We are being told here in Arizona that the final vote on the Convention of States Article V Application - SCR1016 - will probably take place next Monday, April 14th, in the Arizona House of Representatives.
This may be our last opportunity to help pass this legislation during this legislative session. This bill has moved favorably through four committee hearings and will now go to the floor of the House before the Committee of the Whole for a final vote. SCR1016 is considered to be the only realistic strategy that can finally begin to reverse the fiscally unsustainable and politically irresponsible actions of an out-of-control federal government.
For those of you who are still on the fence, fearing that what the nay-sayers and fear-mongers are calling a “runaway convention” could actually happen, please understand that this is a convention of state delegates called only to PROPOSE amendments to the Constitution, amendments that would LIMIT the power and scope of the federal government. Any proposal outside of those strict parameters would be ruled out of order and would not even be debated. Besides, no matter what proposals come out of this convention, they are nothing more than that – PROPOSALS – until ratified by at least 38 state legislatures. Do the math and you’ll see that it only takes 13 states to stop any amendment in its tracks... and they could do it by simply doing nothing!
The convention itself will be an open, closely followed public forum where true conservative ideas can finally be proposed, expounded upon and debated for the entire nation to see. Ideas like term limits for Congress and all federal judges; requiring Congress to pass an annual balanced budget under penalty of law; prohibiting votes on all but one-subject bills; banning international laws and treaties from influencing our courts; clarifying and greatly narrowing the General Welfare and Commerce clauses; ending the IRS and the EPA as we know it; just to name a few. And in the exhaustive examination of these ideas, there will come clarity, refinement and precision, culminating for some in proposals for amendments that will help steer the nation back toward the course envisioned by the Framers.
We here in Arizona are being asked to please set aside about 30 minutes over the weekend and call every House member on the roster linked below, particularly the leadership of both parties, and leave a brief message for them to find on Monday. You can be assured that the opposition will be making their calls, as well.
Remember to thank them for their service to their constituents - the people of Arizona – and strongly urge them to lend their support to SCR1610, Representative Townsend’s Article V legislation calling for a Convention of States to propose amendments to the Constitution to reduce the power and authority of the federal government and return it where it belongs... to the states.
Member Roster ==> http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=H
Is the AZ application identical to that of the COS?