MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama’s Secretary of State John H.
Merrill is tasked by a bill passed in the 2015 Legislative session to call for
Convention of States allowed by Article V of the Constitution.
The bill
sponsored by a joint resolution of 52 Republicans and one Democrat from the
House of Representatives will be sent by Secretary Merrill to the President of
the United States, Secretary of the United States Senate, and to the Speaker
and Secretary of the United States House of Representatives.
Alabama’s
legislature is calling for a convention to “propose amendments that would
impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and
jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its
officials and for members of congress.” These legislators believe that “the
federal government has created a crushing national debt” and “invaded the
legitimate roles of the states through the manipulative power of federal
mandates.” “This is a chance for Alabama and potentially other states across
the Union to exercise their rights as a state and to stand up for those
rights,” states Secretary of State Merrill.
By definition,
a Convention of States requires the equality of all state parties necessitating
a rule of one state, one vote. Congress has no authority to adopt any rule to
the contrary. There must be similar applications by two-thirds of the union to
proceed with such a meeting and this application, unless rescinded by
succeeding legislature, will stand until other state legislatures have made an
application for a convention to provide for these purposes. Alabama will be the
fourth state to apply for a Convention of the States joined by Alaska, Florida,
and Georgia.
For more information about services provided at the Alabama
Secretary of State’s Office, visit www.sos.alabama.gov.