H-0915.1  _______________________________________________

                     HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 4007

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      55th Legislature     1997 Regular Session

By Representatives McMorris, Sump, Schoesler, Mulliken, Koster, Boldt, Smith, Mielke, Sterk, Pennington and Dunn

Read first time 01/29/97.  Referred to Committee on Government Administration.

Advocating the apportionment of state senates in a manner that reflects the values and interests of the state.

    TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, AND TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND TO THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED:

    We, your Memorialists, the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Washington, in legislative session assembled, respectfully represent and petition as follows:

    WHEREAS, The founders of this nation recognized the legitimacy of allocating political power on a basis other than population; and

    WHEREAS, The founders provided that the President of this nation should be elected by the electoral college rather than by popular vote; and

    WHEREAS, The founders of this nation provided that every state in the union would have two senators without regard to population; and

    WHEREAS, For more than one hundred fifty years the states of this union were free to allocate political power among persons and interests in a manner that considered interests other than population; and

    WHEREAS, The United States Supreme Court in Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186 (1962), and its progeny including Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964), has denied the states their historical power to have a State House of Representatives that is apportioned on the basis of population but a State Senate apportioned in a manner that reflects other values and interests; and

    WHEREAS, States that have a bicameral legislature should be allowed to apportion their state senates in any manner they wish while they maintain a population-based apportionment in state houses;

    NOW, THEREFORE, Your Memorialists respectfully pray that in accordance with Article V of the United States Constitution the Congress propose to the several states an amendment to the Constitution that would allow states with bicameral legislatures to apportion the lower house on the basis of population but the upper chamber in any manner that they feel is appropriate.

    BE IT RESOLVED, That copies of this Memorial be immediately transmitted to the Honorable William J. Clinton, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and each member of Congress from the State of Washington.

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