Upper East Texas News

The Texas chapter of the Convention of States (COS) recently announced a monthly meeting for several state house districts to be held Aug. 14.

The convention is nonprofit grassroots organization working for an amending convention, not a constitutional convention. The difference is significant because a constitutional convention seeks to completely rewrite the framework of government and deliver a new constitution, whereas an amending convention only promotes particular amendments to the existing Constitution, according to COS. 

These amendments must then be ratified by 38 States before officially becoming part of the Constitution.

Convention of States members believe President Biden's administration is making Washington bigger and more powerful than ever before.

"The processes and the procedures and the scope are entirely different," Michael Farris, a COS co-founder, said in a video statement. "A constitutional convention operates outside the structures of an existing government. When we had the original Constitutional Convention it operated on the basis of the residual sovereignty of the states, not Article 13 of the Articles of Confederation. It was done lawfully but it was done through the state's residual sovereignty."

The next monthly meeting of Convention of States Texas Senate District 1 will be held on Aug. 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Luigi's Italian Cafe in Mount Pleasant, Texas, according to a Facebook Event posting. The posting said the event will feature speaker John Van Compernolle, who will provide specifics on the Convention of States, what it does, its goals, its mission and provide information for new prospective supporters. 

Rita Dunaway, senior vice president of legislative affairs for the national COS team, met with the Hawkeye Reporter for an interview in March to discuss the movement in Iowa.

“Our movement is more energized than I have ever seen it,” Dunaway told Hawkeye Reporter. “The fact that the Biden administration looks like it's on a path to make D.C. bigger and more powerful than ever before, I'd say the silver lining would be that it is a wake-up call to the people in the state to see that there is a meaningful solution. It is a long-game solution that has the potential to reign in not only this administration but future administrations as well.”

During her interview, Dunaway outlined the ultimate goals of the Convention of States resolution. 

“Our Convention of State resolution proposes amendment on the three subject matters, which include imposing fiscal restraints on Washington, limiting federal power and jurisdiction and setting term limits for federal officials,” Dunaway told Hawkeye Reporter.

Fifteen states, including Texas, have already passed the Convention of States resolution.