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A01248 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         1248--A
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 14, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. L. ROSENTHAL, SEAWRIGHT, STECK, ORTIZ, GALEF,
          THIELE, STIRPE, LUPARDO, WEPRIN, CAHILL, ZEBROWSKI, MOSLEY,  PICHARDO,
          LIFTON,  QUART, SIMON, FAHY, JEAN-PIERRE, RIVERA, CARROLL, M. G. MILL-
          ER, LENTOL, TAYLOR,  WRIGHT,  EPSTEIN,  RODRIGUEZ,  NIOU,  SIMOTAS  --
          Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M.  of  A. BARRON, DILAN, ENGLEBRIGHT, GLICK,
          HEVESI, MONTESANO, PAULIN, RAMOS, RICHARDSON -- read once and referred
          to the  Committee  on  Election  Law  --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee
 
        AN ACT on the application of the legislature of the state  of  New  York
          petitioning  the  Congress  of  the United States of America to call a
          national constitutional convention to propose amendments in  order  to
          address  concerns  raised by the decision of the United States Supreme
          Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission 130 S.Ct. 876
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Legislative  findings  and  intent. The legislature finds
     2  that:
     3    a. the first President of the United States, George Washington,  stat-
     4  ed:    "The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to
     5  make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.";
     6    b. it was the stated intention of the framers of the  Constitution  of
     7  the  United  States of America that the Congress of the United States of
     8  America should be "dependent  on  the  people  alone."  (James  Madison,
     9  Federalist 52);
    10    c.  that  dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone
    11  to a dependency on those who spend  excessively  in  elections,  through
    12  campaigns or third-party groups;
    13    d.  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  ruling  in Citizens United v.
    14  Federal Election Commission 558 U.S. 310 (2010) removed restrictions  on
    15  amount of independent political spending;
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04074-03-9

        A. 1248--A                          2
 
     1    e. the removal of those restrictions has resulted in the unjust influ-
     2  ence  of powerful economic forces, which have supplanted the will of the
     3  people by undermining our ability to choose  our  political  leadership,
     4  write our own laws, and determine the fate of our state; and
     5    f.  Article  V  of  the United States Constitution requires the United
     6  States Congress to call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments  upon
     7  application  of two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states for
     8  the purpose of proposing amendments to the United States Constitution.
     9    § 2. The legislature declares that:
    10    a. the State of New York sees the need for  a  convention  to  propose
    11  amendments  in  order  to  address  concerns such as those raised by the
    12  decision of the United  States  Supreme  Court  in  Citizens  United  v.
    13  Federal  Election  Commission (2010) 130 S.Ct. 876 and related cases and
    14  events including those occurring long  before  or  afterward  or  for  a
    15  substantially  similar  purpose, and desires that said convention should
    16  be so limited; and
    17    b. the State of New York desires that the delegates to said convention
    18  shall be comprised equally from individuals currently elected  to  state
    19  and  local  office,  or  be  selected  by election in each Congressional
    20  district for the purpose of serving as delegates, though all individuals
    21  elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibit-
    22  ed from serving as delegates to the Convention, and  intends  to  retain
    23  the  ability to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the
    24  limits expressed above; and
    25    c. the State of New York intends that this be a continuing application
    26  considered together with applications calling for a convention passed in
    27  the 2013-2014 Vermont Legislature as  R-454;  the  2013-2014  California
    28  Legislature  as  Concurrent Resolution No. 1, Chapter 77; the 98th Illi-
    29  nois General Assembly as SJR 42; the 2014-2015 New Jersey Legislature as
    30  SCR 132; the 2015-2016 Rhode Island Legislature as HR 7670 and SR  2589;
    31  and  all  other passed, pending, and future applications until such time
    32  as two-thirds of the several states have applied for a convention for  a
    33  similar purpose and said convention is convened by Congress.
    34    §  3.  Pursuant  to  Article  V of the United States Constitution, the
    35  Legislature hereby petitions  the  United  States  Congress  to  call  a
    36  Convention  for  the purpose of proposing Amendments to the Constitution
    37  of the United States of America as soon as  two-thirds  of  the  several
    38  States have applied for a Convention.
    39    §  4.  The  Governor of the State of New York shall transmit copies of
    40  this act to the President and Vice President of the United  States,  the
    41  Speaker  of  the  United  States  House of Representatives, the Minority
    42  Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the President  Pro
    43  Tempore  of the United States Senate, to each Senator and Representative
    44  from New York in the Congress of the United States, to the  Governor  of
    45  each  State,  and  to the presiding officers of each legislative body of
    46  each of the several States, requesting the cooperation  of  the  several
    47  States  in  issuing an application compelling Congress to call a conven-
    48  tion for proposing amendments pursuant to Article V of the United States
    49  Constitution.
    50    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
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