Commissioners representing 49 states gathered in Williamsburg, Virginia last week for the Simulated Article V Convention hosted by Convention of States Foundation. Six amendments came out of the simulation after careful deliberation and debate.
SEE ALSO: 49 states agree on six constitutional amendments to restrain D.C. tyranny
Below you can find the exact text of the six passed amendments, which will be broken down in detail in upcoming articles. In a real Article V convention, the amendments that passed would be sent to the states for ratification. Once 3/4 of the states (38) pass the proposals, they would become the law of the land and secured in the Constitution.
Federal Term Limits & Judicial Jurisdiction Proposal 1:
Section 1. No person shall be elected to serve in the House of Representatives more than nine full terms, nor elected or appointed to serve in the Senate more than three full term. This article shall not disqualify any person from completing a term in the Congress to which that person was elected or appointed prior to ratification of this article.
Section 2. No person shall serve in Congress for more than twenty-four years in total.
Federal Term Limits & Judicial Jurisdiction Proposal 2:
Section 1. The Supreme Court of the United States shall consist of nine judges, any six of whom shall constitute a quorum.
Section 2. Each of the several states shall have standing to bring an action challenging the constitutionality of any action of the Executive Branch or any enactment of Congress.
Fiscal Restraints Proposal 1:
Section 1. Congress shall adopt a preliminary fiscal year budget no later than the first Monday in May for the following fiscal year and submit said budget to the President for consideration. Federal expenditures for each fiscal year shall not exceed average annual revenue collected in the prior three fiscal years. Total expenditures shall include all expenditures of the United States, including those for payment of interest on debt. Total revenue shall include all revenue of the United States except that derived from borrowing. Any surplus of revenue over expenditures in any fiscal year shall be applied to outstanding federal debt.
Section 2. Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses of Congress by roll call vote deem it necessary, may exceed the spending limit in section one for one fiscal year by borrowing as provided for in the second clause of the eighth section of Article One of this Constitution.
Section 3. Taxes levied under the eighth section of Article One of this Constitution shall not be raised to increase the revenue of the United States unless two-thirds of both Houses of Congress by roll call vote concur
Section 4. Nothing in this amendment shall be construed to allow for an increase in taxes without the express approval of Congress.
Section 5. This amendment will become effective three years after ratification.
Federal Legislative & Executive Jurisdiction Proposal 1:
Section 1. Commerce among the states shall mean buying, selling, or transportation of commercial goods and services across state lines.
Section 2. Congress shall not delegate any rule making function related to commerce among the states to any executive official or agency.
Section 3. Any federal law or regulation existing at the time of ratification of this amendment in conflict with this amendment shall become null and void two years after the date of ratification of this amendment.
Section 4. For purposes of this Constitution, Navigable Waters shall be limited to surface waters actively used for transport of goods in commerce among the states.
Federal Legislative & Executive Jurisdiction Proposal 2:
Section 1. The Legislatures of the States shall have authority to abrogate any action of Congress, President, or administrative agencies of the United States, whether in the form of a statute, decree, order, regulation, rule, opinion, decision, or other form. This provision shall not apply to presidential action taken pursuant to Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, and to presidential appointments.
Section 2. Such abrogation shall be effective when a simple majority of the Legislatures of the States declare the same provision or provisions of federal law to be abrogated. This abrogation authority may also be applied to provisions of federal law existing at the time this amendment is ratified. The state executive and judicial branches shall have no authority or involvement in this process.
Section 3. No government entity or official may take any action to enforce a provision of federal law after it is abrogated according to this Amendment. Any action to enforce a provision of abrogated federal law shall be enjoined by a federal or state court of general jurisdiction in the state where the enforcement action occurs, and costs and attorney fees of such injunction shall be awarded against the entity or official attempting to enforce the abrogated provision. Qualified and sovereign immunity shall not be available as a defense in such an action.
Section 4. No provision abrogated pursuant to this amendment may be reenacted or reissued in its original or substantially similar form for ten years from the date of the abrogation.
Federal Legislative & Executive Jurisdiction Proposal 3:
Section 1. Except with the permission of the Legislature of the State where the land is located, the national government shall not own, regulate, or control land or mineral rights, nor the proceeds from the sale of the same, except for the purposes expressly enumerated in Article I, Section 8, Clause 17.
Section 2. The national government shall not own, regulate, or control more than ten percent of the land and mineral rights in any given county or county equivalent, except with the express consent of the Legislature of the State in which the land is located, Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 notwithstanding.
Section 3. Congress shall return or cede all remaining lands and mineral rights to the state in which it is located within ten years from the effective date hereof.
Section 4. For purposes of this Amendment, Control shall mean any combination of federal regulations, treaties, land use designations, and like measures which exert control over the land within a county and a State, which has the effect individually or in the aggregate of rendering all or any substantial portion of the land non-taxable, or renders the land unsusceptible to multiple use and sustained yield.
Section 5. This amendment shall not apply to lands or military installations with respect to which jurisdiction has been ceded to the United States by a State, lands belonging to an Indian or Indian tribe; or to lands that are designated as national parks, national monuments, or as congressionally designated wilderness as of January 1, 1976.
Section 6. For purposes of this Constitution, Navigable Waters shall be limited to surface waters actively used for transport of goods in interstate commerce.
