Whereas the United States Constitution authorizes a form of government in which the Federal Government is to be restricted to certain delegated and enumerated powers; and

Whereas the Federal Government has regularly and without compunction exceeded the powers so delegated; and

Whereas the Federal Government has lacked any internal sense of responsibility and denied any efforts at external accountability and thereby placed the financial condition of the Nation and the people and their posterity in extreme peril; and

Whereas the free market business climate that has been responsible for the prior financial successes of the Nation has now been stifled by excessive regulations created by unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats to the detriment of the people and of the states and of the nation; and

Whereas the people of the several states have petitioned the Federal Government without meaningful response; and

Whereas the people of these several states have made known at polling places and through elections their desire for the Federal Government to return to the constitutional boundaries aforementioned without success; and

Whereas the states have likewise petitioned the Federal Government and courts without satisfactory response; and

Whereas the Supreme Court, and lesser federal courts have deliberately allowed and encouraged the continued abuse of the states and the people by usurpations of powers reserved to the states and or the people; and

Whereas the members of congress have shown no intention to address their infirmities by putting forth for ratification to the states much needed amendments to the Constitution to address these and other issues.

Be it therefore resolved that the legislature of The State of _________________________ does make application for, and demand that, the congress of the United States CALL FOR, as provided in Article V of the United States Constitution, a Convention of the states. Upon such call the states shall, select delegates according to procedures determined by each state, and send delegations to said Convention for the purposes of considering the attached Articles of Amendment; and

Be it further resolved that each house of this legislature shall appoint one of the original sponsoring members of this resolution to a Committee of the States and that such Committee shall be comprised of similar members from the several states having passed this or similar resolutions; and

Be it further resolved that this appointee shall be charged with delivering copies of this resolution to the other states and congress and communicating the need for the aforementioned Convention to other states which have not yet passed a similar resolution calling for an Article V Convention; and

Be it further resolved that this Committee of the States shall be charged with tracking the number of states having similarly called for a Convention and producing, on the 1st day of April and the 15th day of October, a biannual Report on the Status of the Call for Convention and delivering said report to each state legislature and to the leadership of the US House and Senate along with copies of each state’s applications; and

Be it further resolved that this legislature shall cause to be printed in state newspapers of record the Report received from the Committee on the second Sunday in April and the last Tuesday in October ; and

Be it further resolved that each chamber of this legislature shall provide necessary funds, for their respective appointees, for travel and communications expenses incurred as part of this effort in the amount of ____________; and

Be it further resolved that as Article V REQUIRES congress to call a convention when presented with Applications from 2/3rds of the states, should the congress fail to call a convention as required by Article V of the US Constitution after being presented with the required number of Applications from the states by the Committee, this legislature authorizes its members appointed to the Committee to negotiate with other Committee members a date and place for such a Convention and to issue the call to Convention.

Finally, be it resolved that providing the US Congress puts forth the attached Articles, individually or collectively, as amendment(s) to be considered for ratification by the states; and providing said Articles are ratified, this legislature rescinds its Application, withdraws its appointments to the Committee and removes any funding associated with said members or Committee.

 

The Articles

Term Limits

ARTICLE—
SECTION 1. The Seventeenth Amendment to the US Constitution is hereby repealed.
SECTION 2. When vacancies occur in the Senate, the legislature of the state shall determine the method of replacement. Vacancies lasting beyond 30 days may be filled by the governor of the state on a temporary basis until the normal procedure has produced a replacement.
SECTION 3. No person shall be elected to a full term as a member of the House of Representatives more than three times in a ten year period; no person appointed to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives shall be eligible for election to the same office in the next regular election for that office.
SECTION 4. No service occurring before ratification of this article shall be taken into account when determining eligibility for election under section 3.

 

Tax Reform and Balanced Budget Requirement

ARTICLE—
SECTION 1. The Sixteenth Amendment to the US Constitution is hereby repealed.
SECTION 2. Congress shall make no law levying or collecting a tax on any form of income, real or personal property, gifts or estates. Neither congress nor the several states shall prohibit, regulate or impose a tax on transactions utilizing gold, silver or other precious metals except where such metals are the payment method and the regulation or tax applies equally to all payment methods.
SECTION 3. The levying of any new tax or an increase of any existing tax shall require a 3/5ths majority in each house, shall be considered separately from any other legislation.
SECTION 4. During any year in which the United States has an outstanding debt, the Congress may not authorize spending in excess of 90% of the prior year’s actual revenue except as otherwise provided in this article. If spending exceeds this requirement all authorized spending shall be automatically reduced on a pro-rata basis to achieve the required spending level.
SECTION 5. Excess revenue collected as a result of Section 4 spending limits shall be used to pay down the national debt.
SECTION 6. Congress may, by 3/5ths vote of each chamber, authorize additional spending above the limits imposed in Section 4. This authorization shall apply only to the current year and the vote shall be specific to, and limited to, the issue of authorizing an unbalanced budget and shall state the amount of excess spending authorized.

