Texas governor joins GOP calls for constitutional convention

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is joining the ranks of Republicans who are pushing for the first U.S. constitutional convention in more than 200 years.

Abbott on Friday called on Texas to take the lead in pushing for constitutional amendments that would give states power to ignore federal laws and override decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The increasingly frequent departures from Constitutional principles are destroying the Rule of Law foundation on which this country was built,” he said. “We are succumbing to the caprice of man that our Founders fought to escape. The cure to these problems will not come from Washington D.C. Instead, the states must lead the way. To do that I am adding another item to the agenda next session. I want legislation authorizing Texas to join other states in calling for a Convention of States to fix the cracks in our Constitution.”

Specifically, Abbott is proposing the following constitutional amendments:

1. Prohibit Congress from regulating activity that occurs wholly within one State.
2. Require Congress to balance its budget.
3. Prohibit administrative agencies—and the unelected bureaucrats that staff them—from creating federal law.
4. Prohibit administrative agencies—and the unelected bureaucrats that staff them—from preempting state law.
5. Allow a two-thirds majority of the States to override a U.S. Supreme Court decision.
6. Require a seven-justice super-majority vote for U.S. Supreme Court decisions that invalidate a democratically enacted law.
7. Restore the balance of power between the federal and state governments by limiting the former to the powers expressly delegated to it in the Constitution.
8. Give state officials the power to sue in federal court when federal officials overstep their bounds.
9. Allow a two-thirds majority of the States to override a federal law or regulation.

The idea isn't new, and successfully assembling a constitutional convention is a longshot.

Doing so would require approval from 34 states, and over the past four decades, more than two dozen states have endorsed the idea at one time or another.

The proposal has also been floated on the 2016 campaign trail. Republican presidential contender Marco Rubio has said he will push for states to call a convention to impose congressional term limits.

To read Abbott's full plan, visit http://gov.texas.gov/files/press-office/Restoring_The_Rule_Of_Law_01082016.pdf.