00HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 57 am                                                                                      
01 Relating to an amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting                                           
02 federal courts from ordering a state or a political subdivision of a state to                                           
03 increase or impose taxes.                                                                                               
04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                              
05  WHEREAS federal courts have ordered a state or political subdivision of a state to                                   
06 levy or increase taxes; and                                                                                             
07  WHEREAS such an order violates fundamental principles of separation of powers                                        
08 under which the legislative branch is charged with the enactment of laws; and                                           
09  WHEREAS such an order, coming from a federal court, severely undermines the                                          
10 independence of each of the states;                                                                                     
11  BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the Congress of the United                                       
12 States is requested to prepare and present to the legislatures of all the states an amendment                           
13 to the Constitution of the United States that would prohibit a federal court from ordering a                            
14 state or political subdivision of a state to increase or impose taxes in substantially the                              

01 following language:                                                                                                     
02 Neither the Supreme Court nor any inferior court of the United                                                        
03 States shall have the power to instruct or order a state or                                                             
04 political subdivision thereof, or an official of such state or                                                          
05 political subdivision, to levy or increase taxes.                                                                       
06 and be it;                                                                                                              
07  FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislatures of all the states are invited to join with                                    
08 Alaska to secure ratification of the proposed amendment.                                                                
09  COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the                              
10 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President                            
11 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Strom Thurmond, President Pro Tempore of the U.S.                                     
12 Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; to the                               
13 Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the                                         
14 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress;                                 
15 and to the governors and presiding officers of the houses of the legislatures of each of                                
16 Alaska's sister states.