Governor DeSantis, advocates urge Kentucky to back call for a balanced‑budget amendment; lawmakers raise constitutional concerns

Gov. Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, and Lauren Ends, who leads the national campaign for a balanced‑budget amendment, testified before a Kentucky House committee on House Concurrent Resolution 45, a proposal urging the state to support a federal balanced‑budget amendment. The hearing was informational; the committee took no vote.

DeSantis framed the measure as a response to what he called an unsustainable national debt and argued the states have constitutional tools to force meaningful change. "We now spend more on interest on our national debt just to service the debt than we do on national defense," DeSantis said, adding that state action can either pressure Congress to propose an amendment or use the Article V mechanism if Congress fails to act.

Ends provided numerical context, citing the campaign's figures: "$38,700,000,000,000 in debt versus $5,300,000,000,000 in revenue," and likened the nation's fiscal position to a household overwhelmed by credit‑card interest. She said a balanced‑budget amendment would "stop the bleeding" but would likely require phased implementation over a decade to avoid abrupt disruption.

Lawmakers pressed witnesses on legal and procedural safeguards. Representative Hough asked whether a single‑subject convention could be enforced; DeSantis and Ends pointed to existing state statutes and rules that impose "faithful delegate" obligations. "Eighteen states have passed those faithful delegate or delegate limitation acts," Ends said, explaining such laws can revoke credentials and include criminal penalties if delegates violate their commission.

Other questions probed who would enforce a constitutional budget requirement and whether presidents could employ emergency powers to override it. Ends said proposed language commonly includes an emergency exemption that would require a two‑thirds vote of Congress and an annual reauthorization, not an indefinite suspension.

Not all members were convinced. Representative Donworth warned of constitutional uncertainty and said he was "not willing to put the risk of our entire country... at risk" by invoking Article V without clearer guarantees; he urged Congress to act instead. Several members raised concerns about potential outside influence and the logistics of selecting and tallying delegates, prompting witnesses to cite historical precedent (one state, one vote) and the role of state laws in shaping delegate selection.

Representative Jason Petrie, who introduced the resolution for discussion, characterized the hearing as information only and said he may seek a vote at a later date. The committee closed with a motion to adjourn, which passed without objection.

The hearing clarified the central tradeoffs: backers say a balanced‑budget amendment would impose binding fiscal constraints and improve long‑term solvency; skeptics caution that Article V mechanics and enforcement questions leave legal and political risk. The committee said the conversation will continue and did not take formal action on HCR45 at this session.