Title: iowa-state-legislators-landing Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/state-legislators-landing-1|state-legislators-landing-1]] Login Required to view? No Created: 2024-12-22 15:35:52 Updated: 2024-12-23 10:51:34 Published: 2024-12-21 01:00:00 Converted: 2025-04-14T20:39:32.628518193 ---- [[#overview|Overview]] [[#article-v|Article V]] [[#solution|Solution]] [[#importance|Importance]] ====== State Legislators Have the Power ====== [[https://conventionofstates.com/|{{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92703/92703_original.png?|Convention of States Logo}}]] ===== Overview ===== By invoking Article V of the US Constitution to hold a limited state amending convention, the citizens of Iowa through state legislatures can: * Promote state sovereignty * Recalibrate the balance of powers among state, local, and federal governance * Permanently decrease influence of extreme right or extreme left ideologies propagated in Washington, D.C. ===== Two Ways to Amend the Constitution ===== Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides two ways to propose amendments to the Constitution. Amendments can be proposed both through Congress and by state convention.\\ \\ In either case, proposed amendments are offered to state legislatures individually for consideration. Each one must be ratified by a supermajority which is 38 states. Read actual Article V verbiage as it appears in the US Constitution [[https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/article-5/|HERE]]. ===== Iowans Support Paring Back the Federal Government ===== The overreach of our federal government is undeniably excessive. In addition to an unfathomable national debt, citizens of Iowans have for decades endured egregious violations of their liberties. Article V is the tool given to us by our Founders to make corrections to these errors. When polled in 2018, [[https://conventionofstates.com/news/iowa-polling-question|an astonishing 67%]] of Iowans support the idea of a state amending convention to propose amendments that push back against tyranny and restore self-governance. ===== The Solution: Convention of States ===== **//“We the People”//** know the only way to take on the Washington elites is to bypass them by way of a Convention of States (COS). Our national movement is working to unite the states in convention to propose amendments that promote state sovereignty and advance liberty. \\ \\ A total of 34 states must pass the Convention of State (COS) resolution to call a convention. Since the outset of the COS effort, 19 states have passed. The list of passed states can be found [[https://conventionofstates.com/states-with-passed-article-v-resolution|HERE]]. \\ ==== Limited to Three Subjects: ==== As the Convention of States resolution proposes, the platform of this convention is strictly limited to three subjects: - Imposing fiscal restraints on the Federal Government - Limiting the power and jurisdiction of the Federal Government - Setting term limits on Congress and federal officials ===== The States Control the Convention and the Ratification of Amendments ===== State legislators play a pivotal role in the convention process by controlling its structure and choosing delegates.\\ \\ Each proposed amendment does not become law until it is passed by 38 states, which is a supermajority of the 50 states.\\ \\ The importance of Article V and the amendment process cannot be overstated. To date, U.S. Congress has proposed 33 amendments, 27 of which have been adopted. Amending the Constitution brought us the Bill of Rights and other entitlements Americans cherish. Historically, amendments are followed.\\ \\ ===== Congress Has Not Done its Job ===== Congress has had the opportunity to propose amendments via Article V any day of the week yet stood by while our federal government grew out of control. In the meantime, state sovereignty weakened.\\ \\ Congress will never impose restraints on itself. But the financial situation of our country under the power of elite bureaucrats is grave. Our faith must be in the ambition of the states to flex their collective muscle to restore the Constitution and their own sovereignty.\\ \\ Furthermore, the states' application of Article V is the ideal companion to an incoming presidential administration that at least appears to recognize the need to reduce government waste and to set term limits on Congress. ===== Moving Forward in Iowa ===== Currently just under half of U.S. states have passed a COS resolution. A “passed” state implies that both houses of a state’s respective chambers have formally agreed to hold a convention. Boasting more than 56,155 petition signers calling for a convention, Iowa has seen plenty of active legislation but has yet to pass the resolution in both chambers. The COS team in Iowa continues to work tirelessly to educate citizens and state legislators on this safe, legal, and effective method of advocating for liberty. During Iowa’s 90th General Assembly, The Convention of States resolutions passed out of the House State Government committee [[https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ba=HJR4&ga=90|HJR-4]] and the Senate State Government Committee [[https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ba=SJR7&ga=90|SJR-7]]. The resolutions were not brought to the floor for a vote in either chamber. We have appreciated the unwavering support of our two main sponsors of Iowa’s COS resolutions: **Representative John Wills** and **Senator Jesse Green.