Posted on 12/11/2013 5:43:15 PM PST by dontreadthis
Good news from the Sunshine State! Florida State Senator Alan Hays (R-Umatilla) filed SM 476 on Friday petitioning Congress to call an Article V Convention of States.
Senator Hays stated, “Everywhere I go, people ask me what can be done to reform Washington, D.C. This petition to Congress to convene the Article V convention is the first step toward that reform. This ‘runaway’ Federal government is of great concern to Americans of all political parties and of all the states.”
In filing the legislation, Senator Hays continued, “In their wisdom, our Founders knew the Federal Government might one day become too large and too powerful, so they specifically inserted a mechanism that gives states a lawful and orderly instrument to restrain a runaway federal government; it’s Article V, Section 2 of the Constitution.”
So far, Florida, Virginia, and South Carolina have officially pre-filed our application in their state legislature. We have many more representatives interested in sponsoring our application, so be looking for your state as we announce more pre-filings in the next few weeks!
These are huge steps towards calling a Convention of States, and we’re taking them right on schedule!
Sounds great! Now, how are you going to do it... an Executive Order? Pass a law... the Affordable Repeal The 17th Act?
No, you'll need an amendment.
Is Congress going to propose one? Not likely...
So, one more avenue to pursue: Convention of States whose purpose is to reign in the Federal (aka, National) government, and THERE, an amendment can be discussed, configured, written, and then proposed for ratification.
The South always leads the way.
“Julia, your health care and retirement plan are both over there by the ditch.”
Yea, I wuz bein a lil snarky.
Succession does sound awful good though.
“if that’s an honest guess, then you should be posting on the Succession thread”
What ‘Succession thread?’ Who or what is succeeding whom or what? I mean, it makes sense that amendments are in successive or sequential order; and that presidents succeed their predecessors. Are you alluding to a thread that discusses who will succeed Obama?
No, just 34 - and to get there we need 3 - then 4 - then 5
The Succession thread follows the Secession thread.
Geez...
I don't pretend to know the process, but this usually is the legislative process.
Seems like a HUGE hurdle to get 34 states to pass such a bill, put a convention together and then have a supermajority of 38 states ratify the results of the convention.
secession.
thanks
Clearly, the amendment topics and wording will be critical. The more states at the COS the better - they’ll all have an a-priori leaning towards at least some of the proffered amendments. Consider that states have lost a LOT of power since the 17th, and they know it. They are burdened, each and every one, with around 25% of the budgets forced by the “feds” (ie, Nationals) to cover Medicaid. The States, and probably lots of dem states, are chomping at the bit to limit the feral government.
Hey, I really don’t want to be so cynical. It just seems like such an uphill battle.
This is a constitutional conservative push for the most part.
I think of states like Maryland, California, Oregon, Vermont, New Jersey and the like and there are so many liberals, progressives, socialists, commies in their state houses.
The “bill” you are referring to, to participate by sending delegates (known as “commissioners”) to the COS, need not be controversial. These are just bills determining how that particular state is to chose commissioners, how they provision them with instructions, how they keep them in line, how they can recall them, how the alternate commissioners are chosen and how they take over when needed, and so on. Indiana’s bill is a few pages long, and a good quick read... nothing controversial in it.
the Governors are not involved in the Amendment proposal process nor in the ratification of Amendments, only the legislatures are.
However, as was recently done in Indiana, the Governor (Pence) did sign legislation governing the selection, duties, and recall procedures for delegates to the Article V convention.
34 states
27 Republican-controlled Legislatures
17 Democratic-controlled Legislatures
5 Split Legislatures
1 Officially non-partisan (Nebraska)
50 Total
“Split” means that either the two chambers have different majority parties (e.g., Democratic Senate and Republican House), that one chamber is evenly split between parties, or that a coalition or “hung” chamber has occurred.
In several states, the party that controls the state legislature may not be the one that usually wins the state in presidential elections. Also note that due to politics, a party with a numerical majority in a chamber may be forced to share power with other parties due to informal coalitions, or outright cede power due to divisions.
The table below shows total state government control, which means the governor and the chamber majorities are all of the same party
V
The Tyrants in D.C. are not the problem.
. The no information voters who elect them are the problem.
If we can't elect representatives, and Senators who will honor the oath they took to support, and defend the Constitution, 100 more ammendments won't change anything.
The only thing that will save this Republic is the hand of our Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ!
We had all better be on our kees praaying!
Is Congress even involved in an Article V action by the states? My understanding was that Congress would have nothing to do with such an undertaking. Which, to my mind, is desirable -- since Congress is, itself, part of the problem.
Article V states that the States must petition Congress to hold the convention. Congress has the obligation to “tabulate” the individual petitions from each State to determine if the 2/3 requirement has been met. That is to say, that 2/3 of the States are petitioning on the SAME issue or issues.
After that, the Congress MUST call for the convention and is essentially no longer involved with the convention.
A Constitutional Convention would be like walking into the jaws of a dinosaur. It is a very bad idea. DO NOT DO IT.
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