Bill Text: PA SR142 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulating the Republic of Hungary on the adoption of its first national constitution in its 1,000-year history.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-5)

Status: (Passed) 2011-06-14 - Introduced and adopted [SR142 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-SR142-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 1351
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 142 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY BLAKE, STACK, TARTAGLIONE, DINNIMAN, FARNESE, FONTANA, ERICKSON, RAFFERTY AND ALLOWAY, JUNE 14, 2011
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JUNE 14, 2011
A RESOLUTION
Congratulating the Republic of Hungary on the adoption of its
first national constitution in its 1,000-year history.
WHEREAS, The Government of Hungary has adopted its first
national constitution ever, replacing the constitution put in
place by the Stalinists in 1949; and
WHEREAS, Prior to the Stalinist constitution, Hungary did not
have a formal written constitution but was governed for nearly
1,000 years by the Doctrine of the Holy Crown (Szentkorona-tan),
a complex tradition that underlies Hungary's historical,
unwritten constitution until the 1949 Soviet-drafted
constitution; and
WHEREAS, When Communism fell in the late 1980s, Hungary was
the only post-Soviet state not to immediately establish a new
constitution; and
WHEREAS, At the Hungarian Round Table Talks in mid-1989, a
document that would establish a multiparty system, parliamentary
democracy and a social market economy was discussed but instead,
on October 18, 1989, the National Assembly adopted a
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comprehensive amendment to the 1949 Constitution which would
prevail until a new constitution was framed; and
WHEREAS, The Government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban
invited all registered political parties to submit drafts to the
Constitutional Committee and participate in parliamentary
debate; and
WHEREAS, To solicit the input of the citizens of Hungary in
the process of the drafting of the constitution and basic law,
questionnaires were distributed to 8 million Hungarian voters,
and 1 million were completed and returned; and
WHEREAS, In April 2010, the Fidesz Party won a two-thirds
majority in the elections, the number necessary to establish a
new constitution according to the framework of the constitution
in force; and
WHEREAS, In place of a preamble, the constitution includes a
"national testament" or "national declaration" that begins with
the first line of Hungary's national anthem, "God Bless the
Hungarian," and sets forth Hungary's religious and ethnic roots,
the historic role of the Holy Crown in Hungarian life and the
legacy of the 1956 revolt against the Soviets; and
WHEREAS, The new constitution, the first national
constitution to be drafted on an iPad, was adopted by the
Hungarian National Assembly on April 18, 2011; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate the people of Hungary
and Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the adoption of their first
national constitution and applaud the democratic and historic
process of drafting and adopting the new constitution of the
people of Hungary.
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