SF 52

as introduced - 79th Legislature (1995 - 1996) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                             A resolution 
  1.2             memorializing members of the Minnesota congressional 
  1.3             delegation to meet periodically with the Legislature 
  1.4             regarding unfunded federal mandates. 
  1.5      WHEREAS, the federal legislative interests of the state are 
  1.6   constantly evolving; and 
  1.7      WHEREAS, the communication of those legislative interests 
  1.8   to federal legislators will best be achieved through interactive 
  1.9   meetings between the Legislature and each member of Congress 
  1.10  from Minnesota; and 
  1.11     WHEREAS, the number of unfunded federal mandates imposed 
  1.12  upon the states by Congress has alarmingly increased in recent 
  1.13  years; and 
  1.14     WHEREAS, this continuing imposition places the State of 
  1.15  Minnesota in the precarious position of either attempting to 
  1.16  fund the federal requirements with diminishing amounts of 
  1.17  available revenue or jeopardizing eligibility for certain 
  1.18  federal funds; and 
  1.19     WHEREAS, the legal history of the Constitution of the 
  1.20  United States has demonstrated that, prior to the ratification 
  1.21  of the Constitution of the United States, each state possessed 
  1.22  the exclusive authority and right to regulate intrastate 
  1.23  commerce as an inseparable trait of sovereignty, and such 
  1.24  authority is retained to the extent that it has not been 
  1.25  specifically surrendered to the federal government by 
  2.1   instrument, and that this authority is guaranteed to the states 
  2.2   by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, 
  2.3   and that any affirmative grant of power to the federal 
  2.4   government is not exclusive unless inconsistent with the 
  2.5   particular grant; and 
  2.6      WHEREAS, states and Congress should engage in earnest 
  2.7   discussions regarding the difficult posture in which the states 
  2.8   have been cast and the urgent necessity of the states to receive 
  2.9   monetary assistance for these mandates or relief from the 
  2.10  enforcement of these unfunded decrees; and 
  2.11     WHEREAS, the Legislature requests that all members of 
  2.12  Congress from Minnesota meet with all members of the Legislature 
  2.13  concerning this critical problem so that our federal 
  2.14  representatives may be completely cognizant of the effect the 
  2.15  actions of the federal government have at the state legislative 
  2.16  level and may be more sensitive to the difficulties that 
  2.17  unfunded federal mandates create; NOW, THEREFORE, 
  2.18     BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota 
  2.19  that the Legislature urge each member of Congress from Minnesota 
  2.20  to meet with representatives of the Senate and the House of 
  2.21  Representatives at least two times per year for the purpose of 
  2.22  discussing the problems related to unfunded federal mandates in 
  2.23  order to establish an ongoing and open dialogue between these 
  2.24  parties. 
  2.25     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature remind each 
  2.26  member of Congress from Minnesota of the state's retention of 
  2.27  its sovereign authority, under the Tenth Amendment to the 
  2.28  Constitution of the United States, to enact and enforce any law, 
  2.29  rule, or regulation not specifically excluded by the 
  2.30  Constitution of the United States, and that each member of 
  2.31  Congress from Minnesota shall respect the state's sovereign 
  2.32  authority under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 
  2.33  United States when considering, deliberating, and enacting any 
  2.34  proposed piece of legislation that may affect this state. 
  2.35     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the majority and minority 
  2.36  leaders and the Speaker of the Minnesota House of 
  3.1   Representatives and the majority and minority leaders and the 
  3.2   President of the Minnesota Senate discuss this resolution with 
  3.3   the bipartisan members of the Minnesota delegation to Congress, 
  3.4   in order to make the necessary arrangements for such a meeting 
  3.5   to be held in St. Paul in the autumn of 1995 with the 
  3.6   possibility of additional sessions as determined necessary by 
  3.7   leadership of both houses. 
  3.8      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the 
  3.9   State of Minnesota is directed to prepare certified copies of 
  3.10  this memorial and transmit them to each member of Congress from 
  3.11  Minnesota to advise each member of Congress from Minnesota of 
  3.12  this invitation and of the Legislature's hopeful anticipation of 
  3.13  their acceptance.