On Thursday, May 4, 2017, the Texas legislature passed a resolution calling for a Convention of States for the purpose of proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The resolution (
SJR2), having a total of 72 co-authors, was passed 217 to 213 as nearly 250 supporters watched from the Gallery.
The resolution comes after the Senate passed its own version on February 28, making the Lone Star State the 11th state to call for a convention as outlined in Article V of the Constitution.
As Legal Insurrection has
explained, Article V details two procedures for amending the U.S. Constitution. The first and most familiar way requires that congress write and propose an amendment that is subsequently sent to the 50 states for ratification. The second process for proposing and passing amendments, however, requires that two-thirds of the state legislatures submit applications for a convention
for the purpose of proposing amendments.