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| What’s Your Alternative (Part 4) We’re a Passed State. We’re Done, Right? Monday, October 27, 2025 The past three weeks we have reviewed a few objections the part-time constitutionalists make, who controls a convention of states meeting and why the Convention of States Project’s resolution is the solution as big as the problems. This week, we conclude with the vital role volunteers in a passed state play in our continuing mission. Every leader in a passed state has heard the question in this article’s title. When the Convention of States Action was founded in August of 2013, we made several mistakes. We continue to do so to this day. Hopefully, we do not make the same mistakes over and over. Act. Learn. Adjust. One of the mistakes we made in our infancy was primarily focusing on passage of our resolution. As a result, after a state passed there was usually a drop in volunteer activity. Some of that in understandable. It takes considerable effort to educate, strategize and lobby legislators to pass legislation. It is understandable that some need to take time to relax and regroup after passage. However, passage of our resolution is the end of the beginning not, the beginning of the end. So, why is it important for a passed state to keep working and how do volunteers in a passed state stay involved? Missouri is a term limited state. This means that roughly one-third of the legislature turns over every election cycle. Approximately 60 new legislators will be sworn in January 2027 when the 104th Legislative Session begins. Last election cycle, there are 377 candidates filed to run for these 60 seats. That means there are 377 new contacts and conversations that need to take place. The best time to begin the dialogue is when these candidates are campaigning and contacting as many voters as they can. They want to engage. This is a perfect time for you to get to know the candidates and educate them on Article V. Once the session begins, these elected officials will be bombarded with information. Having these relationships prior to session gives us a leg up on other groups. When the first of many Article V convention of states meetings are convened, each state will select commissioners to represent their state. Some states have a process to select these commissioners but most do not. Missouri is one such state without a selection process. Our Commissioner Selection Bill establishes the process the Missouri Legislature will follow to select our delegation. Our House and Senate bills (HB166 and SB437) were in front of the legislature this session to do exactly that. We did not receive a floor vote in either chamber this session. We didn’t succeed because House and Senate Leadership did not consider it a high enough priority. This is where the grassroots make a difference. There isn’t any problem sufficient grassroots encouragement cannot solve. It is our duty now and going into next session to engage our legislators to help us make it to a floor vote and passage next session. The selection process is critical to the success of an Article V meeting. Having the strongest advocates for the Constitution and principles of federalism directly impacts the success we will have in placing the federal government back into its constitutional box. We want to have a seat at the table. We want to have input on the candidates to be considered as commissioners. Perhaps, some of our volunteers will be considered and selected as commissioners. Having individuals who are well-versed in the convention of states process will be able to lead and be subject-matter experts at convention. It is important that the most effective proposals are introduced, considered and passed out of a convention of states meeting. With the current state of our republic, we must take maximum advantage of the first convention of states meeting. This is another area where we need to have a voice. Staying engaged with our legislature should provide us an opportunity to draft amendments or at least have significant influence on the solutions considered. Combining this with representation in our state delegation is very important. Any proposals passed out of an Article V convention of states meeting must be ratified by at least 38 states before the Constitution is amended. Education is a key part of this process. This is another area where our COS Team can make a difference. Far too few of our fellow citizens are knowledgeable about our Founding Principles, our intended government structure or the Constitution. Our grassroots volunteers need to take the lead in this area. We must address the objections that will be raised and obstacles that we will have to overcome. If we are effective in our educational efforts and control the narrative, we will increase the odds proposals passed out of the Article V meeting will be passed. Our state teams are also involved in supporting non-COS, pro-liberty legislation or opposing non-COS, anti-Constitutional legislation if the team decides to do so. This is a thoughtful and strategic process state teams work together with our national team when considering. There are partnership opportunities with other states to help them pass our resolution through various calls to Action. We will also be active in state and local elections through Get Out the Vote efforts as we have been already. Continuing to educate our fellow citizens, provide solutions to address the challenges we face and expand our influence in state and local government are all areas of involvement. I hope this provides a clearer picture of how important it is for a Passed State’s team to stay engaged and continue to lead. After all, every state team wants to be a Passed State eventually. A Passed State can provide leadership and encouragement to pass the two-thiirds threshold (34) to call the first of many Article V convention of states meetings. Check out https://conventionofstates.com/take_action for areas where you can lead. In liberty, Brett Please bookmark the Missouri Information Page and share it with family and friends. Past Blog Posts Did you miss last week's blog post? No worries, we've got you covered! Click here to access our archive and see the full history of the blog. |
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| Login Required to view? | No |
| Created: | 2020-03-24 01:35 GMT |
| Updated: | 2025-10-25 21:27 GMT |
| Published: | 2020-03-23 05:00 GMT |
| Converted: | 2025-11-11 12:38 GMT |
| Change Author: | Bradley Cooper |
| Credit Author: | Brett Sterley, State Director, Convention of States Missouri |
public/cb_mirror/brett_s_blog_txt_pages_9893.txt · Last modified: 2025/11/11 12:38 by 127.0.0.1