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Convention of States Action



           

COMMISSIONER SELECTION RESOLUTION
& CRIMINAL PENALTY BILL

 

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is the Commissioner Selection Resolution & Criminal Penalty Bill one piece of legislation or two?
    Answer: They are two different pieces of legislation and must be passed separately by the state legislature.

  • Is a Commissioner Selection Resolution the same thing as a Faithful Delegate Bill?
    Answer: In the past the term Faithful Delegate Bill was improperly used to refer to a variety of different bills and/or resolutions that generally dealt with the same types of subject matter as you will find in either a Commissioner Selection Resolution or a Criminal Penalty Bill. Commissioner Selection Resolution and Criminal Penalty Bill are the proper legislative terms to use.

  • Why should a state that isn't calling for an Article V Convention pass a Commissioner Selection Resolution and/or a Criminal Penalty Bill?
    Answer: The Constitution dictates that a Convention must be convened if 2/3 of the state legislatures (34 states) call for a convention. This means that a Convention can be convened without the request of 16 states. In the event that a Convention is called, it is in the best interests of all states, be they the 34 or the 16, to have legislation in place to provide for the smooth selection of commissioners to ensure the representation of their state at the convention.
    See: Why pass a Commissioner Selection Resolution & a Criminal Penalty Bill?

 

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Model Language for a Commissioner Selection Resolution & a Criminal Penalty Bill

The Convention of States organization put its top legal minds to work developing model language for a Commissioner Selection Resolution and a Criminal Penalty Bill. Creating loophole-free language that could be adapted for any state was a top priority.


This is what they came up with:

Commissioner Selection Resolution
Download/Print (Guide / Printable Guide)

Criminal Penalty Bill
Download/Print

Individuals involved in writing/vetting this Resolution and Bill include:

  • Robert G. Natelson (Constitutional Expert & Law Professor. His work regarding the original meaning of the Constitution has been utilized on multiple occasions in the Supreme Court.)
  • Michael Farris (Founder of Patrick Henry College, founder of Home School Legal Defense Agency, co-founder of Convention of States, and one of the few Lawyers to have argued a case in front of the Supreme Court)

 

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What is a Commissioner Selection Resolution

A Commissioner Selection Resolution establishes the process by which Commissioners (commonly referred to as delegates) are selected to represent a state at an Article V convention.

It answers questions such as:

  • Who appoints the Commissioners?
  • What are the limits to the Commissioners' authority?
  • Who will ensure that the Commissioners do not exceed their authority?
  • In the event that a Commissioner does attempt to exceed his/her authority, what happens next?
  • How and how much does a Commissioner get paid?

The Model Language for the Commissioner Selection Resolution answers all these questions.

Guide to Model Language - Download/Print Guide

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What is a Criminal Penalty Bill

A Criminal Penalty Bill establishes criminal penalties for commissioners who act beyond their authority and / or for members of the public that try to bribe or otherwise coerce a commissioner.

See Model Language

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Why pass a Commissioner Selection Resolution & a Criminal Penalty Bill?

Over 500 resolutions calling for a Convention of States have been passed in America's history.

Over 200 are still considered Open Applications that can aggregated to reach the Constitutionally required 2/3 states (34 states).

The only reason an Article V Convention hasn't been called yet, is that no single topic has accumulated the required 34 applications.

However, numerous topics have a strong showing, and multiple Article V movements have seen an increase in passed states over the past few years. 

With so much momentum in favor of an Article V Convention it is in the best interests of each state to pass legislation that:

  • Ensures their state's representation at a Convention.
  • Establishes clear processes and instructions for the selection, functioning, and oversight of Commissioners.
  • Eliminates confusion or uncertainty regarding the penalty for anyone attempting to manipulate an Article V Convention/Commissioners into exceeding the scope of it/their authority.

Together, a Commissioner Selection Resolution & Criminal Penalty Bill are designed to do all these things.

See "Why should a state that isn't calling for an Article V Convention pass a Commissioner Selection Resolution and/or a Criminal Penalty Bill?"

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How do you pass a Commissioner Selection Resolution?

To pass a Commissioner Selection Resolution the Resolution must be sponsored and then passed in both the State House and State Senate.

Because it is a resolution, the Governor's signature is not required.

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How do you pass a Criminal Penalty Bill?

To pass a Criminal Penalty Bill the Bill must be sponsored and then passed in both the State House and State Senate.

Once passed it must then be signed by the Governor to become law.

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Physicians for COS

The diagnosis is clear.

We have a growing cancer today known as the Obamacare. As a result physicians are no longer free to practice medicine.

No profession feels the full force of the federal government more than physicians. The medical profession is the most highly regulated profession in the United States. The practice of medicine is controlled, taxed, and regulated to the point of being destroyed by the heavy hand of the federal government.

Physicians are told how to bill, how much to charge, and how to treat patients. They are mandated to use expensive electronic medical records. The federally enacted HIPPA (Health Information Privacy and Portability Act) makes the communication between physicians and atients burdensome, inefficient,and expensive. Every physician is required by federal mandate to register with the government to obtain an NPI (national provider identifier.) We are required by federal law to obtain and pay for a license to prescribe medication through the DEA, which is separate from our state licensure.

This heavy hand of government not only oversees the largest federal health bureaucracy ever created, but by extension reaches into every state, every city, and every small town to regulate how every licensed physician practices the art of medicine and how citizens obtain care.

The treatment is also clear.

The prescription for a cure was written into our constitution by our founders. Article V of our constitution allows for the states to call for a convention of states to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government through the proposal of constitutional amendments. Physicians should be the strongest supporters of this brilliantly-crafted states’ rights tool placed into our constitution by our founders.

I urge my fellow American physicians to join with me in supporting an Article V Convention of States to take back control of the practice of medicine. It’s the only way that we can return the practice of medicine back to the intimate relationship between a doctor and patient without interference by the heavy hand of a distant, national government.

Jeffrey I. Barke, M.D. Family Physician Newport Beach, CA
Convention of states action

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