At least five other states have already set in motion proposals in their state legislatures to take back some of the sovereign rights of the people. We just hope it is not too late and we commend Texas legislators for taking action.
This is not just about the things we ‘cling’ to such as our guns and religion, it is also unfunded mandates which will be the focal point of accepting or declining certain aspects of the economic stimulus package or better called the economic spending package. As I explained it to a friend, if we accept certain parts of the package, it will also contain provisions where the people of Texas MUST continue to expand a certain program in years to come costing us much more money in the long run. It would be like a requirement that you must purchase a newer and bigger car each year, even though the old one is paid for and very serviceable.
When Texans foolishly passed the Tax Relief Amendment a few years back, those uniformed enough to support it found the provisions called for hundreds of millions in unfunded mandates. The state mandates laws, and local cities and counties have to come up with local money to pay for it all. Most of that was in education and is now known as Robin Hood where Real Texas or West Texas counties give up millions to send to other districts statewide.
I went on record at the time and stated I would rather give the money to Sadaam Hussain than to the Texas legislature for pulling that on on all of us.
It’s bad enough when our own state does it, but the federal government is doing it on a much more massive scale.
The bill the Texas representatives have introduced is not some nut job legislation, at least not in this Texan’s mind. it is desperately needed and will send a message to Washington D.C. that we are serious out here in Real Texas. Take a minute to read and decide for yourselves.
Thanks to Rusty and Jan Busby (Rusty, Law West of the Pecos) for the information.
On February 17th 2009 Representatives Brandon Creighton, Brian Hughes, and Leo Berman introduced HCR 50 into the 81st Legislature of the Texas Government.
Caption Text:
Affirming that the State of Texas claims sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates, and providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed.
Please take a moment to email the Representatives and thank them for introducing this bill.
Some of you will have to copy and paste the link info.
Representative Brandon Creighton or cut and paste the following link – http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=16&rep=brandon.creighton
Representative Brian Hughes – http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=5&rep=bryan.hughes
Representative Leo Berman – http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=6&rep=leo.berman
Next, contact your Representative and tell them you support this as well. You can search for your Representative at this link by zip code by clicking here or cut and copy this link info-http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/zip.aspx
Most will have an email contact form for you to complete when you click on their name. Here is a template or sample text you can copy and paste into the Message Box if interested or you can easily write your own.
I support Texas reasserting its rights under the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution. Please support HCR 50 introduced February 17, 2009 by Representatives Creighton, Hughes, and Berman. Many other states have introduced similar legislation including Oklahoma, Arizona, Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Washington. Many of us believe that our gun rights are at stake, martial law is an eminent threat, and the Real ID is unconstitutional. Please support this bill and get it passed into the Texas Legislature.
The Text of HCR 50:
H.C.R. No. 50
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as follows: ”The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”; and
WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and
WHEREAS, The scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and
WHEREAS, Today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal government; and
WHEREAS, Many federal laws are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, The Tenth Amendment assures that we, the people of the United States of America and each sovereign state in the Union of States, now have, and have always had, rights the federal government may not usurp; and
WHEREAS, Section 4, Article IV, of the Constitution says, “The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government,” and the Ninth Amendment states that “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people”; and
WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory processes of the states; and
WHEREAS, A number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending from the present administration and from congress may further violate the Constitution of the United States; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas hereby claim sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That this serve as notice and demand to the federal government, as our agent, to cease and desist, effective immediately, mandates that are beyond the scope of these constitutionally delegated powers; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That all compulsory federal legislation that directs states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties or sanctions or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding be prohibited or repealed; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate of the United States Congress, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to the congress with the request that this resolution be officially entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.
RealTexasBlog.com is primarily a blog to promote Texas using humor, lifestyle tips, history, local flavor, Texas cooking, and the Texas way of life. We don’t usually go out this far and in fact at one point in my life, I swore off politics. But the climate is swinging the other way too much. We do need to stop the erosion of the Real Texas Way.
I’m David Werst out in Real Texas and I’m contacting my state Representative.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
MANDATES……….yep, the state started doing that years ago to local school districts. Issuing unfunded mandates wasn’t enough for them so then they started taking away local school district funds (Robin Hood) and sending them elsewhere. (Brilliant idea – huh?)
Obviously, the Texas legislature is underfunding education and thereby undermining the effort by schools to educate our children. These are the very children who are likely to carry the future of this great state. (What are they thinking?)
Message to Texas Legislature: If it is worthy of being mandated, then you should fund it. Fund it with state money and quit stealing from our local school districts. Shame on you.
