"Virginia wants to print it's OWN Money"

[Sandra]

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 557
Offered January 12, 2011
Prefiled January 5, 2011

Establishing a joint subcommittee to study whether the Commonwealthshould adopt a currency to serve as an alternative to the currencydistributed by the Federal Reserve System in the event of a majorbreakdown of the Federal Reserve System. Report.

 

----------
Patron-- Marshall, R.G.
----------
Referred to Committee on Rules
----------

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled in In reRahrer, 140 U.S. 545, 554 (1891), that the police power of a State is apower originally and always belonging to the States, not surrendered bythem to the general government, nor directly restrained by theConstitution of the United States, and essentially exclusive ;and

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled in Beer Companyv. Massachusetts, 97 U.S. 25, 33 (1877), that the police power of theStates extend[s] to the protection of the lives, health, and property ofthe[ir] citizens, and to the preservation of good order ; and

WHEREAS, the protection of the lives, health, and property of Virginia scitizens, and the preservation of good order in the Commonwealth, dependupon the maintenance of both an adequate system of governmental financeand a sound and robust private economy; and

WHEREAS, an adequate system of governmental finance and a sound androbust private economy cannot be maintained in the absence of a soundcurrency; and

WHEREAS, the present monetary and banking systems of the United States,centered around the Federal Reserve System, have come underever-increasing strain during the last several years, and will be exposedto ever-increasing and predictably debilitating strain in the years tocome; and

WHEREAS, many widely recognized experts predict the inevitabledestruction of the Federal Reserve System s currency throughhyperinflation in the foreseeable future; and

WHEREAS, in the event of hyperinflation, depression, or other economiccalamity related to the breakdown of the Federal Reserve System, forwhich the Commonwealth is not prepared, the Commonwealth s governmentalfinances and Virginia s private economy will be thrown into chaos, withgravely detrimental effects upon the lives, health, and property ofVirginia s citizens, and with consequences fatal to the preservation ofgood order throughout the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, Virginia can avoid or at least mitigate many of the economic,social, and political shocks to be expected to arise from hyperinflation,depression, or other economic calamity related to the breakdown of theFederal Reserve System only through the timely adoption of an alternativesound currency that the Commonwealth s government and citizens may employwithout delay in the event of the destruction of the Federal ReserveSystem s currency; and

WHEREAS, legal tender denotes a currency that must be accepted in paymentof a debt denominated in United States dollars if the parties have notstipulated that some alternative currency is to be used as their mediumof payment or are not otherwise required to use such alternativecurrency; and

WHEREAS, the Federal Reserve System s currency has been designated legaltender under color of Title 31, United States Code, Section 5103;and

WHEREAS, under Title 12, United States Code, 411 and Title 31, UnitedStates Code, 5118(b) and (c), the Federal Reserve System s currency isnot redeemable in gold or silver coin or the equivalent in bullion;and

WHEREAS, that the Federal Reserve System s currency is not redeemable ingold or silver coin or the equivalent in bullion is being identified bymore and more experts as a, if not the, major reason for theever-increasing instability of the Federal Reserve System; and

WHEREAS, all gold and silver coins of the United States are designatedlegal tender under the aegis of Title 31, United States Code, 5103 and5112(h), and must be so designated perforce of Article I, Section 8,Clause 5 and Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of the Constitution of theUnited States; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to Article I, Section 10, Clause 1 of and the TenthAmendment to the Constitution of the United States, each State must makegold and silver coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; and

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States in Lane County v. Oregon,74 U.S. (7 Wallace) 71, 76-78 (1869), and Hagar v. Reclamation DistrictNo. 108, 111 U.S. 701, 706 (1884), has ruled that the States may adoptwhatever currency they desire for the purposes of performing theirsovereign governmental functions, even to the extent of adopting gold andsilver coin for those purposes while refusing to employ a currency notredeemable in gold or silver coin that Congress has designated legaltender ; and

WHEREAS, the police power being the primary sovereign governmentalfunction of every State, under Lane County and Hagar every State mayadopt its own currency, consisting of gold or silver, or both, whenevernecessary and proper to facilitate exercises of that power in aid of thegeneral welfare of the State and its citizens; and

WHEREAS, under the aegis of Title 31, United States Code, 5118(d)(2), andperforce of Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article I, Section 10,Clause 1 of, and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to, the Constitution ofthe United States, Americans may employ whatever currency they choose tostipulate as the medium for payment of their private debts, includinggold or silver, or both, to the exclusion of a currency not redeemable ingold or silver that Congress may have designated legal tender ;and

WHEREAS, under the aegis of Title 31, United States Code, 5118(d)(2), andperforce of Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article I, Section 10,Clause 1 of, and the Ninth and Tenth Amendments to, the Constitution ofthe United States, the citizens of Virginia may choose to employ as themedium for payment of their private debts whatever alternative currency,consisting of gold or silver, or both, that the Commonwealth may adopt inthe exercise of the police power ; and

