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

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.