PRINTER'S NO. 315
No. 31 Session of 1995
INTRODUCED BY ARGALL, JADLOWIEC, BROWN, CLARK, BATTISTO, STEIL, FARMER, WOGAN, LYNCH, FICHTER, STERN, CONTI, ALLEN, STISH, CHADWICK, BUNT, NYCE, GRUPPO, ZUG, CARONE, PHILLIPS, McCALL, ROBERTS, FAIRCHILD, SCHULER, KING, DRUCE, THOMAS, M. N. WRIGHT, HANNA, J. TAYLOR, GODSHALL, HENNESSEY, KENNEY, STAIRS, E. Z. TAYLOR, TRUE, GEIST, WAUGH AND HUTCHINSON, JANUARY 26, 1995
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, JANUARY 26, 1995
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1 Urging members of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation to 2 meet periodically with the General Assembly regarding 3 unfunded Federal mandates. 4 WHEREAS, The Federal legislative interests of the 5 Commonwealth are constantly evolving; and 6 WHEREAS, The communication of those legislative interests to 7 Federal legislators will best be achieved through interactive 8 meetings between the General Assembly and each member of 9 Congress from Pennsylvania; and 10 WHEREAS, The number of unfunded Federal mandates imposed upon 11 the states by Congress has alarmingly increased in recent years; 12 and 13 WHEREAS, This continuing imposition places the Commonwealth 14 in the precarious position of either attempting to fund the 15 Federal requirements with diminishing amounts of available
1 revenue or jeopardizing eligibility for certain Federal funds; 2 and 3 WHEREAS, The legal history of the Constitution of the United 4 States has demonstrated that, prior to the ratification of the 5 Constitution of the United States, each state possessed the 6 exclusive authority and right to regulate intrastate commerce as 7 an inseparable trait of sovereignty, and such authority is 8 retained to the extent that it has not been specifically 9 surrendered to the Federal Government by instrument, and that 10 this authority is guaranteed to the states by the Tenth 11 Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and that any 12 affirmative grant of power to the Federal Government is not 13 exclusive unless inconsistent with the particular grant; and 14 WHEREAS, States and Congress should engage in earnest 15 discussions regarding the difficult posture in which the states 16 have been cast and the urgent necessity of the states to receive 17 monetary assistance for these mandates or relief from the 18 enforcement of these unfunded decrees; and 19 WHEREAS, The General Assembly requests that all members of 20 Congress from Pennsylvania meet with the Intergovernmental 21 Affairs Committee of the Senate of Pennsylvania and the 22 Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of the Pennsylvania House of 23 Representatives and all members of the General Assembly 24 concerning this critical problem so that our Federal 25 representatives may be completely cognizant of the effect the 26 actions of the Federal Government have at the State legislative 27 level and may be more sensitive to the difficulties that 28 unfunded Federal mandates create; therefore be it 29 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly 30 urge each member of Congress from Pennsylvania to meet with 19950H0031R0315 - 2 -
1 representatives of the Senate and the House of Representatives 2 at least two times per year convened for the purpose of 3 discussing the problems related to unfunded Federal mandates in 4 order to establish an ongoing and open dialogue between these 5 parties; and be it further 6 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly remind each member of 7 Congress from Pennsylvania of the Commonwealth's retention of 8 its sovereign authority, under the Tenth Amendment to the 9 Constitution of the United States, to enact and enforce any law, 10 rule or regulation not specifically excluded by the Constitution 11 of the United States, and that each member of Congress from 12 Pennsylvania shall respect the Commonwealth's sovereign 13 authority under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 14 United States when considering, deliberating and enacting any 15 proposed piece of legislation that may affect this Commonwealth; 16 and be it further 17 RESOLVED, That the chairman and minority chairman of the 18 Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of the Senate and the 19 President pro tempore of the Senate and the chairman and 20 minority chairman of the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of 21 the House of Representatives and the Speaker of the House of 22 Representatives discuss this resolution with the bipartisan 23 leadership of the Pennsylvania delegation to Congress, in order 24 to make the necessary arrangements for such a session to be held 25 in Harrisburg during the 1995 session with the possibility of 26 additional sessions as determined necessary by the chairman and 27 minority chairman of the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of 28 the Senate of Pennsylvania and the Intergovernmental Affairs 29 Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives; and be 30 it further 19950H0031R0315 - 3 -
1 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to 2 each member of Congress from Pennsylvania to advise each member 3 of Congress from Pennsylvania of this invitation and of its 4 hopeful anticipation of their acceptance. A25L82JAM/19950H0031R0315 - 4 -