** We still have strong support in the Iowa House and Senate. The Convention of States resolution will again be filed in both chambers of the Iowa legislature during the 91st General Assembly. For the sake of legal aggregation with other states, the operative language of our resolution is an exact match for resolutions in all other states. ===== From What Types of Amendments Could Iowans and All Americans Benefit Immediately? ===== Since Congress has had the opportunity to propose amendments via Article V any day of the week but stood by while our nation was brought to the brink of ideological destruction, //our faith must be in the ambition of the states to flex their collective muscle to restore the Constitution and their own sovereignty.//\\ \\ Iowans expect its legislature to be highly motivated to act now to address the vulnerabilities of the age: * Imparting term limits on Congress and federal offices. * Limiting federal bureaucracy by way of expiration, review, and Congressional reauthorization. * Reducing the use of Executive Orders and federal regulations to enact laws.  * Allowing the states by supermajority to abrogate any law or regulation passed in any branch of government including executive orders and Supreme Court decisions. * Balancing the budget, including limitations on taxes and spending. These must go together, not just a balanced budget alone.  * Imposing Generally Accepted Accounting Principles on Congress (GAAP).  * Paring back government spending and bureaucracy. The spending of tax dollars must be once again initiated by the House, and not by Presidential whim or bureaucratic mandates put forth by unelected government employees.  * Imposing a single subject amendment – one subject per bill in Congress.  * Prohibiting the use of international treaties and law to govern the domestic law of the United States.  * Placing an upper limit on federal taxation.  * Forcing Congress to vote on regulations instead of deferring law making to regulators.  ===== A Convention of the States to Propose Amendments is Safe ===== The process of a state amending convention is safe. Invoking Article V is far too important to allow its legitimacy to be overshadowed by uncertainty and the conjecture of Article V detractors.\\ \\ The //real// fear is in not standing up to big government tyranny and simply accepting status quo which includes a $35 trillion national debt. The political reality remains: 38 states must ratify any proposed amendment. ===== Why This Effort Deserves Your Attention ===== The invocation of a state amending convention under the authority of Article V is too important for Iowa’s legislators to disregard. It deserves your attention regardless of party affiliation or ideological leanings. The efforts to pass our resolution in Iowa and across this country will never wane.\\ \\ Any one of the amendments we could propose under our resolution could help restore the US Constitution and recalibrate the balance of shared powers among the state, local, and the federal governments.\\ \\ Our country needs you right now. It’s time for Iowa legislators to stand alongside active COS warriors in their districts who believe in a state amending convention as a way to promote state sovereignty over federal bureaucracy. ==== Help make Iowa state #20. Let's. Get. It. Done! ====   ===== Additional Information: ===== The Convention of States home page: [[http://www.ConventionofStates.com|www.ConventionofStates.com]]\\ Independent Article V information center: [[http://www.articlevinfocenter.com|www.articlevinfocenter.com]]\\ \\ For a much deeper dive into the legitimate adoption of the US Constitution and proof that delegates to state conventions have historically followed the instruction of their respective states, read Attorney Michael Farris’s submission in the //Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy// titled, [[https://journals.law.harvard.edu/jlpp/wp-content/uploads/sites/90/2017/03/Farris_FINAL.pdf|“Defying Conventional Wisdom: The Constitution Was Not the Product of a Runaway Convention.”]]\\ \\ For quick answers to most frequently asked questions about COS, visit: [[https://conventionofstates.com/news/cogent-comebacks-in-support-of-convention-of-states|HERE]] ===== Featured Videos: The Article V Scholar Series ===== ==== Executive Summary for Convention of States ==== ==== The Article V Solution: Demystifying a Dusty Tool ==== ==== A Solution as Big as the Problem" ==== ==== Can We Trust the Constitution? ==== ==== Watch Article V Convention Explained ====