Each week during the 2025 Kansas legislative session, we will provide Johnson County lawmakers the opportunity to share their thoughts about what is happening in the state capitol.
Below is a submission from Republican Sen. TJ Rose, who represents Kansas Senate District 35, covering portions of Lenexa, Olathe and Overland Park.
The Post also published updates this week from Democratic Rep. Jerry Stogsdill and Republican Rep. Carl Turner.
The views expressed in each Capitol Update are solely those of the lawmaker.
The Founding Fathers knew there would be moments in the history of the nation when the states would need to initiate amendments to the Constitution.
Kansas Senate Concurrent Resolution 1604, in which Kansas applies for a Convention of States, is necessary to provide future generations the same opportunities of liberty and prosperity our forefathers gave us.
The concept of a Convention of States was included in Article V of the United States Constitution without dissent.
Today, the fears the Founding Fathers had when they included a Convention of States clause in the Constitution have become a reality.
The federal government has usurped power from the states. James Madison said in Federalist No. 45, “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite.”
Today, federal overreach stifles liberty. The $36 trillion national debt is unsustainable and threatens our future prosperity. Congressional term limits are necessary to reestablish effective representation of the people.
Additionally, it is obvious Congress is not going to reign in the federal government’s control over the states. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the states to legitimately restore the constitutional principles that grant us the liberty and prosperity we cherish.
The Founding Fathers would not be surprised at the current state of the federal government, but they would be surprised the people allow the excesses to continue by neglecting to use the constitutional means to correct the improprieties.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 1604 would enable Kansas to apply for a convention of the states to discuss amendments to the Constitution to reset the balance of power between the federal government and the states.
When two-thirds of the state legislatures, totaling 34, pass resolutions applying for a convention to propose amendments on the same topic, the meeting agenda would be set and Congress has a constitutional requirement to initiate the convention of states.
The rules of the convention would be consistent with the dozens of interstate conventions in American history.
Article V does not allow for a new Constitution to be written, only amendments. Each state would send its delegation of commissioners to act upon the specified agenda in accord with the state legislature’s resolution. Every state is given one vote.
Proposals receiving support from a majority of states would be submitted to the states for ratification. Thirty eight states (or three-fourths of the states) must ratify a proposal in order to amend the Constitution, indeed a high-bar preventing any threat of a runaway convention.
Proposed amendments at the Convention of States would be restricted to amendments providing fiscal restraints, limiting the power and jurisdiction of the federal government and setting term limits for federal officials including federal judges, bureaucrats and members of Congress. Any other topics would not be germane to the convention.
Polling shows Americans overwhelmingly support these three issues. An Article V Convention of States is the legitimate constitutional means to accomplish these objectives and an effective method to give our grandchildren a nation in which freedom rings.
