House Concurrent Resolution 48

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION APPLYING FOR A CONVENTION OF THE STATES UNDER ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF CAMPAIGN SPENDING BY ORGANIZATION.

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"; 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"; 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 Constitution of the United States requires the United States Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds (2/3) of the legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the State of Mississippi 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 and related cases and events including those occurring long before or afterward or for a substantially similar purpose, and desires that the convention should be so limited; and

WHEREAS, the State of Mississippi desires that the delegates to the convention shall 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 OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby apply to the United States Congress to call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America as soon as two-thirds (2/3) of the several states have applied for a convention.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, to the members of the Mississippi congressional delegation, and to the presiding officers of each of the legislative houses in the several states, requesting their cooperation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, 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 (2/3) of the several states have made applications on the same subject.