> “Is there any constitutional way to hold a limited convention?”
Yes of course.
A few things in play here to understand first.
Congress vs. State legislatures vs. State Conventions.
PROPOSING AMENDMENTS
Only Congress can call for, or legislatures can apply for a Constitutional Convention (CC). Two-thirds is required for both options. For state legislature application to require Congress to act in our time, 34 states are required.
When either Congress calls for or legislatures apply for a CC, they apply for proposing amendments and they submit their ***proposed*** amendments for ratification.
Nothing prohibits a state legislature from proposing any amendment it wants. However, each amendment must have a minimum 75% of the states (38) ratify the proposed amendments. Only states are allowed to ratify amendments but Congress can offer ratification to states in two ways: either via legislatures or via state conventions.
RATIFYING AMENDMENTS
Either state legislatures or state conventions can ratify amendments, and there must be in our time a minimum 38 states to ratify then amendment into our Constitution.
Congress can choose whether they offer legislatures or state conventions as the mode of ratification. The only time state conventions were ever chosen was to repeal the 18th Amendment that banned drinking alcohol.
STATE LEGISLATURES VS. STATE CONVENTIONS
The idea of Congress allowing state conventions rather than state legislatures was to allow a more direct people process be involved for issues that are sensitive to the public.
If Congress chooses state conventions for ratification, then the conventions are organized at grassroots level and can be recognized by popular referendum allowing voters to have direct participation. Delegates are chosen by voters to attend the state convention in which already proposed amendments are considered in a vote for ratification.
Importantly only Congress or state legislatures can ***propose*** amendments.
And only states can ratify proposed amendments, and Congress chooses whether states ratify via legislatures or conventions.
LIMITING A CONVENTION
To answer your question about limiting the convention, it is already built into the process by requiring at least two-thirds of Congress or states to approve which amendments to consider for ratification. This is the limiting mechanism for a CC.
By the way the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) may be chosen by legislatures to coordinate the wording and limitation of amendments. It is not required to use ALEC but the states already use ALEC for other purposes and they have talked in the past about using ALEC to coordinate states for a CC.
STATES CALLING FOR CC
A state like Massachusetts can propose 100 amendments from Homosexual marriage to Repealing the 2nd Amendment to Universal Everything for Everyone, whereas a minimum of 17 other states can shoot down Massachusetts’ amendments one by one.
Only amendments that have a minimum 34 states backing them will be submitted for ratification.
SUMMARY
Here’s the flow:
1. CC requested
1a. Congress calls CC by two-thirds of House and Senate
1a(1). Amendments proposed by two-thirds of House and Senate
1a(2). Amendments sent to states for 75% ratification
1a(2)(i) Amendments sent to state legislatures, or
1a(2)(ii) Amendments sent to state conventions
OR
1b. Two-thirds of State legislatures apply for CC
1b(1). Two-thirds of state legislatures propose amendments to Congress
1b(2). Congress sends amendments proposed by two-thirds of state legislatures back to states for 75% ratification
1a(2)(i) Amendments sent to state legislatures, or
1a(2)(ii) Amendments sent to state conventions