House bill NO. 933

INTRODUCED BY J. Read, B. Mitchell, B. Ler, C. Hinkle

By Request of the ****

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT RECOGNIZING THE ORIGINAL 13th AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION; ALLOWING THE RETENTION OF OFFICES OF BAR ASSOCIATION MEMBERS UNTIL THE ORIGINAL 13TH AMENDMENT BECOMES PART OF THE United States CONSTITUTION; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE."

WHEREAS, in 1810, an amendment to the United States Constitution prohibiting titles of nobility was introduced by United States Senator Reed, passed both houses of Congress, and was sent to the states for ratification; and

WHEREAS, this amendment, now known as the original 13th Amendment, states: "If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain, any title of nobility or honour, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them"; and

WHEREAS, 13 states were necessary to ratify the proposed amendment to make it part of the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, 12 states ratified the original 13th Amendment between 1810 and 1812, shortly before the outbreak of the War of 1812, during which time many records were destroyed in the tumult of war; and

WHEREAS, there exists no record of ratification or rejection by the state of Virginia regarding the original 13th Amendment; however, Virginia passed legislation to republish its civil code and the United States Constitution and its amendments on March 12, 1819; and

WHEREAS, Virginia's republication of the laws included the original 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, thereby announcing its ratification of the amendment; and

WHEREAS, word of Virginia's ratification of the original 13th Amendment spread to various states and territories that also published the amendment and ordered copies of the United States Constitution with the original 13th Amendment for dissemination and use in schools and, over a 41-year period, 11 different states and territories printed the amendment in 20 separate publications; and

WHEREAS, publication is prima facie evidence of the ratification of the original 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, the prohibition against granting titles of nobility is not a foreign concept and can be found twice in Article I of the United States Constitution, lending further foundation and credibility to the existence and adoption of the original 13th Amendment.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

NEW SECTION. Section 1. Purpose -- findings. (1) The purpose of [section 2] is to recognize and ratify the original 13th amendment, prohibiting titles of nobility, with the intent that it be properly included in the United States constitution as the law of the land once ratified by the required number of states. [Section 2] is also intended to end the infiltration of the bar association and the judicial branch into the executive and legislative branches of government and to end the unlawful usurpation of the people's right, guaranteed by the Montana constitution, to elect county attorneys who are not members of the bar.

(2)        The legislature finds that the unlawful usurpation described in subsection (1) gives the judicial branch control over all government and the people in grand juries. The legislature further finds that as long as the original 13th amendment is concealed from the people, there will never be justice or a legitimate constitutional form of government.

NEW SECTION. Section 2. Recognition and adoption of the original 13th amendment -- retention of offices of bar association members. (1) The original 13th amendment to the United States constitution is recognized and ratified by the state of Montana and states: "If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain, any title of nobility or honour, or shall, without the consent of Congress, accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States, and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them".

(2)        Members of the Montana bar association may hold an office of trust or profit until the original 13th amendment is ratified by three-fourths of the states and becomes part of the United States constitution.

NEW SECTION. Section 3. Appropriation. (1) There is appropriated $35,000 from the general fund to the Montana historical society for the biennium beginning July 1, 2023, for the purpose of creating a repository for the preservation of documents related to the original 13th amendment.

(2)        There is appropriated $15,000 from the general fund to secretary of state for the biennium beginning July 1, 2023, for the purpose of notifying the board of county commissioners of each county in Montana, the governors of each of the 50 states of the United States, and the archivist of the federal national archives and records administration of the ratification of the original 13th amendment to the United States constitution.

NEW SECTION. Section 4. Notification to tribal governments. The secretary of state shall send a copy of [this act] to each federally recognized tribal government in Montana.

NEW SECTION. Section 5. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 and 2] are intended to be codified as a new chapter in Title 1, and the provisions of Title 1 apply to [sections 1 and 2].

NEW SECTION. Section 6. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 4, 2023.