Here is the boilerplate I post to these threads. You'll see why this "500 page new constitution" business is a legal impossibility.
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The amendatory process under Article V consists of three steps: Proposal, Disposal, and Ratification.
Proposal:
There are two ways to propose an amendment to the Constitution.
- The Congressional Method requires the House and Senate to pass an amendment by a two-thirds majority.
- The Amendments Convention Method requires the legislatures of two-thirds of the states to apply to Congress to call a Convention for Proposing Amendments. Once the two-thirds threshold is reached, Congress is required to set a time and place for the convention.
Article V gives Congress and an Amendments Convention exactly the same power to propose amendments, no more and no less.
Disposal:
Once Congress, or an Amendments Convention, proposes amendments, Congress must decide whether the states will ratify by the:
- State Legislature Method, or the
- State Ratifying Convention Method.
The State Ratifying Convention Method has only been used twice: once to ratify the Constitution, and once to ratify the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition.
Ratification:
Depending upon which ratification method is chosen by Congress, either the state legislatures vote up-or-down on the proposed amendment, or the voters elect a state ratifying convention to vote up-or-down. If three-quarters of the states vote to ratify, the amendment becomes part of the Constitution.
Forbidden Subjects:
Article V contains two explicitly forbidden subjects and one implicitly forbidden subject.
Explicitly forbidden:
- No amendment may be added to the Constitution concerning slavery or capitation taxes until 1808. We’re past that deadline.
- No amendment may be added to the Constitution to change the principle of equal representation in the Senate unless every state deprived of that right approves. If California wants five senators, every state must have five senators. To permit violation of this principle, every state would have to ratify the amendment, not just three-fourths.
Implicitly forbidden:
- The Constitution of 1787 may not be abrogated and replaced with a new document. Article V only authorizes "a convention for proposing amendments to this Constitution;" therefore, the Constitution of 1787 is locked in place forever. Congress and an Amendments Convention have exactly the same Proposal power; therefore, neither Congress nor an Amendments Convention can start over. Both bodies can only propose amendments.
Reference works:
Proposing Constitutional Amendments by a Convention of the States: A Handbook for State Lawmakers
State Initiation of Constitutional Amendments: A Guide for Lawyers and Legislative Drafters
One thing I would like to see spelled out is if the Convention will structure itself to submit proposed amendments to Congress immediately after passing, or will they hold off on submitting to Congress until the Convention adjourns?
Either way, Congress must treat each proposed amendment separately, but I wonder about the public relations of it all?
- Would it be better to show progress and let the country see the amendments that are passing out of the Convention?
- Would it be better to hold proposed amendments to the end so as not to give the MSM and the government ammunition to pressure the Convention based on what's been seen so far?
- Could the convention become "held hostage" by the amendments passed so far by a small group that refuses to vote to adjourn, thereby holding up the release of proposed amendments indefinitely?
-PJ