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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, State attorneys general play a vital role in curbing |
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federal government overreach; and |
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WHEREAS, In recent years, the nation has drifted away from |
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the bedrock principle set forth in the Tenth Amendment to the |
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U.S. Constitution, which states: "The powers not delegated to the |
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United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the |
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states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the |
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people."; ignoring the vision of the nation's founders, the federal |
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government has shown itself ever more intent on amassing power, |
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leading to overregulation by its agencies; and |
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WHEREAS, State attorneys general, as the chief law |
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enforcement officers of their states, have formed a bulwark against |
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agencies that overstep their constitutional and statutory |
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authority to promulgate laws and regulations that impinge on |
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personal freedoms, usurp state authority, and impose unreasonable |
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costs; in Texas, our attorney general has filed numerous lawsuits |
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to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the rights of individual |
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Texans, winning major victories in cases regarding such issues as |
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religious freedom, immigration, school rights, the environment, |
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and labor; and |
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WHEREAS, Overregulation by federal agencies intrudes on the |
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lives of Texans and hinders economic growth, and it is vital that |
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our attorney general continue the fight to restore the balance |
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between federal and state government as outlined in the |
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U.S. Constitution; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby express support for the attorney general to bring an action |
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against a federal agency to assert any claim the attorney general |
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determines is justiciable to prevent the agency from violating |
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federal law, including a claim to: |
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(1) prevent the agency from imposing on this state an |
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obligation that invades the powers of this state; |
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(2) prevent the agency from discriminatorily denying |
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this state's rightful status within the federal system; or |
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(3) protect the health and well-being of this state's |
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residents; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an |
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official copy of this resolution to the Texas attorney general. |