Gov. Perry Backs Resolution Affirming Texas’ Sovereignty Under 10th Amendment

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry today joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. “I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.” A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government. It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed. HCR 50 is authored by Representatives Brandon Creighton, Leo Berman, Bryan Hughes, Dan Gattis and Ryan Guillen.
	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
	WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the
	United States reads as follows: "The powers not delegated to the
	United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
	States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people";
	and
	WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of
	federal power as being that specifically granted by the
	Constitution of the United States and no more; and
	WHEREAS, The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment
	means that the federal government was created by the states
	specifically to be an agent of the states; and
	WHEREAS, Today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated
	as agents of the federal government; and
	WHEREAS, Many federal laws are directly in violation of the
	Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and
	WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of
	the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union
	of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal
	government may not usurp; and
	WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution says,
	"The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a
	Republican Form of Government," and the Ninth Amendment states that
	"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not
	be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people";
	and
	WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New
	York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that congress may not
	simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the
	states; and
	WHEREAS, A number of proposals from previous administrations
	and some now pending from the present administration and from
	congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States;
	now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
	hereby claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the
	Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise
	enumerated and granted to the federal government by the
	Constitution of the United States; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That this serve as notice and demand to the federal
	government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective
	immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these
	constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation that
	directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal
	penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation
	or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and, be it
	further
	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
	the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
	senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the
	Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this
	resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a
	memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.