Federal single subject constitutional amendment.

WORKING DRAFT
2018
State of Wyoming
18LSO-0303
Numbered
1.2

House

JOINT RESOLUTION
NO.
HJ0003

Federal single subject constitutional amendment.

Sponsored by:
Representative(s) Laursen, Allen, Blackburn, Hallinan, Henderson, Lindholm and Miller and Senator(s) Case

A JOINT RESOLUTION

for

A JOINT RESOLUTION requesting Congress to call a convention of the several states for the purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that every bill enacted by Congress shall embrace only one subject, which shall be clearly expressed in its title.

WHEREAS,
each measure before a legislative body should pass on its own merits without depending on legislative support for other unrelated measures to achieve the required number of votes for passage; and

WHEREAS, a single-subject constitutional
requirement

carries out
this principle by prohibiting a legislative
body from enacting a
bill
that embraces more than one
(1)
subject; and

WHEREAS, forty-one (41) of the fifty (50) states, including Wyoming, have a single-subject provision in their respective state constitutions, and the legislatures and citizens of these states have benefitted from a single-subject requirement; and

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America, touching the lives of every citizen in the several states, but is missing this important provision; and

WHEREAS,
this
country
'
s national debt
c
ontinues to increase
and Congress is currently searching for a solution; and

WHEREAS, a federal single-subject
constitutional
amendment would provide the means to limit
"
pork barrel
"
spending, control the phenomenon of legislating through riders, limit omnibus legislation, prevent public surprise
at the content of bills
and
promote
the institutional accountability of Congress and its members; and

WHEREAS, it is Wyoming
'
s hope that Congress will conduct its business in a more productive, efficient, transparent and less acrimonious way with a single-subject
constitutional
amendment; and

WHEREAS, Article V of the Constitution of the United States makes provision for amending the Constitution
based on proposals made by Congress or
on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds (2/3) of the several states
for
a convention
and
if
the amendment is
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths (3/4) of the several states or by conventions in three-fourths (3/4) thereof
.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING:

Section 1.

(a
)

That the Legislature of the S
tate of Wyoming hereby
applies
to the Congress of the United States pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States to
request Congress to convene a convention of the several states to develop a constitutional amendment that provides
that
no bill of Congress embracing more than one
(1)
subject shall become law and that the
bill
'
s
subject
shall be clearly expressed in the bill
'
s title.

(b)

That this resolution is withdrawn, nullified and superseded to the same effect as if
it had never been passed, and is
retroactive to the date of passage, if it is used
for the purpose of
calling a convention or used in support of conducting a convention to amend the Constitution of the United States for any purpose other than
the purpose set forth in subsection (a) of this section.

(c)

That this application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the United States until the legislatures of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the several states have made applications on the same subject.

Section 2.

That the Secretary of State of Wyoming transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representa
tives of the United States Congress
, to the chairmen of the House Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary
and to the Wyoming Congressional Delegation.

(END)

1

HJ0003