{ "id": "R44435", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R44435", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 585872, "date": "2017-11-15", "retrieved": "2020-01-02T13:53:30.178623", "title": "The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Current Developments", "summary": "Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two procedures for amending the nation\u2019s fundamental charter: proposal of amendments by Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of the Members of both houses, and proposal by a convention, generally referred to as an \u201cArticle V Convention,\u201d called on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds (34) of the states. Amendments proposed by either method must be ratified by three-fourths (38) of the states in order to become part of the Constitution. This report provides information for Members of Congress and congressional staff on current developments in Congress, the states, and the relevant advocacy and policy communities concerning the Article V Convention alternative.\nFrom the 1960s to the 1980s, supporters of Article V Conventions mounted vigorous but ultimately unsuccessful campaigns to call conventions to consider amendments related to diverse issues, including school busing to achieve racial balance, abortion restrictions, apportionment in state legislatures, and, most prominently, a balanced federal budget.\nAfter more than 20 years of comparative inaction, the past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in, and support for, the Article V Convention alternative. Congress has responded to this development, particularly requests for broader public availability of state applications for a convention. In the 114th Congress (2015-2017), the House of Representatives provided for registration and public availability on the Clerk of the House\u2019s website of state memorials related to the convention issue received since the beginning of that Congress. The rules, which remain in effect for the 115th Congress, direct the chair of the Judiciary Committee to provide new convention applications and rescissions of previous applications to the Clerk for publication. They also authorize publication, at the chair\u2019s discretion, of applications for a convention previously forwarded to Congress.\nRelevant legislation has also been introduced in the 115th Congress. On March 27, 2017, Representative Luke Messer introduced H.R. 1742, the \u201cArticle V Records Transparency Act of 2017.\u201d This proposed legislation would direct the National Archives to make an organized compilation of all state applications and rescissions of applications for an Article V Convention currently held in its various collections. The Archives would also be directed to transmit physical and electronic copies to the Judiciary Committee chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives. One relevant constitutional amendment has also been introduced to date in the 115th Congress, H.Con.Res. 73. This measure, introduced by Representative Messer on July 26, 2017, would \u201ceffect\u201d the Compact for America\u2019s Interstate Compact for a Balanced Budget, summon an Article V Convention, and propose the amendment approved by the convention to the states for ratification.\nNon-governmental advocacy groups across a broad range of the political spectrum continue to campaign for conventions to consider various amendments. Some of the issues and sponsoring organizations include a revival of the balanced budget amendment convention proposed in the 1970s-1980s (Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force); an interstate compact to call a convention and propose\u2014and prospectively ratify\u2014a balanced budget amendment (Compact for a Balanced Budget); an amendment or amendments to restrict the authority of the federal government (Convention of States); and an amendment to permit regulation of corporate spending in election campaigns, which is intended to nullify parts of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (Wolf PAC).\nActivity continues in the states. According to one source, approximately 175 applications for one or more of the several pending Article V Convention variants have been introduced in the legislatures of 40 states to date in 2017. At the time of this writing, the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force claims 28 applications, many of which originated in the 1970s and 1980s; the Convention of States claims 12; and the Compact for America and Wolf PAC each claim five.\nTwo additional CRS Reports address other aspects of this issue. CRS Report R42589, The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress, identifies and analyzes the contemporary role of Congress in the Article V Convention process in greater detail. CRS Report R42592, The Article V Convention for Proposing Constitutional Amendments: Historical Perspectives for Congress examines the procedure\u2019s constitutional origins and history and provides an analysis of related state procedures.\nThis report will be updated as warranted by events.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44435", "sha1": "8744f4600a3986f875f2c1dabd86df692f9816bd", "filename": "files/20171115_R44435_8744f4600a3986f875f2c1dabd86df692f9816bd.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44435", "sha1": "bfc2a6fad476f203d56878259e4ed4022cca41af", "filename": "files/20171115_R44435_bfc2a6fad476f203d56878259e4ed4022cca41af.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4833, "name": "Census, Redistricting, Voting, & Elections" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 451201, "date": "2016-03-29", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T16:51:24.692090", "title": "The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Current Developments", "summary": "Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two procedures for amending the nation\u2019s fundamental charter: proposal of amendments by Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of the Members of both houses, and proposal by a convention called on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds (34) of the states, the \u201cArticle V Convention.\u201d Amendments proposed by either method must be ratified by three-fourths (38) of the states in order to become part of the Constitution. This report provides information for Members of Congress and congressional staff on current developments in Congress, the states, and the advocacy and policy communities concerning the Article V Convention alternative.\nFrom the 1960s to the 1980s, supporters of Article V Conventions mounted vigorous but ultimately unsuccessful campaigns to call conventions to consider amendments related to diverse issues, including school busing to achieve racial balance, abortion restrictions, apportionment in state legislatures, and, most prominently, a balanced federal budget.\nAfter more than 20 years of comparative inaction, the past decade has seen a resurgence of interest in and support for the Article V Convention alternative. Advocacy groups across a broad range of the political spectrum are pushing for conventions to consider various amendments, including a revival of the balanced budget amendment proposed in the 1970s -1980s; an interstate compact that could call a convention, propose, and prospectively ratify, a balanced budget amendment; an amendment or amendments to restrict the authority of the federal government; and an amendment to permit regulation of corporate spending in election campaigns, which would nullify parts of the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.\nIn the 114th Congress, the House of Representatives established new procedures for the receipt and publication of state memorials related to the convention issue, including new applications for a convention and rescissions of previous applications. Two relevant pieces of legislation have also been introduced. The first measure, H.Con.Res. 26, would \u201ceffect\u201d the Compact for America\u2019s Interstate Compact for a Balanced Budget, summon an Article V Convention, and propose the amendment approved by the convention to the states for ratification. The second, H.J.Res. 34, would amend the Constitution to authorize an Article V Convention to propose specifically worded amendments. \nApplications for one or more of the several pending Article V Convention variations were introduced in 47 states during 2015. Progress in enacting these measures has been comparatively slow, however: in 2015 only seven applications were filed by six states, and only the Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force, most of whose 27 claimed applications originated in the 1970s and 1980s, came close to the 34-state constitutional threshold. \nTwo additional CRS Reports address other aspects of this issue. CRS Report R42589, The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments: Contemporary Issues for Congress, identifies and analyzes the contemporary role of Congress in the Article V Convention process in greater detail. CRS Report R42592, The Article V Convention for Proposing Constitutional Amendments: Historical Perspectives for Congress examines the procedure\u2019s constitutional origins and history and provides an analysis of related state procedures.\nThis report will be updated as warranted by events.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R44435", "sha1": "c2e6964dc10736d1093dd66a29555ef4a64523b9", "filename": "files/20160329_R44435_c2e6964dc10736d1093dd66a29555ef4a64523b9.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R44435", "sha1": "91c57d1d2fcf6bccfd3ad4e98e25aba40b785ca9", "filename": "files/20160329_R44435_91c57d1d2fcf6bccfd3ad4e98e25aba40b785ca9.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 3427, "name": "Voting and Elections" } ] } ], "topics": [ "American Law", "Constitutional Questions" ] }