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Eye On Boise

House panel introduces ‘Convention of the States’ resolution to amend Constitution

Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, proposed legislation this morning calling for Idaho to petition for a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution to restrict the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, “and no other amendments,” he said. This comes after a Senate bill, SCR 108, was introduced last week to petition for a constitutional convention to enact a balanced budget amendment. Loertscher’s proposal is in line with one outlined by former Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn on a visit to Idaho last week, on behalf of the Convention of the States Project.

Though critics argue a convention couldn’t practically be limited to particular amendments, Loertscher said under his bill, “It would be restricted to those areas and those areas alone. That is the reason for doing this,” he said, “and the reason why we need to do this from the states is that Congress has no desire to limit its own power in any regard, and so it’s up to us to fix this.”

“I would submit, Mr. Chairman, that we do have a broken situation, that it does need a fix,” Loertscher said, “and it is broken by the number of things that have been decided by the Supreme Court that have in effect laid our Constitution aside, and so it’s very important for us to wrest back from this overreach so that we can maintain the integrity of the Constitution.”

Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, had several questions about the wording in Loertscher’s proposed legislation, as did Rep. Lynn Luker, R-Boise. Loertscher said any constitutional amendments that were proposed still would have to be ratified by states.  

Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, asked Loertscher why his measure is starting in the House, when the Senate rejected legislation on the matter last year. “I think that the House needs to step out and lead on this issue,” Loertscher responded. “I don’t think we should stand around and wait for the Senate to do something. I think there’s been a huge misunderstanding about what a call means, and I think this clarifies it a great deal.”

“I would like to hear more about this,” said Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, so she moved to introduce the bill.

Barbieri said he’d support the motion, but said, “There’s going to be some serious, I think, questions and things that are going to have to be really fleshed out in a hearing. When we look at what’s happened with the federal government in terms of its power and its growing power, the Supreme Court is a major impediment to any kind of change. Marbury vs. Madison was a major usurpation of the balance of the original checks and balances,” Barbieri said, “and that’s only one of the means by which the federal government has continued to grow its power.”  With that, the committee voted along party lines to introduce Loertscher’s measure; Reps. Paulette Jordan, D-Plummer, and Elaine Smith, D-Pocatello, voted no.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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