WHEREAS, in light of the possible instability of the Federal ReserveSystem, proposals for states and their citizens to adopt an alternativecurrency consisting of gold or silver, or both, are receiving increasingattention throughout the United States, as evidenced by bills that havebeen or are being introduced in the legislatures of the States ofGeorgia, Indiana, Montana, New Hampshire, and South Carolina;and

WHEREAS, various systems of alternative currency employing gold orsilver, or both, in the form of coin or its equivalent in bullion havealready proved themselves in the free market, and could either beemployed by the Commonwealth directly or be used as models for a newsystem created by the Commonwealth to meet Virginia s unique needs;and

WHEREAS, the adoption of an alternative currency consisting of gold orsilver, or both, would not destabilize the present monetary and bankingsystems, the Commonwealth s governmental finances, or Virginia s privateeconomy, because it would not compel or commit the Commonwealth or hercitizens to employ such alternative currency to the exclusion of theFederal Reserve System s currency immediately, but would merely make thealternative currency available, and enable it to be used in competitionwith and preference to the Federal Reserve System s currency, to thedegree that the need for such use became apparent; and

WHEREAS, the United States Congress, the U.S. Department of the Treasury,and the Federal Reserve System have taken and are preparing to take noaction to provide the United States with an alternative to the FederalReserve System s currency, in the likely event that the latter would bedestroyed through hyperinflation; and

WHEREAS, because legislators in Virginia know or should know all of thesefacts; and because the General Assembly has the authority, the ability,and the duty to take timely action to deal with this situation withoutfirst seeking the approval of or assistance from Congress or any otherstate; and because the Constitution of Virginia provides, That all poweris vested in, and consequently derived from, the people, that magistratesare their trustees and servants, and at all times amenable to them forthese reasons, the citizens of the Commonwealth will properly concludethat the members of the General Assembly will be primarily responsible ifthe Commonwealth is found to be without an alternative currency when theFederal Reserve System s currency collapses in hyperinflation, or someother related economic calamity supervenes; now, therefore, beit

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That a jointsubcommittee be appointed to study whether the Commonwealth should adopta currency to serve as an alternative to the currency distributed by theFederal Reserve System in the event of a major breakdown of the FederalReserve System.

The joint subcommittee shall consist of eight legislative members whoshall be appointed as follows: five members of the House of Delegates tobe appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance withthe principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules ofthe House of Delegates and three members of the Senate to be appointed bythe Senate Committee on Rules. The joint subcommittee shall elect achairman and vice-chairman from among its membership.

In conducting its study, the joint subcommittee shall call or hear fromsuch witnesses and take such other evidence as it deems appropriate andshall consider recommendations for legislation, with respect to the need,means, and schedule for establishing such an alternativecurrency.

Administrative staff support shall be provided by the Office of the Clerkof the House of Delegates. Legal, research, policy analysis, and otherservices as requested by the joint subcommittee shall be provided by theDivision of Legislative Services. Technical assistance shall be providedby the Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Bureau ofFinancial Institutions of the State Corporation Commission. All otheragencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the jointsubcommittee for this study, upon request.

The joint subcommittee shall be limited to six meetings for the 2011interim, and the direct costs of this study shall not exceed $12,000without approval as set out in this resolution. Approval for unbudgetednonmember-related expenses shall require the written authorization of thechairman of the joint subcommittee and the respective Clerk. If acompanion joint resolution of the other chamber is agreed to, writtenauthorization of both Clerks shall be required.

No recommendation of the joint subcommittee shall be adopted if amajority of the House members or a majority of the Senate membersappointed to the joint subcommittee (i) vote against the recommendationand (ii) vote for the recommendation to fail notwithstanding the majorityvote of the joint subcommittee.

The joint subcommittee shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2011,and the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative AutomatedSystems an executive summary of its findings and recommendations no laterthan the first day of the 2012 Regular Session of the General Assembly.The executive summary shall state that the joint subcommittee intends tosubmit to the General Assembly and the Governor a report of its findingsand recommendations for publication as a House or Senate document andshall specify the date by which the report shall be submitted. Theexecutive summary and the report shall be submitted as provided in theprocedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for theprocessing of legislative documents and reports, and shall be posted onthe General Assembly's website.

Implementation of this resolution is subject to subsequent approval andcertification by the Joint Rules Committee. The Committee may approve ordisapprove expenditures for this study, extend or delay the period forthe conduct of the study, or authorize additional meetings during the2011 interim.
Link

or click here; http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?111+ful+HJ557

 

 

[Sandra]

Great idea! Cut off DC aka the snakes head and starve the beast! All states should consider this and maybe we need to learn to trade and barter again!