Iowa Legislation Calls for Article V Convention
A bill has been introduced that calls for an Article V convention to 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 federal officials and members of Congress.
The Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club is opposed to an Article V convention.
What you can do:
- A House subcommittee will be reviewing HJR6. Ask the members to oppose HJR6. Their emails are
shannon.lundgren@legis.iowa.gov , megan.jones@legis.iowa.gov , adam.zabner@legis.iowa.gov - Ask your state representative to oppose HJR6. To look up your House member, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/house or to Find your legislator
- The Senate State Government Committee will be reviewing the bill calling for an Article V convention. Ask the members to oppose SJR2. Their emails addresses are ken.rozenboom@legis.iowa.gov , jeff.reichman@legis.iowa.gov , cindy.winckler@legis.iowa.gov , kevin.alons@legis.iowa.gov , tony.bisignano@legis.iowa.gov , matt.blake@legis.iowa.gov , mike.bousselot@legis.iowa.gov , doug.campbell@legis.iowa.gov , claire.celsi@legis.iowa.gov , dawn.driscoll@legis.iowa.gov , jesse.green@legis.iowa.gov , dennis.guth@legis.iowa.gov , carrie.koelker@legis.iowa.gov , sandy.salmon@legis.iowa.gov , jason.schultz@legis.iowa.gov , art.staed@legis.iowa.gov , thomas.townsend@legis.iowa.gov , scott.webster@legis.iowa.gov , cherielynn.westrich@legis.iowa.gov
- Ask your state senator to oppose SJR2 - legislation calling on an Article V convention. To look up your senate member, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/senate or to find your legislators, see www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find
So, you might be asking yourself, what is going on?
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:
What are the concerns?
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. A rogue convention is a great threat – to our democracy, to our freedoms, to the respect for our society, even though these bills attempt to control the issues the delegate or delegates from Iowa can consider at a convention.
What are the steps if an Article V convention is called?
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