SCR 1 – AS INTRODUCED
2011 SESSION
10/05
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1
A RESOLUTION urging Congress to call a convention for the sole purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
SPONSORS: Sen. Groen, Dist 6; Sen. De Blois, Dist 18; Sen. Gallus, Dist 1; Sen. Sanborn, Dist 7; Sen. White, Dist 9; Rep. Hoell, Merr 13; Rep. Groen, Straf 1
This concurrent resolution make an application to the Congress of the United States pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States to call an Article V amendment convention for the sole purpose of voting to propose or voting not to propose an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, known as the Madison amendment.
11-0932
10/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
A RESOLUTION urging Congress to call a convention for the sole purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Whereas, recent experience has shown that the safeguards in the United States Constitution, as currently interpreted by the Judiciary, are insufficient to require the federal government to comply with such basic rules of fiscal responsibility as balancing its own budget, abuse of its legislative process, and mandating upon state government duties within adequate funding; and
Whereas, those who framed and adopted the Constitution included a provision by which state legislatures may require Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments as a way to respond to disagreements in constitutional interpretation or abuses by the federal officials; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the New Hampshire general court does hereby make an application to the Congress of the United States pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States to call an Article V amendment convention for the sole purpose of voting to propose or voting not to propose the following specific amendment to the Constitution of the United States:
“ARTICLE___. The Congress, on Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, which all contain an identical Amendment, shall call a Convention solely to decide whether to propose that specific Amendment to the States, if proposed shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified pursuant to Article V;” and
That for the purpose of determining whether the required 2/3 of the legislatures of the several states have applied for a convention, this application may be counted and considered valid only in conjunction with qualifying applications of other States that contain the identical text of the specific amendment contained in this application and whose application requires that the sole purpose of the convention is to decide whether to propose, or not to propose this specific amendment; and
That this concurrent resolution is revoked and withdrawn, nullified and superseded to the same effect as if it had never been passed, and retroactive to the date of passage, if it is used to conduct a convention that votes to propose any amendment other than the specific text of the amendment contained in this resolution; and
That every delegate selected to represent New Hampshire at a convention that Congress shall call pursuant to this resolution shall take an oath, enforceable under New Hampshire law, to abide by and act according to the limits imposed by this resolution on the purpose of the convention; and
That any delegate selected to represent New Hampshire at a convention that Congress shall call pursuant to this resolution shall have no authority to consider or approve any other amendment but
the one contained in this application. Any vote taken in violation of this limitation shall be null and void, and any delegate who so votes shall have no authority to represent New Hampshire on any matter at the convention; and
That this application shall only be valid if 2/3 of the states shall make a qualifying application within 7 years of its referral for ratification to the states by Congress under the provisions of Article V of the Unites States Constitution; and
That this application shall be null and void and of no effect if Congress, within 90 days of receipt of qualifying applications from 2/3 of the states, shall propose and refer for ratification by the several states under the procedures outlined in Article V of the United States Constitution, the same exact text of the amendment contained in this application; and
That copies of this application shall be delivered within 30 days of its passage to the Speaker of the United States House of Representative, the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the Secretary of the United States Senate, every member of the New Hampshire congressional delegation, and the presiding officers of each house of the legislature of the several states.