LR14 calls for Convention of State to propose limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.
The Senate voted to pass LR14 on January 28, 2022 by a vote of 32 to 11. We have assigned pluses to the nays because a so-called “Convention of the States” would not be of “limited” purpose. The vague and contradictory text contained in this joint resolution dangerously permits what Article V of the U.S. Constitution describes as a “Convention for proposing Amendments” or second constitutional convention. Notably, Article V of the U.S. Constitution was designed to correct structural deficiencies in the federal government, not the behavior of its elected officials. LR14 should be opposed in favor of less risky, more precise, and immediate solutions that would restore power back to the states and to the people, such as clear-cut proposals in Congress to repeal bad amendments or state nullification of specific unauthorized federal laws.