2016 -- H 7670

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LC004042

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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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

     Referred To: House Judiciary

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     WHEREAS, The 1st President of the United States George Washington stated, "The

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basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of

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Government"; and

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     WHEREAS, It was the stated intention of the framers of the Constitution of the United

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States of America that the Congress of the United States of America should be "dependent on the

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people alone." (James Madison, Federalist 52); and

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     WHEREAS, That dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone to a

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dependency on those who spend excessively in elections, through campaigns or third-party

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groups; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal

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Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010) removed restrictions on amounts of independent

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political spending; and

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     WHEREAS, The removal of those restrictions has resulted in the unjust influence of

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powerful economic forces, which have supplanted the will of the people by undermining our

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ability to choose our political leadership, write our own laws, and determine the fate of our state;

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and

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     WHEREAS, Article V of the United States Constitution requires the United States

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Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds of the

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legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the United States

 

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Constitution; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

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Providence Plantations hereby sees the need for a convention to propose amendments in order to

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address concerns such as those raised by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in

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Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and related cases and events including those

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occurring long before or afterward or for a substantially similar purpose, and desires that said

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convention should be so limited; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this House hereby respectfully requests that the delegates to said

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convention be comprised equally of individuals currently elected to state and local office, or be

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selected by election, in each Congressional district for the purpose of serving as delegates, though

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all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited from

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serving as delegates to the Convention, and furthermore requests the ability to restrict or expand

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the power of its delegates within the limits expressed above; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this House hereby intends that this be a continuing application

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considered together with applications calling for a convention passed in the 2013-2014 Vermont

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legislature as R454, the 2013-2014 California legislature as Resolution Chapter 77, the 2013-

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2014 Illinois legislature as Senate Joint Resolution No. 42, the 2014-2015 New Jersey legislature

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Senate concurrent Resolution No. 132, and all other passed, pending, and future applications, the

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aforementioned concerns of Rhode Island notwithstanding until such time as two-thirds of the

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several states have applied for a Convention and said Convention is convened by Congress; and

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be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the citizenry of the State of Rhode Island, speaking through this

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House of Representatives, and pursuant to Article V of the United States Constitution, hereby

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petitions the United States Congress to call a Convention for the purpose of proposing

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Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America as soon as two-thirds of the

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several states have applied for a Convention; and be it further

 

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the President of the United States; the Vice

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President of the United States in his capacity as President of the United States Senate and

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addressed to him at the office he maintains in the United States Capitol; the Speaker of the United

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States House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the United States House of

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Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, and the Rhode Island

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Congressional Delegation.

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LC004042

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