By: Ogden, Shapiro, et al.	S.J.R. No. 1
	SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

	SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
	urging the Congress of the United States to propose and submit to
	the states for ratification a federal balanced budget amendment to
	the Constitution of the United States and, in the event that
	Congress does not submit such an amendment on or before December 31,
	2011, applying to Congress to call a convention for the specific and
	exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to that constitution to
	provide, in the absence of a national emergency and on a two-thirds
	vote of Congress, for a federal balanced budget and requesting that
	the legislatures of each of the several states that compose the
	United States apply to Congress to call a convention to propose such
	an amendment.
	WHEREAS, The gravity of federal debt and federal obligations
	was established early in American history, with deficits occurring
	only in relation to extraordinary circumstances such as war; yet
	for much of the 20th century and into the 21st, the United States
	has operated on a budget deficit, including the 2010 budget year,
	which surpassed an astounding $1,300,000,000,000, an annual
	deficit that exceeded the entire gross state product of Texas; and
	WHEREAS, An exception to this pattern was at the turn of the
	21st century; in January 2001, America enjoyed a $236 billion
	budget surplus--with a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion;
	by January 2009, however, America faced a $1.2 trillion
	deficit--and projected shortfalls of $3.1 trillion for the next
	decade; and
	WHEREAS, Congress has been unwilling or unable to address the
	persistent problem of overspending and has recently increased the
	statutory limit on the public debt with the passage of H.R.J.
	Res. 45, 111th Congress (2010), and enacted a variety of
	legislation that will ultimately cause the federal government to
	incur additional debt; and
	WHEREAS, The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility
	and Reform in its report The Moment of Truth includes
	recommendations to reduce the federal deficit that have not been
	considered by the United States Congress; and
	WHEREAS, The consequences of current spending policies are
	far-reaching; United States indebtedness to governments of foreign
	nations continues to rise; costly federal programs that are
	essentially unfunded or underfunded mandates to states threaten the
	ability of state and local governments to continue to balance their
	budgets; moreover, future generations of Americans inevitably face
	increased taxation and a weakened economy as a direct result of the
	bloated debt; and
	WHEREAS, Many states have previously requested that Congress
	propose a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget, but
	Congress has proven to be unresponsive; anticipating situations in
	which Congress at times could fail to act, the drafters of the
	United States Constitution had the foresight to adopt the language
	in Article V that establishes that on application of the
	legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, Congress shall
	call a convention for proposing amendments; and
	WHEREAS, In both 1977 and 1978, the Texas Legislature made
	application to Congress to call a convention under Article V, and
	through the years, many other states have done the same, all to no
	avail; and
	WHEREAS, A balanced budget amendment would require the
	government not to spend more than it receives in revenue and compel
	lawmakers to carefully consider choices about spending and taxes;
	by encouraging spending control and discouraging deficit spending,
	a balanced budget amendment will help put the nation on the path to
	lasting prosperity; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
	hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to
	propose and submit to the states for ratification a federal
	balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution; and,
	be it further
	RESOLVED, That, in the event that Congress does not submit a
	balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification on or
	before December 31, 2011, the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby make
	application to the United States Congress to call a convention
	under Article V of the United States Constitution for the specific
	and exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to that
	constitution requiring that, in the absence of a national
	emergency, and as determined by the positive vote of at least
	two-thirds of the members of each house of Congress, the total of
	all federal appropriations made by Congress for any fiscal year not
	exceed the total of all estimated federal revenue for that fiscal
	year; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That, unless rescinded by a succeeding
	legislature, this application by the 82nd Texas Legislature
	constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V
	of the United States Constitution until at least two-thirds of the
	legislatures of the several states have made application for a
	convention to provide for a balanced budget; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That, in the event that Congress does not submit a
	balanced budget amendment to the states for ratification on or
	before December 31, 2011, the 82nd Texas Legislature hereby request
	that the legislatures of each of the several states that compose the
	United States apply to Congress requesting Congress to call a
	convention to propose such an amendment to the United States
	Constitution; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That this application is rescinded in the event
	that a convention to propose amendments to the United States
	Constitution includes purposes other than providing for a balanced
	federal budget; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
	the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the
	Senate of the United States Congress, and to all members of the
	Texas delegation to Congress with the request that this resolution
	be officially entered in the Congressional Record as an application
	to the Congress of the United States of America for a convention to
	propose an amendment to provide for a federal balanced budget in the
	event that Congress does not submit such an amendment to the states
	for ratification on or before December 31, 2011; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
	copies of this resolution to the secretaries of state and to the
	presiding officers of the legislatures of the other states.