State money
Where does Mike think it comes from, Unless he is unemployed, homeless, does not own a car or buy groceries it come from him.
It is about time the state takes it to the feds.
The encroachments of the federal government upon
us have become a serious challenge to us as a free
people. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty..” Once
again, “any government big enough to give you anything
you want, will also be big enough to take anything it
wants.” Thanks for letting us know about HCR-50.
State Money
Does David think state money only comes from individuals who work and spend in Texas? Industry and businesses pay a tremendous amount of the taxes in Texas and I own neither. By the way David, I am employed, own 2 houses, 2 cars, and buy groceries at several super markets in my part of Texas.
Back to mandates and underfunding…….Texas does the same to its school districts that the Feds do to the states, i.e. unfunded mandates. And that is my point. If education is important and a priority for the state and/or nation, then it should be fully funded.
Unless we are ready to stand together and unite and protest will we be heard and things be changed. I feel the white community are somewhat cowards or lazy for they act like sheep being sheared. One thing about sheep is that a wolf can be amongst the sheep and killing the sheep – All the rest of the sheep do nothing and just say baa! The whites are saying baa! Is it not time that the whites to get a cattle prod in their lazy butt and get doing something beside talk and talk and talk. Talk is baa in sheep language!
Believe me, there’s more than talk going on…you just need to search for it. There are things being done right now that will limit the power the feds have over states and will make them follow the 10th amendment the way it was meant to be followed. The government has become too big and has meddled in people’s personal lives way too much…it’s time to make them step back a bit. And Dave, people are speaking up, but we are in the minority of opinions so we are not listened to as much as the majority who have the same opinions. I believe that needs to change and change fast. All opinions should be heard no matter if the majority agrees with it or not.
people are lazy, they won’t act until something affects them personally, as long as it’s happening to the other guy, they don’t care.
It is a sad day for us all. House Concurrent Resolution 50 is dead. Yesterday [5-19] Rep. Creighton presented the resolution and that great Houston Democrat, Senfronia Thompson, raised some “technical” point which killed the resolution. I do not know what point it was that she raised, but it’s over for this session.
Let’s all remember dear Senfronia and do everything that we possibly can to make sure she does not get reelected.
Rusty, where did you find this info, I can’t find anything on it yet.
All is not lost. The technicality was that the committee minutes were not complete. House State Affairs Committee Chairman Burt Solomons is trying to turn it around and send it back to the floor. It could be considered as early as a lunch meeting today by the full committee and then on to the House floor. The secretary’s name of the State Affairs Committee is Leslie French. Contact her and Rep. Burt Solomons. Also contact Rep. Creighton and ask that they get it back to the House Floor and force a vote.
Sammie, I got this from my son. He’s tuned in to the info on the legislative session and he got it at http://www.journals.house.tx.us.
Everybody continue contacting your Rep’s. Make them force a vote on this issue.
Sorry, ‘www.journals.house.tx.us’ does not exist or is not available.
Maybe they’re changing the info?
So, are you saying that this bill hinged on ONE vote? OMG!
It only takes one Rep to raise a point of order, which was the case here. It was sent back to State Affairs Committee, where we hope it will come out again. Sammie, google Texas House of Representatives, then select “Journals”, then scroll down to May 19, 2009, click on “PDF” and then go to page 83/84 and it will give you exactly what happened on the House floor when HCR 50 came up. You can also pull up State Affairs Committee and see all of the members on that committee so that you can contact them.
Hey Rusty, it’d be faster for me to drive to Austin than follow all those directions! lol
HCR 50
(by Creighton, Hughes, Berman, Gattis, Guillen, et al.)
HCR 50, Affirming that the State of Texas claims sovereignty under the
Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States over all powers not
otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by the U.S.
Constitution, serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain
mandates, and providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed.
HCR 50 – POINT OF ORDER
Representative Thompson raised a point of order against further
consideration of HCR 50 under Rule 4, Section 18 of the House Rules on the
grounds that the committee minutes are incomplete.
The chair sustained the point of order.
HCR 50 was returned to the Committee on State Affairs
That was a quick trip to Austin.
Hey, my truck flies! lol
HCR 50 is alive and well. It has come back out of committee and has been placed on the resolutions calendar. I am not sure when it will be considered, but one place said 5/23, which is tomorrow [Saturday]. God Bless the Republic of Texas.
I just found it. HCR 50 is scheduled to be presented on the House floor on Saturday, May 23. Call every Rep you know and ask for their vote.
It’ll pass, I know it will, it has to.
I’ll be holding my breath all day.