Group Pushing For Constitutional Convention To Testify In Arkansas
by September 25, 2014 3:52 pm 140 views
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Michael Farris, the national director of the Convention of States Project, is scheduled to testify before the Arkansas Senate and House Committees on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Oct. 1 about a national effort to amend the Constitution to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.
Article V of the Constitution creates two paths for an amendment process. One, where two-thirds of both Houses of Congress propose it, is the way all 27 amendments have been passed. The other requires two-thirds of all states, or 34 of them, to call a convention.
Citizens for Self-Governance, the organization pushing the Convention of States initiative, hopes to use this second, never before used path to call a convention to consider various amendments. Amendments would have to be ratified by three-fourths of state legislatures, or 38.
The group’s website, conventionofstates.com, lists a balanced budget amendment and congressional and Supreme Court term limits as potential amendments that could be considered.
State Rep. Randy Alexander, R-Fayetteville, would have been among the most likely legislators to introduce the resolution, but he lost his re-election bid in May. He said someone else will introduce the resolution.
The movement has run into opposition from conservative groups who fear a runaway convention that significantly reshapes the Constitution. Alexander said the chances of that happening are “zero” because only 13 states can kill any proposals – just as 13 states could kill an amendment under the method that has produced the previous 27 amendments.
Farris has a full schedule of appearances scheduled Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, including speeches and press interviews. Mark Allspaugh, state director, is also scheduled to testify before the House and Senate committees.