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Sponsors detail bill to define, constrain and penalize state delegates to any Article V convention
Summary
House Bill 67 would create state statutes governing selection, duties, recall, oath and criminal penalties for Ohio delegates to an Article V convention; sponsors said the bill is intended to prevent a "runaway" convention and to give the Ohio legislature legal mechanisms to hold delegates to instructions.
State Representative McLean and a co-sponsor told the House Government Oversight Committee that House Bill 67 would establish state law to select and oversee any Ohio delegates sent to a convention called under Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
Under the bill described to the committee, the legislature would set a procedures commission to nominate delegates, require delegates to take an oath, allow compensation, create recall procedures, and make certain actions by a delegate a felony. "This spells out the delegate roles at a convention, creates an advisory committee here at the state level," McLean said, adding that the bill "creates a criminal penalty for a delegate if they violate their oath." The sponsors said the bill is intended as "belts and suspenders" protections to ensure Ohio's delegates adhere to the subject-matter limits in any call the General Assembly makes.
Sponsors told the committee the draft specifies an odd number of delegates, eligibility requirements, recall authority and that delegates would be prohibited from considering or voting on amendments outside the scope of the state's original subject-matter call. The sponsors also said the draft lists specific constitutional amendments that would be off limits for consideration by Ohio delegates; they told members they would provide the committee with the precise statutory language and a list of comparable statutes from other states.
Representative Gross asked what legal authority would permit Ohio to bind a delegate at a national convention. Sponsors replied that HB 67 would create Ohio Revised Code provisions to criminalize out-of-bounds delegate actions and to give the General Assembly recall and oversight power; they said those state-law mechanisms would be the authority for enforcement. The sponsors said they will provide comparative state statutes and legal analyses in upcoming committee work.
Committee members questioned partisan control of appointments to the advisory commission, enforcement mechanisms if other states' delegates act differently, and whether the bill would afford minority-party representation on the appointment commission. Sponsors said the composition and appointment mechanics are their proposal and that amendments to selection rules could be considered by the General Assembly.
No committee vote was taken on HB 67 during this hearing; sponsors signaled they will submit additional documentation and may accept amendments on commission composition and the precise prohibited subjects before any committee vote.
