Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 106
03/27/2012 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR38 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HJR 38 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE
March 27, 2012
8:05 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bob Lynn, Chair
Representative Wes Keller, Vice Chair
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Max Gruenberg
Representative Pete Petersen
Representative Kyle Johansen
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Peggy Wilson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 38
Requesting the United States Congress to call a Constitutional
Convention to propose an amendment to the Constitution of the
United States requiring approval of a majority of state
legislatures to increase the federal debt limit.
- MOVED CSHJR 38(STA) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HJR 38
SHORT TITLE: US CONST AM: FEDERAL DEBT LIMIT
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) KELLER
02/20/12 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/20/12 (H) STA
03/06/12 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
03/06/12 (H) Heard & Held
03/06/12 (H) MINUTE(STA)
03/27/12 (H) STA AT 8:00 AM CAPITOL 106
WITNESS REGISTER
JIM POUND, Staff
Representative Wes Keller
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: On behalf of Representative Keller,
sponsor, described the changes made in Version D of HJR 38.
STUART THOMPSON
Meadow Lakes, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of HJR 38.
ACTION NARRATIVE
8:05:31 AM
CHAIR BOB LYNN called the House State Affairs Standing Committee
meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. Representatives Keller, Seaton,
Petersen, and Lynn were present at the call to order.
Representatives Gruenberg and Johansen arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
HJR 38-US CONST AM: FEDERAL DEBT LIMIT
8:05:47 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the only order of business was HOUSE
JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 38, Requesting the United States Congress
to call a Constitutional Convention to propose an amendment to
the Constitution of the United States requiring approval of a
majority of state legislatures to increase the federal debt
limit.
8:06:06 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) for HJR 38, Version 27-LS1284\D, Gardner,
3/22/12, as a work draft. There being no objection, Version D
was before the committee.
8:06:29 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER, as sponsor of HJR 38, said he understands
the concern is there might be a runaway convention. He said he
thinks Version D addresses this concern on page 1, beginning on
line 13, to the end of the page. He said the key is to get two-
thirds of the states to have exactly the same language in their
legislation. He expressed his wish to move HJR 38 out of
committee in order to "get it on the record."
8:08:00 AM
JIM POUND, Staff, Representative Wes Keller, Alaska State
Legislature, on behalf of Representative Keller, sponsor,
described the changes made in Version D. He said [the original
bill version] acknowledges that requests related to a balanced
budget have been made in the past by the Alaska State
Legislature to U.S. Congress, in 1982 and 1997; however, an
expert told the sponsor that including that language may give
Congress an excuse to throw out HJR 38, because it differs from
the language in [other states'] resolutions.
8:10:22 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER, in response to Chair Lynn, indicated that
if Version D is amended in any way, the result may be that
Congress will discard it as not being similar enough.
8:10:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said he does not support "the
amendment," because he thinks it would "cause havoc on the
federal level" and would "paralyze the government." He said it
would be another matter if the proposed joint resolution was "a
true balanced budget amendment," but he compared [HJR 38] to
federal Proposition 13. He said he would not oppose the passage
of the proposed legislation out of just the House State Affairs
Standing Committee, but would indicate his recommendation is "do
not pass."
8:12:43 AM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON said he had anticipated receiving legal
opinions in the committee packet, but does not see any.
Regarding the previously mentioned expert, he said each expert
has his/her point of view. He said that with the assurance of
the sponsor that the purpose of moving HJR 38 simply would be to
get it posted on BASIS, not for it to be heard by any further
committees, he would not oppose moving it out of committee;
however, he said he would not be "a supporter."
CHAIR LYNN asked Representative Keller if he would give those
assurances.
8:15:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER answered yes. He confirmed that the idea
is to get the legislation on the Bill Action & Status Inquiry
System (BASIS). He stated that this is a huge issue, and he
said he was concerned about the possibility of a national
constitutional convention; however, he said the national debt
keeps increasing. He reported that every child born is between
fifty and sixty thousand dollars in debt. He said this has to
do with the definition of federalism in the context of the
balance and sovereignty of the state with a balance in the power
of central government is part of the issue. He acknowledged
that there are many issues and ramifications related to HJR 38;
therefore, he stated, "I will not go further."
8:16:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG said it is unusual that the proposed
resolution, introduced on 2/20/12, was referred to only one
committee. He stated his presumption that the sponsor would
reintroduce the proposed legislation next year, and he asked
Representative Keller to specifically request that it be
referred to the House Judiciary Standing Committee to address
the issue of constitutionality. He said this pertains to the
federal Constitution, but said this year's Alaska voters will be
asked whether there should be a state constitutional convention.
He said, "I think that the answer to the one question may also
provide some legal research on whether a state constitutional
convention could be called and not open up the whole
constitution." He said HJR 38 presents not only the merits of
the measure, but also the procedural question of whether a
constitutional convention can be limited to enumerated subjects.
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER indicated that he would do so.
8:19:05 AM
STUART THOMPSON read his testimony as follows:
Representative Keller's HJR 38 calls for a limited
constitutional convention to address restricting how
the national debt limit is raised. It is not only
appropriate and confidently written, but speaks to a
matter that is a central reason why America is
becoming a has-been Republic after only 250 years.
The appropriateness of state attention to the
financial betrayal of Americans by the federal
government is best explained by quoting Alexander
Hamilton: ... "This balance between the national and
state governments ought to be dwelt on with peculiar
attention as it is of the utmost importance. It forms
a double security to the people. If one encroaches on
their rights, they will find a powerful protection in
the other. Indeed, they will both be prevented from
overpassing their constitutional limits by a certain
rival-ship which will ever subsist between them." -
1788 speech to the New York ratifying convention.
That runaway national debt is fiduciary criminality
verging on treason is best explained by quoting two
U.S. Founding Fathers: ... "I sincerely believe that
banking establishments are more dangerous than
standing armies, and that the principle of spending
money to be paid by posterity under the name of
funding is but swindling futurity on a large scale." -
Thomas Jefferson, 1816 letter excerpts. ... "The
Union: Who are its real friends? Not those who
promote unnecessary accumulations of the debt of the
Union, instead of the best means of discharging it as
fast as possible; thereby increasing the causes of
corruption in the government, and the pretexts for new
taxes under its authority, the former undermining the
confidence, the later alienating the affection of the
people." - James Madison, 1792 public essay excerpts.
That a balanced budget and restricting debt
accumulation is the essence of government fiduciary
responsibility has been known for thousands of years.
For example, I quote a famous Roman statesman: ...
"The budget should be balanced; the treasury should be
refilled; public debt should be reduced; the arrogance
of officialdom should be tempered and controlled; and
the assistance to foreign lands be curtailed lest Rome
become bankrupt. People must again learn to work
instead of living on public assistance." - Cicero, 55
B.C.
Income greater than outgo, plus reserves: This
foundation of sound economic policy has been the same
since God created humanity. Federal government being
institutionalized bribery and swindling. Pass this
resolution.
8:23:02 AM
CHAIR LYNN, after ascertaining that there was no one else who
wished to testify, closed public testimony.
8:23:07 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report CSHJR 38, Version 27-
LS1284\D, Gardner, 3/22/12, out of committee with individual
recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being
no objection, CSHJR 38(STA) was reported out of the House State
Affairs Standing Committee.
8:23:43 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
State Affairs Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 8:24
a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| 09CSHJR 38 D 3-22.pdf |
HSTA 3/27/2012 8:00:00 AM |
HJR 38 |