HR 123 (LSB 6207YH (3) 85)

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 123

BY  GRASSLEY, UPMEYER, ALONS, ANDERSON, BACON, BALTIMORE, BAUDLER, BEARINGER, BRANDENBURG, BYRNES, COSTELLO, COWNIE, DEYOE, DOLECHECK, DRAKE, DUNKEL, FISHER, FORBES, FORRISTALL, GASSMAN, GUSTAFSON, HAGENOW, HANUSA, HEARTSILL, HEATON, HEIN, HESS, HIGHFILL, HUNTER, HUSEMAN, JORGENSEN, KAUFMANN, KEARNS, KELLEY, KLEIN, KOESTER, LANDON, LOFGREN, MAXWELL, H. MILLER, L. MILLER, MOORE, MUHLBAUER, S. OLSON, PAULSEN, PETTENGILL, RAYHONS, RIDING, ROGERS, RUFF, SALMON, SANDS, SCHULTZ, SHAW, SHEETS, J. SMITH, SODERBERG, STANERSON, STUTSMAN, R. TAYLOR, THOMAS, VANDER LINDEN, WATTS, WINDSCHITL, WOOD, and WORTHAN

A Resolution requesting that all necessary and immediate action be taken by the State of California, the United States Congress, the United States Attorney General, state legislatures, state governors, and state attorneys general to effectuate the repeal of California legislation enacted as AB 1437 that unconstitutionally infringes upon the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States to the detriment of this nation’s consumers and farmers.

   WHEREAS, in 2008, California voters approved Proposition 2, a ballot initiative that prohibits California farmers from employing a number of agricultural production methods in widespread use throughout the United States, including the use of industry standards used in egg production; and
   WHEREAS, in 2010, in response to the proposition which would have placed California in a competitive disadvantage by increasing the cost of egg production within that state, the California State Legislature enacted AB 1437 which requires other states to comply with California’s standards in order to continue to market eggs in that state; and
   WHEREAS, Section 25996 of the California Health and Safety Code states that commencing January 1, 2015, a shelled egg cannot be sold or contracted to sell for human consumption in California if the egg was produced on a farm not meeting California standards; and
   WHEREAS, the effect of California’s legislation is to increase consumer prices, create financial hardship on low-income families, and deny egg farmers their right to access the nation’s markets; and
   WHEREAS, the “Commerce Clause,” Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States provides in relevant part, that “Congress shall have Power... [t]o regulate commerce... among the several States...”; which has established a free trade zone now encompassing fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of the United States; and
   WHEREAS, the Commerce Clause is an enumerated power granted to Congress and is also a restriction imposed on states from enacting legislation that places an undue burden on interstate commerce; and
   WHEREAS, in Federalist No. 11, Alexander Hamilton understood that “a free circulation of the commodities” among the states constituted a vital component of this nation’s prosperity; and
   WHEREAS, since 1824, in the landmark decision Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), the United States Supreme Court has found that states are limited in their ability to burden interstate commerce; and
   WHEREAS, since then the principle has been long respected that the Commerce Clause bars states from erecting trade barriers that would otherwise inevitably lead to interstate trade wars, incite retaliation among the states, and ultimately irreparably injure our federal union; and
   WHEREAS, on February 3, 2014, the Honorable Chris Koster, Attorney General of the State of Missouri, brought suit in the United States District Court in the Eastern District of California, Fresno Division, asking the court to declare the California statute invalid, including as a violation of the Commerce Clause; and
   WHEREAS, the Honorable Terry E. Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa, together with the attorneys general of the states of Alabama, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, and the attorney general of the Commonwealth of Kentucky have joined with the State of Missouri in this case; NOW THEREFORE,

   BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, That the State of California immediately repeal all unconstitutional provisions enacted in AB 1437, including Section 25996 of the California Health and Safety Code; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That all necessary and immediate action be taken by the United States Congress, the United States Attorney General, state legislatures, state governors, and state attorneys general to ensure the repeal of all unconstitutional provisions enacted in AB 1437, including Section 25996 of the California Health and Safety Code; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution shall be transmitted to the Honorable Ellen M. Corbett, Majority Leader, California State Senate; the Honorable John A. Perez, Speaker of the Assembly, California State Assembly; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States Senate; the Honorable John A. Boehner, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; the Honorable Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the United States Senate; the Honorable Frank Lucas, Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture of the United States House of Representatives; each member of the Iowa congressional delegation; the Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the United States; the Honorable Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture of the United States; the Honorable Terry E. Branstad, Governor of the State of Iowa; the Honorable Tom Miller, Attorney General of the State of Iowa; the Honorable Luther Strange, Attorney General of the State of Alabama; the Honorable Jack Conway, Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky; the Honorable Chris Koster, Attorney General of the State of Missouri; the Honorable Jon Bruning, Attorney General of the State of Nebraska; and the Honorable E. Scott Pruitt, Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution shall be transmitted to the Council of State Governments, the National Governors Association, and the National Association of Attorneys General.