R 326
2016 -- H 7670
Enacted 06/16/2016

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N
RESPECTFULLY URGING CONGRESS TO RESTORE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

Introduced By: Representatives Handy, Keable, Ruggiero, Marcello, and Hull
Date Introduced: February 24, 2016

     WHEREAS, The 1st President of the United States George Washington stated, "The
basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of
Government"; and
     WHEREAS, It was the stated intention of the framers of the Constitution of the United
States of America that the Congress of the United States of America should be "dependent on the
people alone." (James Madison, Federalist 52); and
     WHEREAS, That dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone to a
dependency on those who spend excessively in elections, through campaigns or third-party
groups; and
     WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal
Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) removed restrictions on amounts of independent
political spending; and
     WHEREAS, The removal of those restrictions has resulted in the unjust influence of
powerful economic forces, which have supplanted the will of the people by undermining our
ability to choose our political leadership, write our own laws, and determine the fate of our state;
and
     WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution requires the United States
Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds of the
legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the United States
Constitution; now, therefore be it
     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations hereby sees the need for a convention to propose amendments in order to
address concerns such as those raised by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and related cases and events including those
occurring long before or afterward or for a substantially similar purpose, and desires that said
convention should be so limited; and be it further
     RESOLVED, That this House hereby respectfully requests that the delegates to said
convention be comprised equally of individuals currently elected to state and local office, or be
selected by election, in each Congressional district for the purpose of serving as delegates, though
all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited from
serving as delegates to the Convention, and furthermore requests the ability to restrict or expand
the power of its delegates within the limits expressed above; and be it further
     RESOLVED, That this House hereby intends that this be a continuing application
considered together with applications calling for a convention passed in the 2013-2014 Vermont
legislature as R454, the 2013-2014 California legislature as Resolution Chapter 77, the 2013-
2014 Illinois legislature as Senate Joint Resolution No. 42, the 2014-2015 New Jersey legislature
Senate concurrent Resolution No. 132, and all other passed, pending, and future applications, the
aforementioned concerns of Rhode Island notwithstanding until such time as two-thirds of the
several states have applied for a Convention and said Convention is convened by Congress; and
be it further
     RESOLVED, That the citizenry of the State of Rhode Island, speaking through this
House of Representatives, and pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution, hereby
petitions the United States Congress to call a Convention for the purpose of proposing
Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America as soon as two-thirds of the
several states have applied for a Convention; and be it further
     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to
transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the President of the United States; the Vice
President of the United States in his capacity as President of the United States Senate and
addressed to him at the office he maintains in the United States Capitol; the Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the United States House of
Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, and the Rhode Island
Congressional Delegation.
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LC004042
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