The following update is the official weekly report of the Republican House Caucus –
This week, Conservatives in our state joined a national movement to rein in out-of-control Federal power.
The House Republicans, led by House Speaker Bobby Harrell, approved a resolution calling for a U.S. Constitutional Convention to amend the Constitution with the “Repeal Amendment.” The Repeal Amendment would allow two-thirds of the legislatures of the states to repeal a federal law.
House Republicans do not take this call lightly. As Speaker Pro Tempore Jay Lucas of Hartsville said: “This is one of the most important, and most significant, pieces of legislation we will consider all year.”
Our state and federal constitutions were created to protect the people from the government, and by doing so, ensure the preservation of liberty. That protection of individual rights and state sovereignty is precisely why the House supports the Repeal Amendment.
The Repeal Amendment has a long way to go. Two-thirds (34) of U.S. states will have to approve similar resolutions to call for a Constitutional Convention and three-quarters (38) states will have to ratify the amendment once proposed. Only 17 states are currently considering the resolution.
Constitutional Amendments are very rare. Since the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, only 17 amendments to the Constitution have been ratified in the last 220 years.
Our Founding Fathers created a brilliant system of government with great checks and balances against Federal power. Our Founders could have never conceived Obamacare, the suspension of the secret ballot, Real ID, and other brazen power grabs by the Federal Government. This amendment creates a new check on Federal power and reaffirms the sovereignty of the states.
The Repeal Amendment is the fifth piece of the Republican Caucus’ 2011 agenda to pass the House, following on the heels of Tort Reform, roll call voting, Voter ID, and the Higher Education Transparency Act.