HCR79 - Urging Congress to propose and send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to clarify that the states and Congress may reasonably regulate and limit the spending of money to influence campaigns, elections, or ballot measures.

  89R14306 BPG-D     By: Leo Wilson H.C.R. No. 79       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Our nation was founded on the principle of popular   sovereignty, with a government of, by, and for the American people,   and each generation has a responsibility to ensure that the promise   of self-government is open to all Americans; and          WHEREAS, The framers of the U.S. Constitution recognized the   peril of allowing outside influences to infiltrate our politics;   Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution forbids   officeholders from accepting any manner of title or financial   compensation from a foreign power; in The Federalist No. 68,   Alexander Hamilton warned of "the desire in foreign powers to gain   an improper ascendant in our councils," while, in his farewell   address, George Washington cautioned that "history and experience   prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of   republican government"; and          WHEREAS, Through the years, Congress has passed a variety of   legislation to combat foreign interference, such as the Federal   Election Campaign Act, which includes a ban on spending by foreign   nationals in federal, state, and local elections; today, however,   our broken system of election spending makes it easy for foreign   entities to spend millions of dollars to influence our elections   and ballot initiatives, through such means as illegal donations   directly to candidates, hidden contributions to dark money groups,   influence campaigns, and brazen spending in ballot elections by   government-owned entities; and          WHEREAS, Decades of judicial overreach have also enabled   domestic actors to drown out the voices of individual voters;   Supreme Court decisions degrading transparency and equating   unlimited election spending with "free speech" have allowed   billionaires, corporations, unions, and other wealthy special   interests to dominate and distort the public discourse, narrowing   debate, weakening federalism and state self-governance, and   increasing the risk of systemic corruption; and          WHEREAS, Like the U.S. Constitution, the Constitution of   Texas affirms that political power rests with the people in our   republican form of government; our continued liberty depends   heavily on protecting free speech interests of individual citizens   and maintaining the integrity of our elections and our government   in the face of outside pressures; and          WHEREAS, The framers wisely granted the states the power to   amend the U.S. Constitution when necessary, and few issues are more   important than the preservation of the people's sovereign interests   in robust political debate, the integrity of the electoral process,   open and representative self-government, and the political   equality of natural persons; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to propose and   send to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment to   clarify that the states and Congress, within their respective   jurisdictions, may reasonably regulate and limit the spending of   money to influence campaigns, elections, or ballot measures, and   that, in so doing, the states and Congress may distinguish between   natural persons and artificial entities such as corporations,   unions, and artificial intelligences; 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 president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.