SJ0019 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SJ0019 LRB097 10323 RLJ 50531 r

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Recent experience has shown that the safeguards in the United States Constitution, as currently interpreted by the Judiciary, are insufficient to require the federal government to comply with such basic rules of fiscal responsibility as balancing its own budget, preventing the abuse of its legislative process, and mandating upon state government duties within adequate funding; and

WHEREAS, Those who framed and adopted the United States Constitution included a provision by which state legislatures may require Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments as a way to respond to disagreements in constitutional interpretation or abuses by federal officials; and

WHEREAS, the Illinois General Assembly accordingly makes application to Congress for the calling of a convention for proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution imposing certain rules of fiscal discipline, providing for legislative transparency, and preventing unfunded mandates on the federal government; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge Congress to call for a Convention to propose an Amendment to the federal Constitution:

Section 1. The Illinois General Assembly does hereby make an application to the Congress of the United States pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States to call an Article V Amendment Convention for the sole purpose of voting to propose or voting not to propose the following specific Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:

"ARTICLE___. The Congress, on Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, which all contain an identical Amendment, shall call a Convention solely to decide whether to propose that specific Amendment to the States, which, if proposed shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified pursuant to Article V."

Section 2. For the purpose of determining whether the required two-thirds of the Legislatures of the several states have applied for a Convention, this Application may be counted and considered valid only in conjunction with qualifying applications of other States that contain the identical text of the specific Amendment contained in this Application and whose application requires that the sole purpose of the Convention is to decide whether to propose, or not to propose this specific Amendment.

Section 3. This joint resolution is revoked and withdrawn, nullified and superseded to the same effect as if it had never been passed, and retroactive to the date of passage, if it is used to conduct a convention that votes to propose any Amendment other than the specific text of the Amendment contained in Section 1 of this resolution.

Section 4. Every delegate selected to represent Illinois at a Convention that Congress shall call pursuant to this resolution shall take an oath, enforceable under Illinois law, to abide by and act according to the limits imposed by this resolution on the purpose of the Convention.

Section 5. Any delegate selected to represent Illinois at a Convention that Congress shall call pursuant to this resolution shall have no authority to consider or approve any other Amendment but the one contained in this Application. Any vote taken in violation of this limitation shall be null and void, and any delegate who so votes shall have no authority to represent Illinois on any matter at the Convention.

Section 6. This Application shall only be valid if two-thirds of the states shall make a qualifying Application within seven years of its referral for ratification to the states by Congress under the provisions of Article V.

Section 7. This Application shall be null and void and of no effect if Congress, within ninety days of receipt of qualifying Applications from two-thirds of the states, shall propose and refer for ratification by the several states under the procedures outlined in Article V of the United States Constitution, the same exact text of the Amendment contained in this Application.

Section 8. Copies of this Application shall be delivered within thirty days of its passage to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the United States Senate, the Secretary of the United States Senate, every member of Congress from Illinois, and the presiding officers of each house of the legislature of the several states.

Section 9. This joint resolution shall not take effect unless and until the proper implementing legislation is enacted by the General Assembly.