PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS (Senate - June 29, 1994)
[Page: S7958]
POM-580. A joint resolution adopted by the Legislature of the State of Tennessee; to the Committee on the Judiciary:
`Whereas, in a five-to-four decision on April 18, 1990, the United States Supreme Court extended the power of the judicial branch of government beyond any defensible bounds; and
`Whereas, in Missouri v. Jenkins (110 Sup. Ct. 1651 (1990)), the U.S. Supreme Court held that a federal court had the power to order an increase in state and local taxes; and
`Whereas, this unprecedented decision violates the fundamental tenet of separation of powers: the federal judiciary, who serve for life and who are answerable to no one, should not have control over the power of the purse; and
`Whereas, in response to this decision, several members of Congress have introduced a constitutional amendment to re-establish a principle that has been well-settled: Judges do not have the power to tax; and
`Whereas, the passage of such constitutional amendment (first by a two-thirds ( 2/3 ) majority in both houses of Congress and then by three-fourths ( 3/4 ) of the several states' legislatures or conventions) would serve not only to reverse an unfortunate decision, but also to reassert the legislature's constitutional role in maintaining a strong tripartite system of government, a system in which each of the branches is constrained by the others; and
`Whereas, such proposed constitutional amendment is a long overdue response to a federal judiciary that, in the pursuit of seemingly good ends, fails to recognize the constitutional limits on its power; and
`Whereas, in addition to being introduced in the U.S. Congress such constitutional amendment has also been proposed by several states; and
`Whereas, the test of such proposed constitutional amendment reads: `Neither the Supreme Court nor any inferior court of the United States shall have the power to instruct or order a state or political subdivision, to levy or increase taxes'; and
`Whereas, such amendment seeks properly to prevent federal courts from levying or increasing taxes without representation of the people and against the people's wishes: Now, therefore, be it
`Resolved by the Senate of the Ninety-Eighth General Assembly of the State of Tennessee, the House of Representatives Concurring, That this General Assembly hereby memorializes the U.S. Congress to propose and submit to the several states for ratification no later than January 1, 1995, an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the text of which amendment shall read:
`Neither the Supreme Court nor any inferior court of the United States shall have the power to instruct or order a state or political subdivision thereof, or an official of such state or political subdivision, to levy or increase taxes', and be it further
Resolved, That this Body calls upon each Tennessean serving in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to utilize immediately the full measure of his or her resources and influence in order to ensure the passage of such amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which provides that no court shall have the power to levy or increase taxes, and be it further
Resolved, That this General Assembly also proposes that the legislatures of each of the several states comprising the United States which have not yet made similar requests apply to the U.S. Congress requesting enactment of such amendment to the United States Constitution, and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Senate is directed to transmit enrolled copies of this resolution to the Secretary of State and to the presiding officer and minority party leader in each house of the legislature of the several states comprising the Union; the Speaker and the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives; the President and the Secretary of the U.S. Senate; and to each member of the Tennessee delegation to the U.S. Congress.'
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