Kansas Rules Committee agrees to axe “Roe Rule”

Article/COS - 4 minute read

Convention of States has started 2023 off strong in Kansas, kicking off the year with meetings in Lawrence, Wichita, Topeka, Olathe, and Louisburg. Another is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24, 2023, at BETO Junction, Country Pride Restaurant, I-35 and US 75.

The grassroots organization is set to call a Convention of States, also known as an Article V Convention. In order to get a convention, two-thirds of states (34 states total) need to pass a Convention of States. So far, 19 states have passed a Convention of States resolution, and should the “Roe Rule” be axed, it will be likely that Kansas will be state number 20.

Opponents of Convention of States, such as organizations like Freedom First Society, Common Cause, and Constitution Center, as well as news sources like The Hill and Kansas Reflector reside on both the far-right and far-left, spouting propaganda to misinform their readers of the convention. One of the easiest ways to know a source is trying to misinform readers and listeners on the topic of a Convention of States is they will often refer to it as a “Constitutional Convention” or a “con-con” for short.

A Constitutional Convention is a convention to create an entirely new constitution and is not the same thing as an Article V Convention. An Article V Convention comes from Article V of the Constitution, working in the parameters of the Constitution, not to create a brand new one, but rather to add amendments to the existing U.S. Constitution. These amendments also can’t be for just anything. Rather, for this convention to be held, the states would come together with three specific goals in mind:

• Impose fiscal restraints on the federal government

• Limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government

• Term limits on Congress and federal officials

When looking at the original ten amendments, and the first few added on after, they were all meant to give rights to the people and take power away from the government. However, as time went on, Congress began adding new amendments to the Constitution to grant the government more power instead. Congress has passed 27 amendments to the Constitution with no intention today to give up power. Fortunately, our forefathers knew the government would eventually get out of hand and wrote Article V so that We the People could also pass amendments via an Article V Convention. The best part is, Congress has no power to stop it and the President cannot veto any amendments passed by three-fourths of the states (38 states total).

Kansas is a state that has tried passing a Convention of States twice before without luck. Despite both Democrats and Republicans largely favoring a Convention of States, Republicans are more likely to vote in favor of calling a convention. With a supermajority in the Kansas House, it would be reasonable to think that Kansas would have joined in the call to pass a Convention of States the first time around. However, the “Roe Rule” has kept this from happening.

After the decision of Roe v. Wade in 1973, Kansas decided to pass House Rule 2707 in 1974, requiring two-thirds majority for passage of any “application to Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States”. On January 21, 1974, Indiana’s legislature called for a Convention of States for a “right to life” amendment. Supposedly fearing a Convention of States, On March 26, 1974, without public hearing or any debate the Kansas Senate passed the two-thirds majority requirement to be added to the state constitution.

In the November 1974 election, regular people went out to vote on the newly amended state constitution. However, the two-thirds requirement was a small part of a very large, proposed amendment and was not mentioned in the explanation of the proposal. The proposal was also so large that the overall amendment barely fit on a newspaper page in small print, not something the average person would stand and read at the voting booth, and so the amendment was passed. Thus, while other states need a simple majority of their legislature to pass a Convention of States, Kansas has needed two-thirds of its legislature. However, judicial records at federal and state levels have shown that state constitutional amendments and statutes that work to control the operation of federal functions under the U.S. Constitution are unconstitutional.

On Wednesday, January 18, 2023, the House Rules Committee agreed to remove the “Roe Rule” from their set of rules. The entire House of Representatives will now have to look at this for consideration. Should it be axed, the House will only need 64 Representatives to vote in favor of passing a Convention of States, rather than the 84 that are currently needed.

Regional Director for Convention of States David Schneider sent out an email Thursday, January 19, 2023, urging Kansans to reach out to their legislators to support a Convention of States. If you would like to reach out to your legislators to support a Convention of States, click here.