GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2013

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE RESOLUTION 1258

Sponsors:	Representatives Brandon, Baskerville, R. Brawley, and Lucas (Primary Sponsors). For a complete list of Sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly Web Site.
Referred to:	Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House.

June 9, 2014

A HOUSE RESOLUTION supporting a convention of the states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the CONSTITUTION of the united states.

Whereas, the first President of the United States, George Washington, stated, "The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their Constitutions of Government." (George Washington, Farewell Address, 1796); and

Whereas, it was the stated intention of the framers of the Constitution of the United States of America that the Congress of the United States of America should be "dependent on the people alone." (James Madison, Federalist 52); and

Whereas, that dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone to a dependency on those who spend excessively in elections, through campaigns or third-party groups; and

Whereas, the United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), removed restrictions on amounts of independent political spending; and

Whereas, the removal of those restrictions has resulted in the unjust influence of powerful economic forces, which have supplanted the will of the people by undermining our ability to choose our political leadership, write our own laws, and determine the fate of our State; and

Whereas, Article V of the United States Constitution requires the United States Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of two‑thirds of the legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the United States Constitution; and

Whereas, the North Carolina House of Representatives sees the need for a convention to propose amendments in order to address concerns such as those raised by the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), and related cases and events, including those occurring long before or afterward or for a substantially similar purpose, and desires that a convention should be so limited; and

Whereas, the North Carolina House of Representatives desires that the delegates to a convention be comprised equally from individuals currently elected to State and local office, or be selected by election in each congressional district for the purpose of serving as delegates, though all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited from serving as delegates to the convention, and intends to retain the ability to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the limits expressed above; Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

SECTION 1.  The North Carolina House of Representatives supports a Convention of the States for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States as soon as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention.

SECTION 2.  The House Principal Clerk shall transmit certified copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from North Carolina serving in the Congress of the United States.

SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon adoption.