Bill Text: AZ SCR1010 | 2021 | Fifty-fifth Legislature 1st Regular | Engrossed
Bill Title: Convention of states; assembly
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-06-30 - House third reading FAILED voting: (27-27-6-0) [SCR1010 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2021-SCR1010-Engrossed.html
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House Engrossed Senate Bill
legislative special session; emergencies (now: convention of states; assembly) |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-fifth Legislature First Regular Session 2021
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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1010 |
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A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
RESOLVING AND CALLING A PHOENIX CONVENTION ON CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES AND SELF GOVERNMENT.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Whereas, the United States Constitution divides powers between the federal and state governments; and
Whereas, this division in power was designed in part to enable state legislatures to protect their constituents against federal overreach or abuse of power; and
Whereas, the federal government, federal agencies and federal officers recently have conducted themselves, and have threaten to act, in ways that impair the rights of American citizens; and
Whereas, the rights thereby endangered include the right to religious freedom, to the integrity of the ballot, to travel freely, to personal security and equal protection of the laws, to protection of property and livelihood against excessive and unconstitutional fiscal policies and to be governed at the state and local level as to those activities the Constitution places outside federal purview; and
Whereas, a convention of the states is a traditional forum in which state legislatures send commissioners to consider issues common to the states and recommend common solutions; and
Whereas, the confidence of the American public in the integrity of elections has sharply diminished, and there are efforts in the current Congress to centralize election procedures in ways that are both unconstitutional and improper.
Therefore
Be it resolved by the Senate of the State of Arizona, the House of Representatives concurring:
1. That the Legislature of the State of Arizona respectfully calls a planning convention of the states to be called the "Phoenix Convention on Constitutional Liberties and Self-Government".
2. That each state shall be represented by commissioners chosen and authorized in the manner that each respective state legislature determines or, if no manner is determined by a state legislature, selected jointly by the majority leadership of each legislative chamber of that state, to convene initially at twelve o'clock noon on September 15, 2021 at the Arizona State Senate Chambers in Phoenix, Arizona for the limited purposes of:
(a) Discussing the actions of the federal government, federal agencies and federal officers that impair, or threaten to impair, the constitutional and traditional rights of American citizens and recommending corrective actions to state governments or to the federal government, federal agencies and federal officers.
(b) Discussing issues regarding the right of the people to self-government and the right to elect representatives through election processes that are secure and transparent.
3. That the planning convention is empowered to recommend to the represented states one or more formal institutional structures to continue to carry out the purposes provided in paragraph 2 of this section.
4. That the Legislature of the State of Arizona recognizes that a convention of states determines its own rules and procedures and elects its own officers. In the interests of efficiency and consistency, however, the Legislature of the State of Arizona recommends to the planning convention that the permanent rules contain certain principles traditionally followed by conventions of states, including the following principles:
(a) A quorum for all sessions of the full convention shall be a majority of the states attending and for all committee meetings shall be a majority of the members of the relevant committee.
(b) All voting shall be by state with each state having one vote, without apportionment or division, and each state legislature or delegation shall determine the internal voting and quorum rules for casting the vote of its delegation.
(c) A majority vote of the states attending and voting shall prevail on all issues before the planning convention and in all committees, including any convention recommendations.
(d) Convention officers shall include at least a president, vice president and secretary.
5. That the Arizona constitutional liberties and self-government planning convention committee is established consisting of three members of the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona who are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and three members of the Senate of the State of Arizona who are appointed by the President of the Senate. The Arizona constitutional liberties and self-government planning convention committee, if necessary, may change the time, date and location of the planning convention and, if necessary, may appoint a temporary president and temporary presiding officers of the standing committees. The Arizona constitutional liberties and self-government planning convention committee shall coordinate the logistics of the planning convention, including the facilities, meeting rooms, security, staffing and other management issues pertaining to the planning convention. The longest-serving legislator who is a member of the Arizona constitutional liberties and self-government planning convention committee shall call the first meeting of the committee, at which time the committee shall elect a chairperson.
6. That the legislative body of each of the several states is urged to provide for the appointment of commissioners to attend the planning convention and to otherwise provide further cooperation and assistance.
7. That the Secretary of State of the State of Arizona transmit a copy of this resolution to the presiding officer of each legislative body in the several states.
