Hello, Tai,
The short answer to your question is: If the citizens of your state
want one, then yes, there shall be a State Constitutional Convention.
The longer answer is a little more complex than that.
For the purposes of writing, re-writing or significantly amending any
given State's Constitution, a State Constitutional Convention can be
called. Delegates to a State Constitutional Convention discuss and
approve amendements to be placed before voters for enactment.
Depending on your state, such a Convention may be proposed at
specified intervals, or may be proposed as the citizenry and/or
legislature perceives is needed.
In order for a State Constitutional Convention to be called, a State's
legislature must put the matter before the voters in a statewide
referendum. If voters approve the referendum, the legislature sets a
budget for the Convention and establishes the procedure for naming
delegates.
A State Constitutional Convention is not, however, a legislative body.
Delegates to State Constitutional Conventions tend to be business
people, educators and ordinary citizens elected at the district level
to participate, in order to distance the Convention from the usual
legislative politics. The idea behind such a Convention is to return
some of the legislative process to the hands of the citizens, to keep
them involved in the discussiona and creation of laws in their state.
It is not the responsibility of a State Constitutional Convention to
approve new laws itself, but rather, the responsibility of the State
Constitutional convention to formulate new laws to present to the
citizens for their approval.
It's interesting to note that some States require that the question of
"Shall there be a State Constitutional Convention?" be put before
voters once in a designated time period, apparently in recognition of
the fact that law is fluid and changing with the times, not rigid and
outdated. In New York, this specified time period is once every 20
years. In Hawaii, once ever 10 years. In other States, there is no
prescribed period. Wisconsin has only ever held two State
Constitutional Conventions. Alaska has had just one, the Convention
at which their initial State Constitution was written.
When the issue of a State Constitutional Convention comes up, debate
can turn contentious. Especially among sitting legislators, there is
often an undercurrent of the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"
mentality. This is seen as typical of complacent legislators happy to
maintain the status quo. On the other side of the debate are citizens
who feel that the legislative process in their state has broken down,
and that convening a State Constitutional Convention is necessary to
restore order and reform outdated or ineffective State laws.
Special interest groups, too, will often argue against State
Constitutional Conventions, for fear that any special privileges they
currently enjoy under existing Constitutions might be revoked by
potential amendments, while groups opposed to these special interests
will argue that it is precisely the special interest groups that are
making a State Constitutional Convention necessary.
State Constitutional Conventions are not convened lightly - under the
Supremacy Cluse of the US Constitution, a State Constitution is held
to be the highest authority of law within a state with only three
exceptions: the federal constitution itself, U.S. statutes, and U.S.
treaties, all three of which prevail over contrary state statutes.
Because of this "supremacy of law", it is sometimes perceived that the
electorate will only approve such a Convention when if feels that
there is no other choice but to completely overhaul a State's
legislature. This is considered by some to be the method of last
resort for enacting change and reforming government - approval of a
"ConCon" can be seen as a grave condemnation of the sitting
legislature, a signal that the system is broken and in immediate need
of drastic repair.
Ultimately, whether or not there shall be a State Constitutional
Convention in your state depends upon the will of the people. If such
a "ConCon" has been proposed by the legislature and set before the
electorate as a referendum, and the electorate approves that
referendum, then yes, there shall be a State Constitutional
Convention.
----
For a fascinating look at the State Constitutional Convention process
in action, I strongly urge you to visit Auburn University's
"SimConCon" (simulated constitutional convention), an interactive
educational tool designed to explain State Constitutional Conventions:
SimConCon
http://frontpage.auburn.edu/simconcon/
Sources:
A constitutional convention could shake up state
http://www.jsonline.com/news/col/ncrina.asp
Oklahoma Supreme Court Cases - FRANTZ v. AUTRY
1907 OK 65 91 P. 193
18 Okla. 561
Decided: 06/25/1907
Supreme Court of Oklahoma
http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/deliverdocument.asp?citeid=3107
WCLA Opposes New York State Constitutional Convention
http://www.wcla.org/97-summer/su97-17.html
Alaska Constitutional Convention
http://www.greatnorthern.net/~yukon/akconconv.html
CONSTITUTIONS OF THE FIFTY STATES
http://www.iulaw.indy.indiana.edu/library/State_Constitutions.htm
Constitutional Convention Court Case Offers New Life For Separation of
Powers
http://ocgri.org/press_releases/pr7-0299.htm
Texas Constitutional History
http://www.law.utexas.edu/constitutions/text/supbib.html
Trail Alerts from NY/NJ Trail Conference
http://newyork.sierraclub.org/OUTINGS/alerts.html#CONSTITUTIONAL%20CONVENTION
Constitutional convention raises more questions
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/opinion_columnists/article/0,1406,KNS_364_1021931,00.html
I hope you find this information helpful. If you need clarification,
don't hesitate to ask. I'll be glad to help.
--Missy
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