Rep. Mark Higley (R-Lowell) is proposing that Vermont join 28 other states that have called for a constitutional convention to draft proposed amendments to the nation’s founding framework. There are various efforts to initiate a convention; 19 states are backing the proposal Higley brought forth.
If two-thirds of the 50 states, or 34 states, join the call for a convention, Congress is required to convene one. Any proposed amendments would then need the approval of three-quarters of the states, or 38, to take effect.
All other 27 amendments to the U.S. Constitution have been first approved by the Congress, but this approach, laid out in Article 5 of the constitution, creates a bypass meant to provide a check on unrestrained federal power.
Higley is urging colleagues to support a joint resolution calling for a convention to address three issues: federal term limits, limits on federal spending and limits on federal authority.
He told members of the House Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee on Thursday that his constituents support a variety of restraints on the federal government.
“I’m getting emails from people saying [they] would appreciate a convention of states to address term limits and to address government spending and our $36 trillion worth of current debt,” Higley said.
Democrats on the committee expressed skepticism. They noted that the backers of the nationwide effort include mostly right-wing political figures and their supporters.
The group behind the effort is the Texas-based Citizens for Self-Governance. Its president is Tea Party activist Mark Meckler. Supporters include the Heritage Foundation, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and Fox News commentator Sean Hannity, noted committee member Rep. Chea Waters Evans (D-Charlotte).
“It seems like the driving force behind it is partisan, which gives me concern,” Waters Evans said.
Rep. Bob Hooper (D-Burlington) said he worried that the issues the convention would tackle were “too vague” and that once established, the convention could veer into unanticipated areas.
“My concerns are that there are really no guardrails on this at all,” he said.
The broad charge, combined with financial backing of Republican donors such as the Koch brothers, gave Hooper the impression that the effort might not be merely the state-rights push it claims to be.
“It seems like there is an agenda that is not necessarily out on the table,” Hooper said.
Higley countered that the convention’s goals must be somewhat vague at the outset because it would be up to the delegates — each state would likely send three to five — to propose, debate and agree on specific amendments.
“So it’s not just like a constitutional jump ball?” Rep. Matt Birong (D-Vergennes) asked.
No, Higley said. The convention would have to adhere to the subject matters for which it was convened. In addition, the requirement for three-quarters of the states to approve any amendment would ensure nothing outlandish could get approved, he told Seven Days.
“For people to say that it could be a runaway convention, I don’t see how it could be,” he said.
Higley attended a “simulation” of such a convention hosted by Citizens for Self-Governance in Virginia in 2023. The term-limit amendment the group came up with called for capping the number of congressional terms to nine in the House and three in the Senate.
One of the proposed spending limits included capping federal expenditures to 18 percent of the gross domestic product, he said.
“So that’s just an example of what could possibly come out of this convention,” he said.
He noted that the effort has been under way since 2014, so it’s not something in response to any particular administration. He said he didn’t expect the Democrats who control the state legislature to support the idea but suggested current events might change that.
“Maybe because of what’s happening on the federal level, more folks will come around,” he told Seven Days.