---
title: SR 262. Article V of the United States Constitution; a convention of the states; apply
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sr262
cite_as: SR 262, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr262
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr262.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr262/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70788
date: 2026-03-06
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr261.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr263.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 416
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr262.md?full=1
bill_number: SR 262
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2025-02-25
last_action: Senate Tabled
sponsors:
  - Bill Cowsert
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR262/2025
upstream_id: 1983838
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - constitutional convention
  - balanced budget amendment
  - Article V
  - federal spending
  - state legislature resolutions
---

# SR 262. Article V of the United States Constitution; a convention of the states; apply

## Text

Senate Resolution 262
By: Senator Cowsert of the 46th
A RESOLUTION
Applying for a convention of the states under Article V of the United States Constitution; and
for other purposes.
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, it is the solemn duty of the states to protect the liberty of our people,
particularly for the generations to come, by proposing an amendment to the Constitution of
the United States through a convention of the states under Article V of the United States
Constitution to place clear restraints on Congress to operate pursuant to a balanced budget
subject to exceptions necessary to respond to emergencies and provide for the national
defense.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
GEORGIA that the General Assembly of the State of Georgia hereby applies to Congress,
under the provisions of Article V of the Constitution of the United States, for the calling of
a convention of the states limited to proposing an amendment to the United States
Constitution imposing fiscal restraints on the federal government, requiring a balanced
budget subject to exceptions necessary to respond to emergencies and provide for the
national defense.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this application shall be deemed an application for a
convention to address only the subject herein stated. For the purposes of determining
whether two-thirds of the states have applied for a convention addressing any of the subjects
stated herein, this application is to be aggregated with the applications of any other state
legislatures for the single subject of balancing the federal budget, including, but not limited
to, previously adopted applications from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado,
Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi,
Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington,
Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Wisconsin; and this application shall be aggregated with
the same for the purpose of attaining the two-thirds of states necessary to require the calling
of a convention but shall not be aggregated with any applications on any other subject.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this application constitutes a continuing application in
accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the United States until the legislatures of
at least two-thirds of the several states have made applications on the same subject.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is hereby authorized and
directed to make appropriate copies of this application available for distribution to the
President and Secretary of the United States Senate and to the Speaker and Clerk of the
United States House of Representatives; to the members of the United States Senate and
United States House of Representatives from this state; and to the presiding officers of each
of the legislative houses in the several states requesting their cooperation.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Georgia Senate resolution would formally ask Congress to call a national convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to propose a balanced federal budget amendment.

### Plain-language summary

Article V of the U.S. Constitution lets two-thirds of state legislatures apply for a convention to propose constitutional amendments, bypassing Congress as the usual proposing body. This resolution has the Georgia General Assembly formally submit such an application, limited to one subject: an amendment requiring the federal government to operate under a balanced budget, with exceptions for emergencies and national defense.
The resolution states that Georgia's application should be combined with similar applications already filed by more than 30 other states so that they count together toward the two-thirds threshold needed to trigger a convention. It also declares the application ongoing until enough states join, and directs the Secretary of the Senate to send copies to congressional leaders, Georgia's members of Congress, and legislative leaders in other states.

### What it does

- Formally applies to Congress on Georgia's behalf for a convention of the states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
- Limits the requested convention to one subject: proposing a federal balanced budget amendment with exceptions for emergencies and national defense.
- Directs that Georgia's application be combined with similar applications from more than 30 other states to help reach the two-thirds threshold required to call a convention.
- States that the application remains active on a continuing basis until enough states have applied on the same subject.
- Directs the Secretary of the Senate to send copies of the application to congressional leaders, Georgia's federal delegation, and other state legislatures.

### Who it affects

This resolution primarily affects the process of amending the U.S. Constitution rather than any group directly. It involves the Georgia General Assembly, Congress, Georgia's congressional delegation, and other state legislatures whose applications would be aggregated with Georgia's.

### Why it matters

If enough states pass matching applications, Congress could be required to call a convention to propose a constitutional amendment restraining federal spending. This is one of the few mechanisms besides Congress itself for amending the U.S. Constitution, so it affects how federal fiscal policy could eventually be constrained nationwide.

### Key provisions

- First resolved clause applies to Congress under Article V for a convention limited to proposing a balanced budget amendment with emergency and national defense exceptions.
- Second resolved clause specifies Georgia's application should be aggregated with similarly worded applications from more than 30 named states, but not with applications on other subjects.
- Third resolved clause makes the application a continuing one that stays in effect until two-thirds of states have applied on the same subject.
- Fourth resolved clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to distribute copies to congressional officers, Georgia's federal delegation, and other states' legislative leaders.

## Status

- Status: Introduced (2025-02-25)
- Last action: Senate Tabled (2026-03-06)
- Sponsors: Bill Cowsert
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70788

> The history, votes, and amendments (416 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr262.md?full=1