H 3592 Session 111 (1995-1996)
H 3592 Concurrent Resolution, By Wilkins, B.D. Cain, Easterday, L.L. Elliott,
H.M. Hallman, Harrell, Harrison, R.J. Herdklotz, M.F. Jaskwhich, Lanford,
Limehouse, Littlejohn, C.V. Marchbanks, Mason, McCraw, Rice, Robinson, Sandifer,
Simrill, Tripp, Vaughn, D.C. Waldrop, Walker, C.C. Wells, Whatley, Wilder and
Young-Brickell
A Concurrent Resolution to call for a Conference of the States to be promoted
and convened by the Council of State Governments for the purpose of restoring
balance to the federal system and for related matters, and to provide for the
appointment of five delegates to represent the State of South Carolina at this
conference.
02/14/95 House Introduced HJ-19
02/14/95 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-19
A CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
TO CALL FOR A CONFERENCE OF THE STATES TO BE
PROMOTED AND CONVENED BY THE COUNCIL OF STATE
GOVERNMENTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF RESTORING
BALANCE IN THE FEDERAL SYSTEM AND FOR RELATED
MATTERS, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF
FIVE DELEGATES TO REPRESENT THE STATE OF SOUTH
CAROLINA AT THIS CONFERENCE.
Whereas, the United States' Constitution established a balanced
compound system of governance and through the Tenth Amendment
reserved all nondelegated and nonprohibited powers to the states or
to the people; and
Whereas, over many years, the federal government has dramatically
expanded the scope of its power and preempted state government
authority and increasingly has treated states as administrative
subdivisions or as special interest groups, rather than coequal
partners; and
Whereas, the federal government has generated massive deficits and
continues to mandate programs that state and local governments
must administer; and
Whereas, the number of federal unfunded mandates has grown
exponentially during the last thirty years and has profoundly
distorted state budgets, thereby handcuffing the ability of state
leaders to provide appropriate and needed services to their
constituencies; and
Whereas, since 1990, the federal government has enacted at least
forty-two major statutes imposing burdensome and expensive
regulations and requirements on states and localities, which is
nearly equal to all those enacted in the prior two decades combined;
and
Whereas, persistent, state-led endeavors have failed consistently to
generate any substantial reaction or remedy from the federal
government; and
Whereas, the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly
determined that the states must look to the congress and related
political remedies for protection against federal encroachments on
the reserved powers of the states; and
Whereas, The Council of State Governments, through its
Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, has been the champion of
state sovereignty for many years; and
Whereas, in recent years, states have been the principal agents of
government reform, including updating their constitutions,
modernizing and restructuring governmental institutions, and, along
with local governments, have been the pioneers of government
innovation, thus responding to the needs of their citizens; and
Whereas, The Council of State Governments recognizes a sense of
urgency in calling for the Conference of the States, whereby each
state government would send a delegation to develop a
comprehensive action plan to restore balance in the federal system;
and
Whereas, the aforementioned experience of The Council of State
Governments, in conjunction with its regional structure and
groupings of elected and appointed officials from all three branches
of state government, reflects an entity ideally suited to promote and
facilitate such a conference; and
Whereas, the conference of the states will communicate broad
bipartisan public concern on the extent to which the American
political system has been distorted and provide a formal forum for
state governments to collectively propose constructive remedies for
a more balanced state-federal governance partnership for the
twenty-first century. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate
concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly, by this resolution,
hereby call for a Conference of the States to be promoted and
convened by The Council of State Governments for the purpose of
restoring balance in the federal system and for related matters.
Be it further resolved that the following is adopted for purposes of
this conference:
(1) A delegation of five voting persons from the State of South
Carolina shall be appointed to represent the State of South Carolina
at a Conference of the States for the purposes described in item (2)
to be convened as provided in item (3). The delegation shall
consist of five voting persons as follows:
(a) the Governor or, if the Governor does not wish to be a
member of the delegation then a constitutional officer selected by
the Governor; and
(b) four legislators, two from each House selected by the
presiding officer of that House.
No more than two of the four legislators may be from the
same political party. Each presiding officer may designate two
alternate legislator delegates, one from each party, who have voting
privileges in the absence of the primary delegates.
(2) The delegates of The Conference of the States will propose,
debate, and vote on elements of an action plan to restore checks and
balances between states and the national government. Measures
agreed upon will be formalized in an instrument called a States'
Petition and returned to the delegation's state for consideration by
the entire legislature.
(3) The Conference of the States shall be convened under
Section 501(c)(3) auspices of The Council of State Governments in
cooperation with the National Governor's Association and the
National Conference of State Legislatures no later than two hundred
seventy days after at least twenty-six legislatures adopt this
resolution without amendment.
(4) Prior to the official convening of the Conference of the
States the steering committee will draft:
(a) the governance structure and procedural rules for the
conference;
(b) the process for receiving rebalancing proposals; and
(c) the financial and administrative functions of the
conference, including The Council of State Governments as fiscal
agent.
(5) The bylaws shall:
(a) conform to the provisions of this resolution;
(b) specify that each state delegation shall have one vote at
the conference; and
(c) specify that the conference agenda be limited to
fundamental, structural, long-term reforms.
(6) Upon the official convening of The Conference of the
States, the state delegations will vote upon and approve the
conference governing structure, operating rules, and bylaws.
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