House
File
2173
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
2173
BY
WILLS
,
WESTRICH
,
NORDMAN
,
STONE
,
DUNWELL
,
KAUFMANN
,
BUSH
,
MOHR
,
FRY
,
and
LUNDGREN
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
concerning
persons
appointed
to
a
convention
called
1
by
the
United
States
Congress
to
propose
amendments
to
2
the
United
States
Constitution,
providing
a
penalty,
and
3
including
effective
date
provisions.
4
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
5
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2173
Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
38.1
Definitions.
1
For
purposes
of
this
chapter,
unless
the
context
otherwise
2
requires:
3
1.
“Article
V
convention”
means
a
convention
called
by
the
4
United
States
Congress
pursuant
to
Article
V
of
the
United
5
States
Constitution
upon
application
of
the
legislatures
of
at
6
least
two-thirds
of
the
states
to
propose
amendments
to
the
7
United
States
Constitution.
8
2.
“Commissioner”
means
a
person
selected
to
represent
the
9
state
at
an
Article
V
convention.
10
3.
“Instructions”
means
directions
given
by
the
general
11
assembly
to
a
commissioner
before
or
during
an
Article
V
12
convention
or
by
voters
at
a
ratifying
convention.
13
4.
“Unauthorized
amendment”
means
a
proposed
amendment
14
to
be
considered
at
an
Article
V
convention
that
is
outside
15
the
subject
matter
of
the
state’s
joint
resolution
applying
16
to
Congress
to
call
the
Article
V
convention
or
that
is
in
17
contravention
of
any
instructions
provided
to
commissioners
by
18
the
state.
19
Sec.
2.
NEW
SECTION
.
38.2
Commissioner
prohibitions
——
20
removal
——
penalty.
21
1.
A
commissioner
shall
not
have
the
authority
at
an
22
Article
V
convention
to
vote
to
allow
consideration
of
or
vote
23
to
approve
an
unauthorized
amendment
or
to
vote
contrary
to
24
instructions
given
to
the
commissioner.
25
2.
Every
commissioner
shall
be
required
to
take
the
26
following
oath:
27
I
do
solemnly
swear
(or
affirm)
that
to
the
best
of
28
my
abilities,
I
will,
as
a
commissioner
to
an
Article
V
29
convention,
uphold
the
Constitution
and
laws
of
the
United
30
States
of
America
and
the
State
of
Iowa.
I
will
not
vote
to
31
allow
consideration
of
or
to
approve
any
unauthorized
amendment
32
or
vote
contrary
to
instructions
given
to
me.
I
acknowledge
33
that
violation
of
this
oath
may
result
in
my
recall
and
34
replacement
as
a
commissioner
and
is
a
class
“A”
felony.
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2173
3.
A
commissioner
violating
the
provisions
of
subsection
1
1
or
of
the
oath
as
provided
in
subsection
2
shall
be
subject
2
to
removal
and
replacement
as
a
commissioner
by
the
state
and
3
shall
be
guilty
of
a
class
“A”
felony.
4
Sec.
3.
EFFECTIVE
DATE.
This
Act,
being
deemed
of
immediate
5
importance,
takes
effect
upon
enactment.
6
EXPLANATION
7
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
8
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
9
This
bill
relates
to
persons
selected
by
the
general
10
assembly
to
represent
the
state
at
a
convention
called
by
the
11
United
States
Congress
to
propose
amendments
to
the
United
12
States
Constitution.
13
The
bill
defines
an
Article
V
convention
as
a
convention
14
called
by
the
United
States
Congress
as
provided
by
Article
15
V
of
the
United
States
Constitution
upon
application
of
the
16
legislatures
of
at
least
two-thirds
of
the
states
to
propose
17
amendments
to
the
United
States
Constitution.
“Commissioner”
18
is
defined
to
mean
a
person
selected
to
represent
the
state
at
19
an
Article
V
convention.
The
bill
also
defines
an
unauthorized
20
amendment
as
a
proposed
amendment
at
an
Article
V
convention
21
that
is
outside
the
subject
matter
of
the
state’s
joint
22
resolution
calling
for
the
convention
or
is
in
contravention
of
23
any
instructions
provided
to
commissioners
by
the
state.
24
The
bill
provides
that
a
commissioner
shall
not
propose
25
or
vote
to
approve
an
unauthorized
amendment
at
an
Article
26
V
convention
or
vote
contrary
to
instructions
given
to
the
27
commissioner
by
the
general
assembly
before
or
during
the
28
convention
or
by
voters
at
a
ratifying
convention.
The
bill
29
also
requires
a
commissioner
to
take
an
oath
recognizing
this
30
prohibition.
The
bill
provides
that
a
commissioner
violating
31
a
provision
of
the
bill
shall
be
subject
to
removal
and
32
replacement
as
a
commissioner
by
the
state
and
shall
be
guilty
33
of
a
class
“A”
felony.
A
class
“A”
felony
is
punishable
by
34
confinement
for
life
without
possibility
of
parole.
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H.F.
2173
The
bill
takes
effect
upon
enactment.
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