Measure to call convention of states dies in Kansas committee

A Kansas effort to call for a convention of states to try to amend the Constitution died in a House committee on Wednesday.

HCR 5005, which would call for a convention on amendments regarding federal authority and term limits under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, fell short in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee on a 9-13 vote. Some lawmakers questioned the usefulness of calling for a convention.

“What’s it going to do when you change the words (of the Constitution) and the government still doesn’t do it,” said Rep. Michael Houser, R-Columbus.

Rep. Kristey Williams, R-Augusta, called an Article V convention “as American as apple pie.”

“I do support the states’ opportunity to call a convention and see what we can have, see what comes out of it,” she said.

A similar effort last year made it to the House floor but fell seven votes short of the two-thirds supermajority needed for passage.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Measure to call convention of states dies in Kansas committee."