S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5109
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 6, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ROSENTHAL,  SEAWRIGHT,  STECK, ORTIZ, GALEF,
   THIELE, STIRPE, LUPARDO, SKOUFIS, WEPRIN, SKARTADOS,  CAHILL,  ZEBROW-
   SKI, MOSLEY, PICHARDO, LIFTON, QUART, SIMON, FAHY, JEAN-PIERRE, RIVERA
   --  Multi-Sponsored  by -- M. of A. BARRON, DILAN, ENGLEBRIGHT, GLICK,
   HEVESI, MONTESANO, PAULIN, RAMOS,  RICHARDSON,  SEPULVEDA,  TITONE  --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
 
 AN  ACT  on  the application of the legislature of the state of New York
   petitioning the Congress of the United States of  America  to  call  a
   national  constitutional  convention to propose amendments in order to
   address concerns raised by the decision of the United  States  Supreme
   Court in CITIZENS UNITED V. FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION 130 S.Ct. 876
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative findings  and  intent.  The  legislature  finds
 that:
   a.  the first President of the United States, George Washington, stat-
 ed:  "The basis of our political systems is the right of the  people  to
 make and to alter their Constitutions of Government.";
   b.  it  was the stated intention of the framers of the Constitution of
 the United States of America that the Congress of the United  States  of
 America  should  be  "dependent  on  the  people alone." (James Madison,
 Federalist 52);
   c. that dependency has evolved from a dependency on the  people  alone
 to  a  dependency  on  those who spend excessively in elections, through
 campaigns or third-party groups;
   d. the United States  Supreme  Court  ruling  in  CITIZENS  UNITED  V.
 FEDERAL  ELECTION COMMISSION 558 U.S. 310 (2010) removed restrictions on
 amount of independent political spending;
   e. the removal of those restrictions has resulted in the unjust influ-
 ence of powerful economic forces, which have supplanted the will of  the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05142-01-7
              

 A. 5109                             2
 
 people  by  undermining  our ability to choose our political leadership,
 write our own laws, and determine the fate of our state; and
   f.  Article  V  of  the United States Constitution requires the United
 States Congress to call  a  convention  for  proposing  amendments  upon
 application  of two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states for
 the purpose of proposing amendments to the United States Constitution.
   § 2. The legislature declares that:
   a. the State of New York sees the need for  a  convention  to  propose
 amendments  in  order  to  address  concerns such as those raised by the
 decision of the United  States  Supreme  Court  in  CITIZENS  UNITED  V.
 FEDERAL  ELECTION  COMMISSION (2010) 130 S.Ct. 876 and related cases and
 events including those occurring long  before  or  afterward  or  for  a
 substantially  similar  purpose, and desires that said convention should
 be so limited; and
   b. the State of New York desires that the delegates to said convention
 shall be comprised equally from individuals currently elected  to  state
 and  local  office,  or  be  selected  by election in each Congressional
 district for the purpose of serving as delegates, though all individuals
 elected or appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibit-
 ed from serving as delegates to the Convention, and  intends  to  retain
 the  ability to restrict or expand the power of its delegates within the
 limits expressed above; and
   c. the State of New York intends that this be a continuing application
 considered together with applications calling for a convention currently
 pending in the 188th Massachusetts legislature as S.1727 and H.3190, the
 2013-2014 Vermont legislature as SJR 27  and  the  2013-2014  California
 legislature  as  AJR  1,  the  97th  Michigan legislature as House Joint
 Resolution BB and all other passed, pending,  and  future  applications,
 the  aforementioned concerns of New York notwithstanding until such time
 as two-thirds of the several States have applied for  a  Convention  and
 said Convention is convened by Congress.
   §  3.  Pursuant  to  Article  V of the United States Constitution, the
 Legislature hereby petitions  the  United  States  Congress  to  call  a
 Convention  for  the purpose of proposing Amendments to the Constitution
 of the United States of America as soon as  two-thirds  of  the  several
 States have applied for a Convention.
   §  4.  The  Governor of the State of New York shall transmit copies of
 this act to the President and Vice President of the United  States,  the
 Speaker  of  the  United  States  House of Representatives, the Minority
 Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the President  Pro
 Tempore  of the United States Senate, to each Senator and Representative
 from New York in the Congress of the United States, to the  Governor  of
 each  State,  and  to the presiding officers of each legislative body of
 each of the several States, requesting the cooperation  of  the  several
 States  in  issuing an application compelling Congress to call a conven-
 tion for proposing amendments pursuant to Article V of the United States
 Constitution.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.