Constitutional Convention Has Been Called by Half of the Required States

What happened:

Article V of the US Constitution lays out the procedures for amending the document.

One method allows two-thirds of Congress to propose an amendment. The other allows two-thirds of state legislatures to call a Constitutional Convention to propose amendments.

In either case, proposed amendments then require the approval of three-quarters of the states.

So far in United States history, only Congress has proposed amendments.

But now a movement among states to call a Constitutional Convention has reached the halfway mark.

In late January, Nebraska became the 17th state to pass a resolution calling for a Constitutional Convention. That is half of the 34 states required to form a two-thirds majority.

All 17 states have passed similar resolutions which would limit the Convention “to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress.”

The movement is being spearheaded by a group called the Convention of States Foundation.

It cites vaccine mandates, supply chain chaos, and federal intervention in public schools among the reasons why this may be the right moment to finally limit the federal government’s power, and return control to the states.

What this means:

As the US government surpasses $30 trillion in debt and Nancy Pelosi seeks a 19th term in her 36th year in Congress… calls for fiscal restraint and term limits are more relevant than ever.

The details are light on what type of amendments we could expect — that would be for the Constitutional Convention delegates sent by each state to decide.

It is an enticing prospect to bring the federal government under the control of the states, as was originally intended by the Founding Fathers.

But the odds of that happening aren’t exactly overwhelming.

Georgia was the first state to pass the Constitutional Convention resolution in 2014. Then it took another eight years to reach the halfway mark — 17 states approving of the 34 required.

The latest state, Nebraska, included a sunset provision, meaning its resolution will expire on February 1, 2027.

That leaves only five years to reach the goal.

But most states that favor limiting the federal government’s power have already passed the resolution.

In chronological order, the following 17 states have passed the resolution: Georgia, Alaska, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arizona, North Dakota, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Utah, Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Nebraska.