SJR52 extends the deadline for the automatic rescission of certain applications made by the Texas Legislature to the United States Congress to call a national constitutional convention under Article V of the United States Constitution for proposing any amendment to that constitution.
The Texas State Senate passed SJR52 on March 21, 2023 by a vote of 19 to 12. 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. SJR52 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.