SESSION OF 2021
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION NO. 5013
As Recommended by House Committee on
Federal and State Affairs

Brief*
HCR 5013 states that the State of Kansas urges
Congress to propose the “Keep Nine” amendment to the U.S.
Constitution. The concurrent resolution specifies that the
amendment shall state “The Supreme Court of the United
States shall be composed of nine justices.”
The resolution contains whereas clauses setting out
legislative findings concerning the federal branches of
government and the U.S. Supreme Court.
The resolution requires the Kansas Secretary of State to
send an enrolled copy of the resolution to each member of
the Kansas Congressional delegation, the Speaker of the
U.S. House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the
U.S. Senate and the leader of each legislative chamber for
the other 49 states.

Background
The concurrent resolution was introduced by the House
Committee on Federal and State Affairs at the request of
Representative Barker who stated the request was made on
behalf of Representative Steven Johnson.

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*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
House Committee on Federal and State Affairs
In the House Committee hearing on February 26, 2021,
Representative Steven Johnson and a representative of the
Coalition to Preserve an Independent United States Supreme
Court testified as proponents stating that the resolution is
needed to prevent politics from influencing the independence
of the judiciary. Written-only proponent testimony was
provided by the Attorney General. No other testimony was
provided.

Fiscal Information
Fiscal information for the concurrent resolution was not
available at the time the House Committee took action.
Keep Nine; Supreme Court Justices; US Constitution


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