Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Article V Framework topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee finds limited criminal-justice impact of Article V convention response bill
Summary
Sponsor Randall Greenwood presented a draft framework for how Maine would respond if Congress called an Article V convention and proposed class-C crimes for commissioners who exceed scope or interfere; the committee, limited by joint rule 319, found the bill would have a minor impact on the criminal-justice system.
Representative Randall Greenwood, sponsor of the measure, appeared before the joint-rule 319 review and said the bill is a "framework" for how Maine would respond if Congress called an Article V convention; he emphasized the bill does not call for or endorse an Article V convention. Greenwood explained the draft includes two crimes: a class C offense for a commissioner who "exceeded the scope of the commissioner's authority" and a class C offense for someone who "intentionally or knowingly brib[es], threatens, intimidates, or obstructs" a commissioner performing duties at a convention.
Greenwood said the intent is deterrence: "The purpose of having a crime set up would be to really keep the commissioners in check in terms of what their duties are ... making sure that no one unduly attempts to influence somebody who's at a convention proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution." He also clarified that, in his view, if a convention is called for a particular subject (for example, term limits), Maine's commissioners would be limited to that subject.
Members asked whether the 90-day appointment clock for filling vacancies would begin when the bill becomes law if current vacancies already exist; staff replied the 90-day clock would begin on enactment. Several members raised questions about whether state law could unduly restrict Maine commissioners from participating if other states expanded a convention's scope; Greenwood responded the bill aims to bind Maine's commissioners to the state's call and to limit votes to subject matter.
Under the narrow scope of a joint rule 319 review (which focuses on criminal-justice impacts), the committee voted that LD ___ (the Article V framework) would have a minor impact on the criminal-justice system.
The committee's letter and the joint-rule determination will be forwarded to the sponsor and to the committee of jurisdiction for further consideration.
Next step: the sponsor may proceed in the committee of jurisdiction; the joint-rule letter will accompany the packet.
