CS/HM 227

1
House Memorial
2A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging
3Congress to preserve the authority of the Governor to
4retain command and control of the Florida National Guard
5and to reject any changes to federal law which would
6restrict or diminish the authority of the Governor to
7activate the Florida National Guard in response to a
8domestic crisis, disaster, or other emergency.
9
10     WHEREAS, Article I, Section 8, Clause 16 of the United
11States Constitution and Title 32 of the United States Code grant
12authority to the Governor to act as commander in chief of the
13Florida National Guard, and
14     WHEREAS, the Insurrection Act contained in Title 10 of the
15United States Code currently provides authority to the President
16of the United States to activate the Florida National Guard in
17certain circumstances, and
18     WHEREAS, revisions to the Insurrection Act enacted in 2007
19which provided the President wider authority to activate
20National Guard units were repealed in 2008, and
21     WHEREAS, as the military arm of the Governor and the people
22of the State of Florida, the Florida National Guard stands ready
23to immediately respond to a call from the Governor whenever
24there is a crisis or an emergency at home or abroad, and
25     WHEREAS, because the State of Florida is extremely
26vulnerable to hurricanes, the state is often faced with
27recurring and sometimes overlapping emergency situations that
28require immediate and significant response, and
29     WHEREAS, the Florida National Guard is the only military
30force that the Governor can call upon to respond to disasters
31and other emergencies, and
32     WHEREAS, coordination and command of the Florida National
33Guard is also equally critical to the Governor's ability to
34successfully ensure homeland security and carry out domestic
35defense duties, NOW, THEREFORE,
36
37Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
38
39     That the Congress of the United States is urged to preserve
40the authority of the Governor to retain command and control of
41the Florida National Guard and to reject any changes to federal
42law which would restrict or diminish the authority of the
43Governor to activate the Florida National Guard in response to a
44domestic crisis, disaster, or other emergency.
45     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
46dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
47President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
48United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
49the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.