HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 4

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Christine Trujillo

A JOINT RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO CALL AN AMENDMENT CONVENTION, UPON THE APPLICATION OF TWO-THIRDS OF THE STATES, FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION THAT WOULD RESTORE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS.

     WHEREAS, the framers of the United States constitution intended that the United States congress should be "dependent on the people alone"; and

     WHEREAS, that dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone to a dependency on powerful special interests through campaigns or third-party groups, which has created a fundamental imbalance in representative democracy; and

     WHEREAS, Americans across the political spectrum agree that elections in the United States of America should be free from the disproportional influence of special interests and fair enough that any citizen can be elected into office; and

     WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 2 of the constitution of New Mexico states, "All political power is vested in and derived from the people: all government of right originates with the people, is founded upon their will and is instituted solely for their good."; and

     WHEREAS, Article 5 of the United States constitution requires congress to call a convention for proposing amendments to the federal constitution on the application of two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico legislature perceives the need for an amendments convention in order to restore balance and integrity to elections by proposing an amendment to the federal constitution that would permanently protect free and fair elections in America by addressing, inter alia, issues raised by the decisions of the United States supreme court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) 130 S.Ct. 876 and related cases and events and desires that said convention should be so limited; and

      WHEREAS, the state of New Mexico desires that the delegates to said convention be composed equally of 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 herein; and

     WHEREAS, the state of New Mexico intends that this be a continuing application considered together with applications calling for a convention passed in the 2013-2014 Vermont legislature as R454, the 2013-2014 California legislature as resolution chapter 77, the 98th Illinois general assembly as SJR 42, the 2014-2015 New Jersey legislature as SCR 132, the 2015-2016 Rhode Island legislature as HR 7670 and SR 2589 and all other passed, pending and future applications until such time as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose and said convention is convened by the United States congress;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it respectfully petition the congress of the United States to call a convention, pursuant to Article 5 of the United States constitution, for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the United States constitution that would restore free and fair elections as described herein, as soon as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for a similar purpose; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this petition shall expire and be withdrawn fifteen years following its passage; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this petition is specific as to its purpose and shall not be combined with a petition from any other state calling for an Article 5 convention for any other purpose nor shall it be combined with a petition from any other state calling for an Article 5 convention for all purposes; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this resolution be transmitted, within thirty days of its passage, to the speaker of the United States house of representatives, the clerk of the United States house of representatives, the president of the United States senate, the secretary of the United States senate and each senator and representative from New Mexico in the United States congress with the respectful request that the full and complete text of this resolution be printed in the congressional record.

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