SF 3920

as introduced - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 07/13/2018 02:44pm

A joint resolution
applying to Congress to call a constitutional convention to propose an amendment to
the Constitution of the United States to provide that every law enacted by Congress
shall embrace only one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.

WHEREAS, each measure before a legislative body should pass on its own merits without
depending on legislative support for other unrelated measures to achieve the required number of
votes for passage; and

WHEREAS, a single-subject constitutional provision addresses this concern by prohibiting
a legislative body from enacting a law that embraces more than one subject; and

WHEREAS, at least 41 of the 50 states, including Minnesota, have a single-subject provision
in their respective state constitutions, and the legislatures and citizens of these states have benefited
from a single-subject requirement; and

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of
America, touching the lives of every citizen in the several states, but is missing this important
provision; and

WHEREAS, our great country is deep in debt and Congress is currently searching for a
solution; and

WHEREAS, a federal single-subject amendment would provide the means to limit pork barrel
spending, control the phenomenon of legislating through riders, limit omnibus legislation produced
by logrolling, prevent public surprise, and increase the institutional accountability of Congress and
its members; and

WHEREAS, it is Minnesota's hope and desire that Congress will be able to conduct its
business in a more productive, efficient, transparent, and less acrimonious way with a single-subject
requirement; and

WHEREAS, under article V of the Constitution of the United States, the Congress, on the
application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing
amendments to the Constitution of the United States; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it applies to the Congress
of the United States to call a constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing an amendment
to the Constitution of the United States that provides:

(1) That the Legislature of the State of Minnesota applies to the Congress of the United States
pursuant to article V of the Constitution of the United States to call a convention for the sole purpose
of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide that Congress shall
pass no bill, and no bill shall become law, that embraces more than one subject, that subject to be
clearly expressed in the bill's title.

(2) That this memorial is revoked and withdrawn, retroactive to the date of passage, if it is
used for the purpose of calling a convention or used in support of conducting a convention to amend
the Constitution of the United States for any purpose other than requiring that every law enacted
by Congress embrace only one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in the title.

(3) That this application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with article V of
the Constitution of the United States until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the states have
made applications on the same subject.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of Minnesota is directed to prepare
copies of this resolution and transmit it to the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of
Representatives, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the United States
Secretary of State, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress.