JOINT RESOLUTION MAKING APPLICATION TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES CALLING A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION TO PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE
WHEREAS, the first president of the United States, George Washington, stated "The basis of our political systems is the right of the people to make and alter their Constitutions of Government"; and
WHEREAS, James Madison stated that the Congress of the United States should be "dependent on the people alone"; and
WHEREAS, that dependency has evolved from a dependency on the people alone to a dependency on those who spend excessively in elections or through elections or third-party groups; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission removed restrictions on amounts of independent political spending; and
WHEREAS, the removal of those restrictions has resulted in the unjust influence of powerful economic forces, which have supplanted the will of the people by undermining our ability to choose our political leadership, write our own laws and determine the fate of our State; and
WHEREAS, under the United States Constitution, Article V, the Congress of the United States, whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to the United States Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments that, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the United States Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: That the Legislature of Maine respectfully applies to the Congress of the United States to call a convention for the specific and exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the United States Constitution that addresses concerns about the removal of restrictions on amounts of independent political spending through Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission and related cases and events including those occurring long before or afterward or for a substantially similar purpose, and desires that the requested convention should be limited to that purpose; and be it further
RESOLVED: That this State desires that the delegates to the requested convention be comprised equally of individuals currently elected to state and local office or be selected by election in each congressional district for the purpose of serving as delegates, that all individuals elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited from serving as delegates to the requested convention and that the State intends to retain the ability to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the limits expressed in this paragraph; and be it further
RESOLVED: That this application by this body constitutes a continuing application in accordance with the United States Constitution, Article V until at least two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states have made similar application pursuant to Article V but, if Congress proposes an amendment to the United States Constitution identical in subject matter to that contained in this Joint Resolution, this application for a constitutional convention is no longer of any force or effect; and be it further
RESOLVED: That this application is void, rescinded and of no effect in the event that such a convention is not limited to such a specific and exclusive purpose; and be it further
RESOLVED: That this body proposes that the legislatures of the several states comprising the United States apply to the Congress requesting the enactment of appropriate amendments to the United States Constitution or requiring the Congress to call a constitutional convention for proposing such amendments to the United States Constitution; and be it further
RESOLVED: That suitable copies of this resolution, duly authenticated by the Secretary of State, be transmitted to the Secretary of the Senate and presiding officers of both houses of the legislature of each of the several states in the nation, the Speaker and the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate and each member of the Maine Congressional Delegation.