HR 600

                                                 PRINTER'S NO.   3792
             THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
      HOUSE RESOLUTION
         No. 600
                                         Session of
                                           2026
INTRODUCED BY BRADFORD AND TOPPER, JULY 23, 2026
ORIGINATED IN COMMITTEE ON RULES JULY 23, 2026
                          A RESOLUTION
1 Authorizing the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of
2    Pennsylvania to hold session on September 9, 2026, at 5:45
3    p.m., at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, in celebration of the
4    momentous and historic occasion of the 250th anniversary of
5    the Constitution of Pennsylvania and the United States
6    Semiquincentennial.
7    WHEREAS, The first Constitution of Pennsylvania was drafted
8 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Conference at Carpenters' Hall in
9 Philadelphia and adopted on September 28, 1776; and
10    WHEREAS, The Constitution of Pennsylvania of 1776 established
11 a profound precedent by expanding voting rights to all tax-
12 paying freemen, eliminating restrictive property ownership
13 requirements and creating a strong Declaration of Rights that
14 predated the United States Bill of Rights; and
15    WHEREAS, The enduring legacy of Pennsylvania's constitutional
16 history continues to protect the inherent rights, public
17 education and free elections of all residents of this
18 Commonwealth; and
19    WHEREAS, From June 12 through 27, 1776, Thomas Jefferson
20 drafted the original rough draft of the Declaration of
1 Independence, which was read in Congress on June 28, 1776; and
2    WHEREAS, From July 1 through 4, 1776, Congress debated and
3 revised the Declaration of Independence, and finally signed the
4 document on the morning of July 4, 1776, to formally sever
5 political ties between the 13 American colonies and Great
6 Britain, unite the colonies and announce their sovereignty and
7 gain support from foreign nations, particularly France; and
8    WHEREAS, Two hundred fifty years later, this country unites
9 to celebrate the creation of our nation's founding document and
10 the intrepid men who rose up against the great power of Britain
11 to assert their independence; therefore be it
12    RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
13 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania be authorized to hold session on
14 September 9, 2026, at 5:45 p.m., at Congress Hall in
15 Philadelphia, in commemoration of the momentous and historic
16 occasion of the 250th anniversary of the Constitution of
17 Pennsylvania and the United States Semiquincentennial.
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