House File 336 - IntroducedA Bill ForAn Act 1concerning persons appointed to a convention called
2by the United States Congress to propose amendments to
3the United States Constitution, providing a penalty, and
4including effective date provisions.
5BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
1   Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  38.1  Definitions.
   2For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise
3requires:
   41.  “Article V convention” means a convention called by the
5United States Congress pursuant to Article V of the United
6States Constitution upon application of the legislatures of at
7least two-thirds of the states to propose amendments to the
8United States Constitution.
   92.  “Commissioner” means a person selected to represent the
10state at an Article V convention.
   113.  “Unauthorized amendment” means a proposed amendment
12to be considered at an Article V convention that is outside
13the subject matter of the state’s joint resolution applying
14to Congress to call the Article V convention or that is in
15contravention of any instructions provided to commissioners by
16the state.
   174.  “Unauthorized rule” means a proposed rule for governing
18the Article V convention that is in conflict with a rule
19that each state be granted one vote and that a majority vote
20is required to propose an amendment to the United States
21Constitution.
22   Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  38.2  Commissioner prohibitions —
23removal — penalty.
   241.  A commissioner shall not have the authority at an Article
25V convention to vote to allow consideration of or vote to
26approve an unauthorized amendment or an unauthorized rule.
   272.Every commissioner shall be required to take the
28following oath:
29I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that to the best of
30my abilities, I will, as a commissioner to an Article V
31convention, uphold the Constitution and laws of the United
32States of America and the State of Iowa. I will not vote to
33allow consideration of or to approve any unauthorized amendment
34or unauthorized rule. I acknowledge that violation of this
35oath may result in my recall and replacement as a commissioner
-1-1and is a simple misdemeanor.
   23.  A commissioner violating the provisions of subsection
31 or of the oath as provided in subsection 2 shall be subject
4to removal and replacement as a commissioner by the state and
5shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
6   Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act, being deemed of immediate
7importance, takes effect upon enactment.
8EXPLANATION
9The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
10the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   11This bill relates to persons selected by the general
12assembly to represent the state at a convention called by the
13United States Congress to propose amendments to the United
14States Constitution.
   15The bill defines an Article V convention as a convention
16called by the United States Congress as provided by Article
17V of the United States Constitution upon application of the
18legislatures of at least two-thirds of the states to propose
19amendments to the United States Constitution. “Commissioner”
20is defined to mean a person selected to represent the state at
21an Article V convention. The bill also defines an unauthorized
22amendment as a proposed amendment at an Article V convention
23that is outside the subject matter of the state’s joint
24resolution calling for the convention or is in contravention
25of any instructions provided to commissioners by the state.
26Finally, the bill defines an unauthorized rule as a proposed
27rule for governing the Article V convention that is in conflict
28with a rule that each state be granted one vote and that a
29majority vote is required to propose an amendment to the United
30States Constitution.
   31The bill provides that a commissioner shall not propose or
32vote to approve an unauthorized amendment or an unauthorized
33rule at an Article V convention. The bill also requires a
34commissioner to take an oath recognizing these prohibitions.
35The bill provides that a commissioner violating the provisions
-2-1of the bill shall be subject to removal and replacement as
2a commissioner by the state and shall be guilty of a simple
3misdemeanor. A simple misdemeanor is punishable by confinement
4for no more than 30 days and a fine of at least $105 but not
5more than $855.
   6The bill takes effect upon enactment.
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