House Joint Resolution 2009 - Introduced HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 2009 BY KELLEY , BENNETT , STUTSMAN , STECKMAN , PRICHARD , WOLFE , ANDERSON , GAINES , DAWSON , BROWN-POWERS , HANSON , OLSON , JACOBY , HEDDENS , WESSEL-KROESCHELL , KRESSIG , KEARNS , THEDE , and MEYER HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION A Joint Resolution calling for an Article V convention in order 1 to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United 2 States relating to free and fair elections. 3 WHEREAS, George Washington, the first President of the 4 United States, stated that the “basis of our political 5 systems is the right of the people to make and to alter their 6 constitutions of government”; and 7 WHEREAS, it was the stated intention of the framers of 8 the Constitution of the United States that the Congress of 9 the United States should be “dependent on the people alone”. 10 (James Madison, Federalist 52); and 11 WHEREAS, that dependency has evolved from a dependency on 12 the people alone to a dependency on those who spend excessively 13 in elections through campaigns or third-party groups; and 14 WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States ruling 15 in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 16 310 (2010), removed restrictions on amounts of independent 17 political spending; and 18 WHEREAS, the removal of those restrictions has resulted in 19 the unjust influence of powerful economic forces in United 20 States politics, which have supplanted the will of the people 21 by undermining the people’s ability to choose the people’s 22 own political leadership, write the people’s own laws, and 23 determine the fate of the state; and 24 WHEREAS, Article V of the Constitution of the United States 25 TLSB 5389YH (12) 86 aw/rj

House Joint Resolution 2009 - Introduced requires the Congress of the United States to call a convention 26 for proposing amendments upon application of two-thirds of the 27 legislatures of the several states for the purpose of proposing 28 amendments to the Constitution of the United States; and 29 WHEREAS, the State of Iowa recognizes the need for a 30 convention to propose an amendment in order to address concerns 31 such as those raised by the decision of the Supreme Court 32 of the United States in Citizens United v. Federal Election 33 Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010), and related cases and events 34 including those occurring long before or afterward or for a 35 substantially similar purpose; and 36 WHEREAS, the State of Iowa desires that the delegates to 37 said convention shall be comprised equally from individuals 38 currently elected to state and local office, or be selected 39 by election in each congressional district for the purpose 40 of serving as delegates, though all individuals elected or 41 appointed to federal office, now or in the past, be prohibited 42 from serving as delegates to the Convention, and intends to 43 retain the ability to restrict or expand the power of its 44 delegates; NOW THEREFORE, 45 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 46 TLSB 5389YH (12) 86 aw/rj

H.J.R. 2009 That the State of Iowa, speaking through the general 1 assembly, makes application to the Congress of the United 2 States for a convention to be called pursuant to Article V of 3 the Constitution of the United States to propose amendments 4 to the Constitution of the United States for the exclusive 5 purpose of protecting free and fair elections in the United 6 States by removing the corrupting influence of money in our 7 electoral process and addressing, among other things, concerns 8 raised by the decision of the Supreme Court of the United 9 States in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 10 558 U.S. 310 (2010), and related cases, as soon as two-thirds 11 of the legislatures of the several states have made similar 12 applications on the same issue. 13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State shall 14 transmit certified copies of this Joint Resolution, to the 15 President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker 16 of the United States House of Representatives, the Minority 17 Leader of the United States House of Representatives, the 18 President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, the Minority 19 Leader of the United States Senate, and each member of the 20 Iowa congressional delegation requesting that the full and 21 complete text of this application be recorded in the published 22 Congressional Record and among the tally of state petitions for 23 a convention of the states under Article V of the Constitution 24 of the United States, and to the presiding officer of each 25 house of each state legislature in the United States requesting 26 the cooperation of the states in making application and 27 compelling the Congress to call a convention for proposing 28 amendments pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the 29 United States. 30 EXPLANATION 31 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 32 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 33 This joint resolution makes application to the Congress of 34 the United States of America for a convention to be called 35 -1- LSB 5389YH (12) 86 aw/rj 1/ 2

H.J.R. 2009 under Article V of the Constitution of the United States to 1 propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States 2 related exclusively to the conduct of elections and addressing 3 the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United 4 v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 310 (2010). Article V 5 of the Constitution of the United States requires Congress to 6 call an Article V convention upon receiving applications from 7 two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states. 8 The resolution requires that the Secretary of State transmit 9 certified copies of the resolution to the President and Vice 10 President of the United States, the Speaker of the United 11 States House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the 12 United States House of Representatives, the President Pro 13 Tempore of the United States Senate, the Minority Leader of the 14 United States Senate, and each member of the Iowa congressional 15 delegation, and to the presiding officer of each house of 16 each state legislature in the United States requesting the 17 cooperation of the other states in calling a constitutional 18 convention. 19 -2- LSB 5389YH (12) 86 aw/rj 2/ 2