Buckeye Reporter

The Convention of the States movement in Ohio recently announced it reached a major milestone in the Buckeye State as a bill remains in committee in the State House of Representatives. 

In a March 27 Facebook post, the Convention of States Action in Ohio announced that the movement had collected 100,000 signed petitions that support its Article V Convention resolution. 

"100,000 Ohio Patriots have now supported calling a Convention of the States to restore authority to states, local governments and We the People!" Convention of States Ohio shared in the post. 

A joint resolution, known as House Joint Resolution 1, was first introduced in June of 2021 with Reps Riordan McClain (R-Upper Sandusky) and Craig Riedel (R-Defiance) listed as its sponsors. 

“The size and scope of the federal government have long been unsustainable, and we have waited long enough for Congress to fix itself,” McClain said in a press release.

The Convention of States resolution has been passed in 19 states, more than half of the required 34 in order to call a convention. Lawmakers in Wisconsin, Nebraska, West Virginia, and South Carolina were the most recent to act, with all four State Legislatures passing the resolution earlier this year. 

“I support term limits for office members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives because it holds public officials accountable throughout their political careers,” Riedel said in the release. “This resolution aims to increase the opportunity for competition for new members to bring diverse ideas and experiences to reviewing and amending federal laws while providing a necessary check on the current power of the Legislative Branch.” 

According to its website, Convention of States Action boasts over 3 million supporters across the country. 

The resolution only allows a future Convention of States to consider Constitutional Amendments that would limit the "power and jurisdiction" of and impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, or amendments that would create term limits for federal officials. 

Convention of States Action wants to see an amending convention, not a constitutional convention. Michael Farris, co-founder of the Convention of States project, said in a video that there is a big difference between the two, since a constitutional convention looks to rewrite the framework of government, while an amending convention wants changes to the existing constitution.