 

Legislative, Judicial and Regulatory Reform

ARTICLE—
SECTION 1. Each bill, as amended, offered in the US House of Representatives shall be read audibly in its entirety on the floor of the House by one of the sponsors of the bill before a final vote is taken. The chamber must be in session with a quorum present. No more than one bill may be read concurrently.
SECTION 2. The House of Representatives shall hold two votes on each bill it considers. The votes shall be held with not less than 1 week intervening. The identical bill must receive a majority both times it is considered. A 3/4ths majority may waive this provision in time of emergency.
SECTION 3. In instances where congress authorizes the executive branch, an executive agency or any other federally authorized entity to promulgate regulations; such regulations shall not take effect until congress reviews and approves the regulations by a majority vote in each house. Regulations existing when this article is ratified shall sunset after 5 years unless reviewed and approved by congress.
SECTION 4. Neither congress, nor any member of congress, shall be exempt from complying with any law passed by congress or any regulation authorized or approved by congress.
SECTION 5. Any provision of law or regulation of the United States may be repealed by the several states, and such repeal shall be effective when the legislatures of 2/3rds of the several states approve resolutions for this purpose that particularly describe the same provision or provisions of law or regulation to be repealed. No regulation or law thus repealed shall be reconsidered by the congress for six years or by the regulatory body for six years and only with the express consent of the congress.
SECTION 6. The power of the congress to regulate interstate commerce shall not extend to prohibiting or regulating any personal or commercial activity confined to a single state regardless of its potential effects outside the state, whether it employs instrumentalities therefrom, or whether its regulation or prohibition is part of a comprehensive regulatory scheme.
SECTION 7. Executive order or signing statements shall not be used as a basis of law by any court in the United States nor may they be used as a basis for defense by officers of the federal government in cases involving violations of the natural and recognized rights of US Citizens.
SECTION 8. No treaty may be adopted nor shall international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights of citizens of the United States which are recognized by, or guaranteed by, the United States Constitution. Nor may any past or future treaty expand the legislative powers of Congress as defined in the US Constitution.
SECTION 9. Each state shall have legal standing to challenge the constitutionality of any executive, legislative or judicial act of the federal government.
SECTION 10. If the legislatures of 3/4ths of the states pass resolutions petitioning for the removal of one or more Supreme Court Justice(s) in a 24 month period the justice(s) will be removed immediately upon presentation of the requisite number of petitions to the Supreme Court, or the Leadership of the US House or Senate, or the President.

 

Real Immigration Reform

ARTICLE—
SECTION 1. Birthright citizenship shall henceforth be limited to children born of at least one US Citizen.
SECTION 2. No person illegally entering the United States shall be eligible for citizenship until they have lived outside of the United States for a period of ten years following the illegal entry.
SECTION 3. Congress may make provision for the naturalization of immigrants provided such provisions shall not allow for immigration exceeding ½ of one percent annually of the United States population according to the most recent Census.
SECTION 4. No person may become a naturalized citizen before they have lived within the US for a period of five years, demonstrated proficiency in the English language, demonstrated an intimate knowledge of the US Constitution and provided for the support of themselves and their dependents during the five year period.
SECTION 5. Congress may make provision for temporary or guest workers provided the temporary or guest workers shall not be eligible to vote or receive any government benefit.
SECTION 6. The several states shall have the right to detain any person illegally in the United States. The states shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual detention costs plus 50% beginning 24 hours after notifying the federal agency charged with enforcing immigration law and until such time as the illegal immigrant has been transferred to federal custody. States shall not be entitled to reimbursement in cases where the individual is determined to be in the United States legally or if they are a United States citizen.

 

Parental Rights and Educational Freedom

ARTICLE—
SECTION 1. Congress shall have no power to make any law related to education except as provided in this article. Any existing federal law that conflicts with this article is void. The Supreme Court and inferior federal courts of the United States shall have no power to review the standards, fairness or efficacy of any educational system in any of the states except as it relates to compliance with this article. Existing decisions in conflict with this article shall have no binding legal authority.
SECTION 2. Each state shall have the power to determine the form and function of its educational system according to the powers granted by the state’s individual constitution with the following exceptions: States shall not restrict any parent from selecting a private or homeschooled education for their children, states shall not set required standards for educational achievement for subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics, non-public education standards may not be more stringent than the requirements placed on public education, states may not regulate the qualifications of teachers in a homeschool or non-public school.
SECTION 3. The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.
SECTION 4. Neither the United States nor any state shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.

