"Be prepared."
When Robert Baden-Powell, who founded the Boy Scouts Association and selected those two simple words as the scouting motto, he was asked "prepared for what?"
"Why," he answered jovially, "for any old thing."
An Article V convention is certainly not "any old thing." In that spirit, Convention of States Action's 34|Ready initiative will ensure that commissioners and states are fully prepared when the 34th state approves the COS resolution and a convention is called to discuss and propose constitutional amendments to reduce the power and scope of the federal government.
Simply put, 34|Ready is model legislation that can be introduced in legislatures in order that they are in a state of readiness for an Article V convention.
The legislation was crafted by COSA's legislative, legal, and grassroots experts and subjected to close scrutiny by constitutional attorneys and several state legislators, whose edits and recommendations were invaluable in completing the final versions of the legislation.
As stated above, 34|Ready is model legislation. It is composed to give each individual state legislature the ability to, in the words of COSA Senior Vice President for Legislative Affairs Rita Peters, "adapt the language according to its unique needs and preferences. This model legislation provides a starting point for states to establish how the delegation from their state would function at an Article V convention."
Opponents of Convention of States and detractors of an Article V convention often make unfounded claims about exposing the Constitution to injury or obliteration as commissioners wildly exceed their charges during convention and rewrite a new frame of government. Such claims overlook the simple fact that it takes the approval of 38 states to amend the Constitution.
The COS resolution that has now been introduced in every state legislature in the country is a harmless application for a limited-purpose gathering to discuss and propose amendments to establish term limits for federal officials, impose fiscal restraints upon the federal government, and halt federal overreach.
Likewise, 34|Ready reinforces the concept of a limited-purpose Article V convention that, on its own, is incapable of altering the Constitution in any way. There are two components to the model legislation:
- A model resolution suggesting procedures for selecting, instructing, and overseeing commissioners.
- A model bill enacting criminal penalties for commissioners violating their commission and for individuals interfering with a commissioner’s performance of his or her duties.
Again, each state can customize both models to best serve and protect their commissioners while also making it clear that the commissioners have a limited range of permissible action at convention.
Currently, 34|Ready legislation is pending in 22 states, and on February 10 the Indiana Senate passed 34|Ready language relating to the appointment of commissioners who will represent the Hoosier State at convention. Progress is being made by COS volunteers across the country to best prepare their states for an Article V convention.
Do your part to make sure that your state is prepared. Get in touch with your team's state leadership to learn about the status of 34|Ready legislation. Together you can determine how to coordinate and maximize outreach efforts in the legislature and move 34|Ready forward. You can also download the language of the 34|Ready model legislation by clicking here.
To join the self-governing grassroots organization that is working to recalibrate the balance of power in the American republic, sign the petition below:
