Right-wing politicians participating in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s conference in San Diego, California want to convene a new constitutional convention to draft amendments aimed at balancing the federal budget and imposing term limits on elected representatives.
Article V of the United States Constitution outlines that two-thirds of the 50 states are needed to call a convention and that ratification requires three-fourths of them.
“It’s a very high bar, very difficult to do,” said ALEC chairman and Utah State Senate President Stuart Adams (R-Davis County).
“It’s really the last line of defense that we have. Right now, the federal government’s run away. They’re not going to pull their own power back. They’re not going to restrict themselves. And so this Article V convention is really, in my opinion, is the last option that we have,” Iowa state Rep. John Wills (R-Dickinson County) told The Hill.
He acknowledged that while his colleagues have also been discussing proposals for constitutional amendments that would bolster their social agenda – like banning abortion.
But the Constitution is mum on how a convention should operate, eliminating any guarantee that things would go according to plan. Moreover, Article V contains no language stating that a convention need be issue-specific.
The Constitution does not provide a time frame for how long the amendment process is supposed to take.
