Posted Tuesday, February 21, 2017 7:50 pm

N orth Carolina could be part of a historic effort to reestablish constitutional checks and balances on runaway federal power — or we can sit on the sidelines as other states carry the torch.



Resolutions filed in the N.C. House and Senate on Feb. 7 call for the General Assembly to apply to Congress for an Article V Convention of the States. Neither version has cleared its first committee hurdle, and though the long session has just begun, this important legislation must move forward sooner rather than later.



Grassroots organizers are powering a nationwide effort to push Convention of States resolutions in at least 34 of the 50 states, triggering an Article V convention to propose constitutional amendments that would shift the balance of power away from the federal government.



All 27 constitutional amendments on the books have been proposed through Congress and ratified by at least three-fourths of the states, or 38 of the 50, but our founding document allows state legislatures to take the bull by the horns and call a constitutional convention themselves.



While the language says states “apply” to Congress, that’s merely a procedural term. Once two-thirds of the states apply, Congress is duty-bound to call the convention. Representatives can schedule the event’s time and place, but have no influence over the meeting itself. States choose their own delegates, and those delegates decide by majority vote which proposed amendments will advance to the ratification process.



North Carolina’s resolution for a states’ convention says the gathering would be “limited to proposing amendments to the United States Constitution that 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.”



That means a balanced-budget amendment, a restoration of state authority on subjects such as education and fixed term limits for representatives and senators. We support all these goals, which are designed to reduce the bloated sphere of federal influence and make Congress more accountable to the people it represents.



Most people who favor good government understand the need for term limits. Congress was intended as a citizen legislature, not a career. Our representative bodies will only be truly representative when more ordinary people are afforded the opportunity to serve.



The states’ convention is also likely to limit the scope of federal regulatory agencies’ power, a goal all Wilsonians can appreciate. If the Federal Communications Commission hadn’t told the city of Wilson it could disregard a state law setting broadband service area boundaries — which a federal appeals court later ruled the FCC had no authority to do — we wouldn’t have 400-plus Greenlight customers in Nash and Edgecombe counties pleading for legislative relief.



We call on Wilson County’s legislative delegation to support the Convention of States bills, Senate Joint Resolution 36 and Senate Joint Resolution 44, and we urge Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore to hold floor votes on this important matter.



If you agree that most issues affecting our day-to-day lives should be decided at home or in Raleigh instead of in Washington, call or write your lawmakers in support of an Article V Convention of States.



