North Wake News

The Convention of States Action North Carolina (COSA-NC) claims the Tar Heel State's constituents are ready for the Senate to pass its resolution so constitutional amendments can be proposed to limit Washington, D.C.'s reach.

"The N.C. Senate has twice before wisely passed the Resolution and needs to just one more time," Simon Percival, regional captain of COSA-NC, told North Wake News. "Let the third time be the charm and make N.C. a genuine leader in the millions-strong movement to save the United States."

As the North Carolina Legislature gears up for the start of its May legislative session, supporters of the Convention of States movement are actively making their voices heard. 

The Convention of States resolution, known as House Joint Resolution 233 (HJR 233) is making its way through the North Carolina Legislature. It was successfully passed by the House of Representatives in May 2021 and has been pending before the Senate since that time. 

If the resolution passes, it would add North Carolina to the list of states calling for an Article V Convention of the States to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

"(Nineteen) state legislatures and the N.C. House have agreed with the wisdom of the Founders to apply to Congress for a Convention of States, per Article V of the U.S. Constitution, when it became clear that the federal government was out of control," Percival told the News.

Supporters have been calling on their representatives to pass the resolution, which they think is necessary to help rein in the federal government. They have been lobbying state senators for months. 

Old North News ran an opinion piece by Bob Luddy in August of last year calling on the Senate to pass HJR 233. Luddy noted broad support among North Carolina residents for the proposal, as well as a need to "impose real, meaningful restraints on D.C. with a constitutional amendment." 

Nineteen states have already passed the resolution, which is more than halfway toward the necessary 34 to call a convention, a recent release on ConventionofStates.com said. State legislators in Nebraska, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin were the most recent to get on board, with all four of those states passing the measure earlier this year. 

The resolution only permits a future Convention of States to consider constitutional amendments that would bring actions such as putting restraints on the "power and jurisdiction" of the federal government, impose fiscal restraints on federal spending, or institute term limits for federal officials. 

Convention of States Action (COSA) has an amending convention, not a constitutional convention, as its goal; the Convention of States said. While a constitutional convention works to completely rewrite the framework of government and produce a new constitution, an amending convention merely offers amendments to the existing constitution. Any proposed amendment would have to be ratified by 38 states before becoming an official part of the Constitution.