Iowa Legislators Support Convention to Amend US Constitution

May 5, 2023

Iowa Legislators Calling for Article V Convention

UPDATE -- the legislature has adjourned and this bill is inactive for 2023. 

Bills have been introduced in both the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate calling for an Article V convention that will propose amendments to the US Constitution that will impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and impose term limits on members of Congress.  Plus the legislation regulates and restricts the actions of the delegates to the Article V convention.

The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club is opposed to an Article V convention. 

What you can do:

Ask your state senators and representatives to oppose legislation calling on an Article V convention (bill numbers SJR7, HJR7, HF336).

To look up your senate member, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/senate
To look up your house member, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/house
To find your legislators, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find
 

If you look at the wording from the legislation, practically all of our current laws and rights could be under siege by a convention – environmental protection, voting rights, and more.  Our politics have become divisive, including an insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, that attempted to overturn an election.  Pushing an Article V convention leads us on a path of even more divisiveness.  The tone of the “whereas” clauses continue partisanship and divisiveness and does not reflect ways to move us forward as a country.

Iowa capitol

So, you might be asking yourself, what is going on?

Article V of the United States Constitution provides mechanisms for amending the Constitution.

One way is for a convention that allows delegates from each state to propose amendments to the Constitution.  That process involves several steps:

  • 2/3 of the states must call for a convention
  • The convention approves the proposed amendments
  • 3/4 of the state legislatures would be required to ratify the amendment for it to become part of the constitution

Let’s turn to the language of the proposed legislation calling for an Article V convention.  The legislation clearly states the reasons the legislators are asking for a convention:

"WHEREAS, the founders of the Constitution of the United States empowered state legislators to be guardians of liberty against future abuses of power by the federal government; and
   WHEREAS, the federal government has created a crushing national debt through improper and imprudent spending; and
   WHEREAS, the federal government has invaded the legitimate roles of the states through the manipulative process of federal mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great extent; and
   WHEREAS, the federal government has ceased to live under a proper interpretation of the Constitution of the United States; and
   WHEREAS, it is the solemn duty of the states to protect the liberty of our people, particularly for the generations to come, by proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States through a convention of the states under Article V of the Constitution of the United States for the purpose of restraining these and related abuses of power"
 

The legislation further limits what the delegates from Iowa are allowed to consider:

“That the General Assembly, as the legislature of the state of Iowa, hereby applies to the Congress of the United States under the provisions of Article V of the Constitution of the United States for a convention for the specific and exclusive purpose of 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 of federal officials and members of Congress, and no amendments on any other topic”.
 

The pieces of legislation that have been introduced are:

HJR7  and SJR 7 - Calls for an Article V convention in order to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and impose term limits on members of Congress.  The delegate to the convention will be restricted to voting only on those amendments.

HF336 - Calls for Article V constitutional convention delegates to take oath and face removal as a delegate if they make decisions on matters not authorized by the state legislature.  Furthermore the delegate that votes on something the legislature has not given the delegate permission on will face a criminal charge of a simple misdemeanor.  The bill does not specify what topics the delegate can vote on.  The penalty for a simple misdemeanor is up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $105 to $855.