By: Hughes  S.C.R. No. 47          (In the Senate - Filed March 20, 2017; April 4, 2017, read   first time and referred to Committee on State Affairs; May 8, 2017,   reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 7, Nays 1;   May 8, 2017, sent to printer.)Click here to see the committee vote     SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION     WHEREAS, Overreaching regulatory policies mandated by the   federal government encroach upon liberties guaranteed to United   States citizens by the First, Second, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments   enumerated in the Bill of Rights; and          WHEREAS, In January 2017, the United States House of   Representatives passed the Regulations From the Executive in Need   of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, which requires that congressional approval   be obtained prior to the execution of new major regulations; even if   enacted, however, that law is vulnerable to repeal or waiver by a   future Congress or president; and          WHEREAS, States today have little recourse when the   government in Washington, D.C., oversteps its authority; the only   way to contest a federal regulation is to bring a constitutional   challenge in federal court or to seek an amendment to the   constitution; and          WHEREAS, Passage of a regulation freedom amendment would help   restore constitutional balance by providing that whenever   one-fourth of the members of either the United States House of   Representatives or the United States Senate transmit to the   president of the United States a written declaration of opposition   to a proposed federal regulation, the regulation would require a   majority vote of approval from both chambers for adoption; and          WHEREAS, A regulation freedom amendment would reestablish   the separation of powers in the regulatory process and allow the   will of the people to be voiced through their democratically   elected representatives; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th 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 regulation   freedom amendment to the United States Constitution; 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 president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.     * * * * *