HF 22

1st Engrossment - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                             A resolution
  1.2             calling for a Conference of the States to be promoted 
  1.3             and convened by the Council of State Governments for 
  1.4             the purpose of restoring balance in the federal system.
  1.5      
  1.6      WHEREAS, the United States Constitution established a 
  1.7   balanced compound system of governance and through the Tenth 
  1.8   Amendment reserved all nondelegated and nonprohibited powers to 
  1.9   the states or to the people; and 
  1.10     WHEREAS, over many years, the federal government has 
  1.11  dramatically expanded the scope of its power and preempted state 
  1.12  government authority and increasingly has treated the states as 
  1.13  administrative subdivisions or as special interest groups, 
  1.14  rather than coequal partners; and 
  1.15     WHEREAS, the federal government has generated massive 
  1.16  deficits and continues to mandate programs that state and local 
  1.17  governments must administer; and 
  1.18     WHEREAS, the number of federal unfunded mandates has grown 
  1.19  exponentially during the last 30 years and has profoundly 
  1.20  distorted state budgets, thereby handcuffing the ability of 
  1.21  state leaders to provide appropriate and needed services to 
  1.22  their constituencies; and 
  1.23     WHEREAS, since 1990, the federal government has enacted at 
  1.24  least 42 major statutes imposing burdensome and expensive 
  1.25  regulations and requirements on states and localities, which is 
  2.1   nearly equal to all those enacted in the prior two decades 
  2.2   combined; and 
  2.3      WHEREAS, persistent, state-led endeavors have consistently 
  2.4   failed to generate any substantial reaction or remedy from the 
  2.5   federal government; and 
  2.6      WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has repeatedly 
  2.7   determined that the states must look to the Congress and related 
  2.8   political remedies for protection against federal encroachments 
  2.9   on the reserved powers of the states; and 
  2.10     WHEREAS, the Council of State Governments, through its 
  2.11  Intergovernmental Affairs Committee, has been the champion of 
  2.12  state sovereignty for many years, and a steering committee has 
  2.13  been established as a primary catalyst to convene the Conference 
  2.14  of the States; and 
  2.15     WHEREAS, in recent years, the states have been the 
  2.16  principal agents of government reform, including updating their 
  2.17  constitutions, modernizing and restructuring governmental 
  2.18  institutions, and, along with local governments, have been the 
  2.19  pioneers of government innovation, thus responding to the needs 
  2.20  of their citizens; and 
  2.21     WHEREAS, the Council of State Governments recognizes a 
  2.22  sense of urgency in calling for a Conference of the States, 
  2.23  whereby each state government would send a delegation to develop 
  2.24  a comprehensive action plan to restore balance in the federal 
  2.25  system; and 
  2.26     WHEREAS, the aforementioned experience of the Council of 
  2.27  State Governments, in conjunction with its regional structure 
  2.28  and groupings of elected and appointed officials from all three 
  2.29  branches of state government, reflects an entity ideally suited 
  2.30  to promote and facilitate such a conference; and 
  2.31     WHEREAS, a Conference of the States will communicate broad 
  2.32  bipartisan public concern on the extent to which the American 
  2.33  political system has been distorted and provide a formal forum 
  2.34  for state governments to collectively propose constructive 
  2.35  remedies for a more balanced state-federal governance 
  2.36  partnership for the 21st century; NOW, THEREFORE, 
  3.1      BE IT RESOLVED that the following be adopted:  
  3.2      (1) A delegation not to exceed seven voting persons from 
  3.3   the State of Minnesota shall be appointed to represent the State 
  3.4   of Minnesota at a Conference of the States for the purposes 
  3.5   described in section (2) to be convened as provided in section 
  3.6   (3).  The delegation shall not exceed seven voting persons as 
  3.7   follows:  (a) the governor or, if the governor does not wish to 
  3.8   be a member of the delegation, a constitutional officer selected 
  3.9   by the governor; and (b) a number of legislators not to exceed 
  3.10  six:  three from each house, of which at least one shall be from 
  3.11  each major political party, selected by the presiding officer of 
  3.12  that house.  Each presiding officer may designate two alternate 
  3.13  legislator delegates, one from each party, who have voting 
  3.14  privileges in the absence of the primary delegates.  
  3.15     (2) The delegates of the Conference of the States will 
  3.16  propose, debate, and vote on elements of an action plan to 
  3.17  restore checks and balances between states and the national 
  3.18  government.  Measures agreed upon will be formalized in an 
  3.19  instrument called a States' Petition and returned to the 
  3.20  delegation's state for consideration by the entire legislature.  
  3.21     (3) The Conference of the States shall be convened under 
  3.22  the section 501(c)3 auspices of the Council of State Governments 
  3.23  in cooperation with the National Governors Association and the 
  3.24  National Conference of State Legislatures no later than 270 days 
  3.25  after at least 26 legislatures adopt a resolution.  
  3.26     (4) Prior to the official convening of the Conference of 
  3.27  the States, the steering committee will draft:  
  3.28     (a) the governance structure and procedural rules for the 
  3.29  conference; 
  3.30     (b) the process for receiving rebalancing proposals; and 
  3.31     (c) the financial and administrative functions of the 
  3.32  conference, including the Council of State Governments as fiscal 
  3.33  agent.  
  3.34     (5) The bylaws shall:  
  3.35     (a) conform to the provisions of this resolution; 
  3.36     (b) specify that each state delegation shall have one vote 
  4.1   at the conference; and 
  4.2      (c) specify that the conference agenda be limited to 
  4.3   fundamental, structural, long-term reforms.  
  4.4      (6) Upon the official convening of the Conference of the 
  4.5   States, the state delegations will vote upon and approve the 
  4.6   conference governing structure, operating rules, and bylaws.  
  4.7      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
  4.8   State of Minnesota is directed to prepare certified copies of 
  4.9   this memorial and transmit them to the Council of State 
  4.10  Governments President, the Council of State Governments 
  4.11  Chairman, the Executive Committee of the Council of State 
  4.12  Governments, and the Steering Committee of the Conference of the 
  4.13  States.