Title: landing-page Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/landing-page|landing-page]] Login Required to view? No Created: 2024-11-14 09:44:59 Updated: 2025-03-05 18:01:25 Published: 2024-11-13 00:00:00 Converted: 2025-04-14T20:38:47.776704896 ---- [[#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/90646/90646_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 Ohio 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]]. ===== Ohioans Support Paring Back the Federal Government ===== The overreach of our federal government is undeniably excessive. In addition to an unfathomable national debt, citizens of Ohio 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 2024, an astonishing 76% of Ohioans support the idea of a state amending convention to propose amendments that push back against tyranny and restore self-governance. {{https://content.conventionofstates.com/cosaction-prod/public/content/images/92063/92063_original.jpg|Polling Results}} ===== 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 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 ===== It is the job of state legislators to control the convention and choose delegates. While not yet passed in Ohio, faithful delegate legislation for state conventions has also been presented in the Ohio House and Senate. These can be viewed here: [[https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/hb67/00_IN/pdf/|HB-67]] and [[https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/sb112/00_IN/pdf/|SB-112]].\\ \\ 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.\\ \\ The good news is that a state convention for proposing amendments has never been done! This means that we have a unique and powerful tool waiting in the wings that can affect real change in Washington by empowering the states. ===== 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 Ohio ===== 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 117,000 petition signers calling for a convention, Ohio has seen plenty of active legislation but has yet to pass the resolution. The COS team in Ohio continues to work tirelessly to educate citizens and state legislators in this safe, legal, and effective method of advocating for liberty.\\ \\ In Ohio’s 136th General Assembly, we appreciate the unwavering support of our two main sponsors of Ohio’s COS resolution: **Reps. Riordan McClain** and **Bernard Willis** as well as 24 co-sponsors. Ohio’s resolution can be found [[https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/hjr2/00_IN/pdf/|HERE]].\\ \\ **Senators Michele Reynolds** and **George Lang** are our main sponsors in the Ohio Senate. The current Senate resolution can be viewed [[https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/sjr3/00_IN/pdf/|HERE]]. We are grateful to have strong support for the Convention of States resolution in the Ohio Senate.\\ \\ 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 Ohioans 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.//\\ \\ Ohioans 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 $36 trillion national debt. State convention delegates cannot possibly be more irresponsible than Congress which can propose amendments at any time. And 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 Ohio’s legislators to disregard. It deserves your attention regardless of party affiliation or ideological leanings. The efforts to pass our resolution in Ohio 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 Ohio 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 Ohio 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 the Ohio Proponent Testimony Feb 6, 2024 ====