HB898 - Relating to the Texas Sovereignty Act.

  89R1228 TJB-F     By: Spiller H.B. No. 898       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the Texas Sovereignty Act.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  (a) This Act may be cited as the Texas   Sovereignty Act.          (b)  The legislature finds that:                (1)  The people of the several states forming the   United States of America created the federal government to be their   agent for certain enumerated powers delegated by the states and the   people to the federal government through the United States   Constitution.                (2)  The Tenth Amendment to the United States   Constitution confirms the intent and understanding of the people of   the United States that all powers not delegated to the United States   by the Constitution, or prohibited by it to the states, are reserved   to the states respectively, or to the people.                (3)  Each power delegated to the federal government by   the United States Constitution is constitutionally limited to that   power as it was understood and exercised at the time it was   delegated.  An amendment to the Constitution as ratified by the   states is required to expand or limit a constitutionally delegated   power.                (4)  The United States Constitution authorizes the   United States Congress to exercise only those specific powers   enumerated in Section 8, Article I, United States Constitution, and   those other powers as may be delegated to Congress through   amendments to the Constitution as ratified by the states.                (5)  Article VI, United States Constitution, makes   supreme the Constitution and federal laws enacted pursuant to the   Constitution, further requiring that public officials at all levels   and in all branches of government support the Constitution.                (6)  The power delegated to the United States Congress   to regulate commerce among the several states under Section 8,   Article I, United States Constitution, is limited to federal   regulation of actual commerce between the states and among foreign   nations. Regulation of intrastate commerce is reserved to the   states and to the people of the states. The Commerce Clause of the   Constitution constrains the legislative, executive, and judicial   branches of the federal government.                (7)  The power delegated to the United States Congress   to make all necessary and proper federal laws under Section 8,   Article I, United States Constitution, allows Congress to enact   only those laws necessary and proper to execute the   constitutionally delegated powers vested in the federal   government, all other powers being reserved to the states and to the   people of the states.                (8)  The power delegated to the United States Congress   to provide for the general welfare of the United States under   Section 8, Article I, United States Constitution, in the General   Welfare Clause constitutionally constrains Congress when   exercising a delegated power to act in a manner that serves the   states and the people of the states well and uniformly.                (9)  Sections 1 and 2, Article I, Texas Constitution,   provide that this state and the people of this state retain the   sovereign power to regulate the affairs of Texas, subject only to   the United States Constitution.          (c)  The federal government does not have the power to take   any legislative, executive, or judicial action that violates the   United States Constitution.          (d)  The contract with the State of Texas has been willfully   violated by the federal government and must be constitutionally   restored.          (e)  This Act calls on all officials in federal, state, and   local government, in all branches and at all levels, to honor their   oaths to preserve, protect, and defend the United States   Constitution and its ratified amendments against any federal action   that:                (1)  would unconstitutionally undermine, diminish, or   disregard the balance of powers between the sovereign states and   the federal government established by the United States   Constitution and its ratified amendments; or                (2)  is outside the scope of the power delegated to the   federal government by the United States Constitution.          SECTION 2.  Subtitle Z, Title 3, Government Code, is amended   by adding Chapter 394 to read as follows:   CHAPTER 394.   ENFORCEMENT OF UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION           Sec. 394.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:                 (1)     "Committee" means the Joint Legislative Committee   on Constitutional Enforcement.                 (2)  "Federal action" includes:                       (A)  a federal law;                       (B)  a federal agency rule, policy, or standard;                       (C)     an executive order of the president of the   United States;                       (D)  an order or decision of a federal court; and                       (E)  the making or enforcing of a treaty.                 (3)     "Unconstitutional federal action" means a federal   action enacted, adopted, or implemented without authority   specifically delegated to the federal government by the people and   the states through the United States Constitution.           Sec.   394.002.     JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON   CONSTITUTIONAL ENFORCEMENT. (a)   The Joint Legislative Committee   on Constitutional Enforcement is established as a permanent joint   committee of the legislature.   The committee is established to   review federal actions that challenge the sovereignty of the state   and of the people for the purpose of determining if the federal   action is unconstitutional.           (b)  The committee consists of the following 12 members:                 (1)     six members of the house of representatives   appointed by the speaker of the house; and                 (2)     six members of the senate appointed by the   lieutenant governor.           (c)     Not more than four house members of the committee may be   members of the same political party. Not more than four senate   members of the committee may be members of the same political party.           (d)     Members of the committee serve two-year terms beginning   with the convening of each regular legislative session.           (e)     If a vacancy occurs on the committee, the appropriate   appointing officer shall appoint a member of the house or senate, as   appropriate, to serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.           (f)     The speaker of the house and the lieutenant governor   shall each designate one member of the committee as a joint chair of   the committee.             (g)     The committee shall meet at the call of either joint   chair.           (h)     A majority of the members of the committee constitute a   quorum.           Sec.   394.003.     COMMITTEE REVIEW OF FEDERAL ACTION. (a)   The   committee may review any federal action to determine whether the   action is an unconstitutional federal action.           (b)     When reviewing a federal action, the committee shall   consider the plain reading and reasoning of the text of the United   States Constitution and the understood definitions at the time of   the framing and construction of the Constitution by our forefathers   before making a final declaration of constitutionality, as   demonstrated by:                 (1)  the ratifying debates in the several states;                 (2)     the understanding of the leading participants at   the constitutional convention;                 (3)     the understanding of the doctrine in question by   the constitutions of the several states in existence at the time the   United States Constitution was adopted;                 (4)     the understanding of the United States   Constitution by the first United States Congress;                 (5)     the opinions of the first chief justice of the   United States Supreme Court;                 (6)     the background understanding of the doctrine in   question under the English Constitution of the time; and                 (7)     the statements of support for natural law and   natural rights by the framers and the philosophers admired by the   framers.           (c)     Not later than the 180th day after the date the   committee holds its first public hearing to review a specific   federal action, the committee shall vote to determine whether the   action is an unconstitutional federal action.           (d)     The committee may determine that a federal action is an   unconstitutional federal action by majority vote.           Sec.   394.004.     LEGISLATIVE DETERMINATION. (a) If the   committee determines that a federal action is an unconstitutional   federal action, the committee shall report the determination to the   house of representatives and to the senate during:                 (1)     the current session of the legislature if the   legislature is convened when the committee makes the determination;   or                   (2)     the next regular or special session of the   legislature if the legislature is not convened when the committee   makes the determination.           (b)     Each house of the legislature shall vote on whether the   federal action is an unconstitutional federal action.   If a   majority of the members of each house determine that the federal   action is an unconstitutional federal action, the determination   shall be sent to the governor for approval or disapproval as   provided by Section 14, Article IV, Texas Constitution, regarding   bills.             (c)     A federal action is declared by the state to be an   unconstitutional federal action on the day:                 (1)     the governor approves the vote of the legislature   making the determination; or                 (2)     the determination would become law if presented to   the governor as a bill and not objected to by the governor.           (d)     The secretary of state shall forward official copies of   the declaration to the president of the United States, to the   speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the   Senate of the Congress of the United States, and to all members of   the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that the   declaration of unconstitutional federal ac [Text truncated for display. 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