Optional Articles

Right to Work

ARTICLE—
SECTION 1. Congress shall have no power to set minimum wage or other compensation terms between an employee and privately owned employer.
SECTION 2. No person shall, as a condition of employment, be required to be a member of a labor union or pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges of any kind to a labor union or to any charity or other third party, in lieu of such payments.
SECTION 3. No employer may be required to collect or remit dues to any labor union. Government employers are expressly barred from collecting or remitting labor union dues.

 

Permanent Social Security Reform

ARTICLE—
SECTION 1. Each state shall be entitled to appoint one member to a Social Security Board of Trustees. Unless the state legislature shall choose a different method, the appointment shall be made by the governor with the advice and consent of the least numerous chamber of the legislature. Terms for trustees shall be two years and shall begin Jan 1 of the year following ratification of this article.
SECTION 2. The Board of Trustees shall exercise all control over and responsibility for the management of the Social Security Administration and the Social Security Trust Fund.
SECTION 3. The Social Security Administration shall be charged with providing assistance to elderly, widowed, orphaned or disabled US Citizens. The current retirement age shall not be altered for 10 years after this article is ratified, nor shall any benefit be reduced for persons starting or receiving benefits during that period. A cost of living adjustment shall be annually made based on inflationary effects to maintain real purchasing power. After the 10 year period has elapsed the Social Security Board of Trustees shall be authorized to adjust retirement age or benefits based on beneficiary income and/or otherwise adjust the program for NEW beneficiaries in order to create a sustainable system for future Americans, provided that such adjustments are open to public discussion, shall not take effect less than one year after being finalized and are done in such a way as to minimize disruption to beneficiaries.
SECTION 4. The Board of Trustees shall have the power to levy a tax of not more than 10% of net profit on business entities employing more than 100 people. This power shall expire 50 years after ratification of this article.
SECTION 5. Upon ratification of this Article the federal government shall identify all federal liabilities to the current Social Security Administration or the Social Security Trust Fund. The federal government recognizes this debt to the Social Security System and shall set aside not less than 30% of federal revenue collection to provide for servicing and repayment of this debt until the debt is fully satisfied. The interest rate applied to this debt shall be annually adjusted and shall not be less than the rate of inflation plus 2%.
SECTION 6. Not more than 12 months after ratification of this Article the Federal government shall transfer title of all federal lands in excess of 1% of the territory of any state to the Social Security Adminstration. The transfer shall also include any natural resources, subsurface and/or surface rights and including all offshore rights. If after twelve months the transfer has not been accomplished in its entirety, the Social Security Board of Trustees shall be entitled to select from all excess federal lands in each state which lands shall be transferred. The Board of Trustees shall manage these lands and resources for the purposes of enhancing revenue and providing for efficient use and enjoyment of the natural resources. The Board shall have the power to collect rents and user fees, sell land at public auction in lots no larger than 640 acres, to allow for homesteading as a means of transferring ownership and have the power to transfer lands to state ownership.
SECTION 7. The Board of Trustees shall have no power to make any laws aside from the taxing authority granted in SECTION 4. The Board of Trustees shall have the power to regulate the use of Trust Land provided that no part of Trust Lands may be barred from, or have use fees charged for, outdoor foot traffic. The Board of Trustees shall have power to regulate commercial and recreational use of Trust Waters contained entirely on trust land. The Trustees shall have the power to regulate commercial use of, but not the recreational use of, or transiting of, Trust Waters not wholly on trust land or ocean waters which shall be left to the states, or to congress for ocean waters more than 12 miles from the coastline.
SECTION 8. Beginning 25 years after this Amendment is ratified individual states may opt out of the Social Security System. States choosing to do so shall be entitled to a per capita share of the then existing trust fund and a per capita share of revenue derived from SECTION 5 and SECTION 6 shall be paid to the state. Business conducted within states opting out shall be exempt from SECTION 4 taxes unless levied by the state according to the states individual constitution and laws.
SECTION 9. Excess funds held by the Social Security Adminstration may be invested in stocks, precious metals, commodities or land in states where combined governmental and Social Security System ownership do not exceed 10%. No funds may ever be lent in any form to any government entity or government sponsored entity. The Social Security Administration shall deposit operating funds and uninvested funds at state chartered banks in roughly per capita ratios per state.
SECTION 10. Judicial oversight of the Social Security System and Board of Trustees shall be conducted solely by a Committee of the Chief Justices of the individual State Supreme Courts.

 

 

 

 

H/t to Randy Barnett of the Bill of Federalism and ParentalRights.org,