On Monday, February 19, I met with my House District 25 Representative, Todd Jones. Our Convention of States Legislative Liaison, Phil Hinson, also attended this meeting.
Phil was an invaluable resource and companion in discussing Convention of States and Article V with Representative Jones. This meeting was a result of my personal note to Rep. Jones during Convention of States Capitol Day on January 10.
Rep. Jones responded to me that afternoon via phone and email. He thanked me for my note and agreed to meet for a face to face update on Convention of States in Georgia. The legislature was in session at that time, but Todd graciously agreed to meet with Phil and me on President’s Day. We spent about an hour discussing Article V and Convention of States.
Rep. Jones was not a member of the state legislature when Georgia passed the Convention of States resolution HR1215/SR736 on March 6, 2014. The focus of our discussion was more of the historical narrative, the genesis of the Convention of States Project, and that Georgia held the unique distinction of being the first state to pass the COS resolution.
We also discussed the fact that eleven other states have since joined us in calling for an Article V Convention of States or the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution in three specific areas: fiscal restraints on the federal government, limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limiting the terms of office for its officials and for members of Congress
Rep. Jones was very interested in Convention of States and agrees with term limits for Congress, as well as for state legislators in Georgia. Phil provided him with an in-depth background on the constitutional history around Article V, and he addressed the misinformation floated by many groups allied with the George Soros organizations.
Phil also touched on the Convention of States Simulation held in Williamsburg, Virginia. This simulated convention clearly validated the procedures and processes used in a convention of states environment.
Rep. Jones was very familiar with some of the historical content since he attended law school and took Constitutional Law classes. I provided him with copies of the votes on HR1215/SR736 as well as a copy of the Jefferson Statement. At the close of our meeting, Rep. Jones emphatically stated he is on board with Convention of States and thanked us for updating him.
It was a great pleasure for us to be able to sit down with Representative Jones and discuss the things that are important to me and a majority of people in my community. My state representative actually took the time out to hear what I had to say. I hope that this is the type of representative that represents your community.
