Senate Concurrent Resolution 590

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES URGING CONGRESS TO CALL AN ARTICLE V CONVENTION FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPOSING 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, 41 of the 50 states have a single-subject provision in their respective state constitutions, and Mississippi has a single-subject provision for constitutional amendments, 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 Mississippi'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, Article V of the Constitution of the United States makes provision for amending the Constitution on the application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, calling a convention for proposing amendments that shall be valid to all intents and purposes if ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several states or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by Congress; NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN:

(1) That the Legislature of the State of Mississippi, with all due respect, does hereby make application 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, which embraces more than one subject, that subject to be clearly expressed in the bill's title.

(2) That this resolution is revoked and withdrawn, nullified, and superseded to the same effect as if it had never been passed, and be 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 copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, to the President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and to each member of the Mississippi delegation to the United States Congress.