Ohio might push for US constitutional convention

Ohio could join an ongoing national effort for states to force changes to the U.S. Constitution, such as term limits for federal officials and requiring a balanced federal budget.

Identical resolutions that are getting hearings in Ohio House and Senate committees would call for a Convention of States under Article V of the Constitution.

Tom Coburn, a former U.S. senator from Oklahoma, was in Columbus on Tuesday to push for the proposals, arguing that the federal government is never going to fix its problems on its own.

The people can fix it, the Republican said, by limiting the federal government’s ability to borrow, reducing regulations and limiting how long members of Congress can serve.

“Our founders intended the federal government to be small and limited, and they intended the states to be big and determine everything else,” he said. “You in Ohio don’t have the power to control your future, because it’s in the hands of the federal government.”

Coburn said Arizona on Monday became the ninth state to pass the resolution. Initiating a constitutional convention takes 34 states, and Republicans control 33 legislatures, including Ohio’s.

The resolution calls for a convention to address three issues: fiscal restraints on the federal government, limiting the power and jurisdiction of the government, and imposing term limits on federal officials.

“This is Americans banning together for the sake of the future of the nation,” said state Rep. Christina Hagan, R-Alliance, who is sponsoring the House resolution with Rep. Bill Patmon, D-Cleveland.

Patmon added: “I do not recall giving permission for us to drive our country into $19 trillion in debt.”

Rep. David Leland of Columbus, the top Democrat on the House federalism committee, which is hearing the proposal, called it a Trojan horse — a couple of interesting issues that hide a lot of unknowns about the process and vague subject matter.

“Inside poses a lot of danger to one of the most important documents in the history of the world,” he said.

If issues such as balancing the federal budget are so important, voters can take action, Leland said. “We elect people to office. If they don’t balance the budget, vote them out.”

In 2013, Ohio legislators passed a more-limited balanced-budget resolution that is a handful of states shy of the threshold of 34.

Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, has been pushing constitutional-convention proposals for years and is sponsoring this year’s Senate version.

“Are the states going to step up and say, ‘Hold on, federal government, we can control you through this process,’” he said. “The federal government can’t fix itself.”