraph (2) to be convened as 21 provided in paragraph (3). The delegation shall consist of 22 five voting persons as follows: 23 (i) the governor or, if the governor does not wish 24 to be a member of the delegation, then a constitutional 25 officer selected by the governor; and 26 (ii) four legislators, two from each house selected 27 by the presiding officer of that house. No more than two 28 of the four legislators may be from the same political 29 party. Each presiding officer may designate two alternate 30 legislator delegates, one from each party, who have 19950H0030R0621 - 3 -
1 voting privileges in the absence of the primary 2 delegates. 3 (2) The delegates of The Conference of the States will 4 propose, debate and vote on elements of an action plan to 5 restore checks and balances between states and the national 6 government. Measures agreed upon will be formalized in an 7 instrument called a States' Petition and returned to the 8 delegation's state for consideration by the entire General 9 Assembly. 10 (3) The Conference of the States shall be convened under 11 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 12 auspices of The Council of State Governments in cooperation 13 with the National Governors' Association and the National 14 Conference of State Legislatures no later than 270 days after 15 at least 26 legislatures adopt this resolution without 16 amendment. 17 (4) Prior to the official convening of The Conference of 18 the States the steering committee will draft: 19 (i) the governance structure and procedural rules 20 for the conference; 21 (ii) the process for receiving rebalancing 22 proposals; and 23 (iii) the financial and administrative functions of 24 the conference, including The Council of State 25 Governments as fiscal agent. 26 (5) The bylaws shall: 27 (i) conform to the provisions of this resolution; 28 (ii) specify that each state delegation shall have 29 one vote at the conference; and 30 (iii) specify that the conference agenda be limited 19950H0030R0621 - 4 -
1 to fundamental, structural and long-term reforms.
2 (6) ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION DOES NOT GRANT A POWER- <--
3 OF-ATTORNEY TO LEGISLATORS FOR THE CALLING OF A FEDERAL
4 CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE V OF
5 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.
6 (6) (7) Upon the official convening of The Conference of <--
7 the States, the state delegations will vote upon and approve
8 the conference governing structure, operating rules and
9 bylaws; and be it further
10 RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission shall
11 provide the administrative and technical support for the
12 delegation appointed to participate in the conference.
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