Rep. Jodi Newell's "Delegate Rules" bill, HB 392, passed the House via the consent calendar on Wednesday and is on to the Senate. The bill had previously passed unanimously in committee.
This bill "enacts procedures to choose, regulate, and bind delegates to an amendment proposing convention under Article V of the United States Constitution."
Basically, the point of this is to ensure that, in the event that a amendment convention were called by two-thirds of State legislatures, a set of rules would be in place to ensure that New Hampshire's delegation to that convention is accountable to will of the people.
The possibility of a runaway Convention has been one of the concerns that has made some people hesitant about supporting calls for an Article V Convention, and is one of the reasons such a convention has never been called. The purpose of this bill is to help allay those concerns.
As Rep. Newell explains:
The legislation that we passed has to do with making sure that the delegates are elected democratically, making sure that they take an oath that says that yes, you are there to represent the people of New Hampshire and you are there to represent the concerns of those people and you are limited to that topic and if not at the end of the day you will be held accountable. Not only will you be recalled - and there is a process for you to be replaced in that situation - if you are a person who is going to a situation like that and you are with the intention of amending our fundamental document in a way that does not align with the people of New Hampshire then there will be consequences for you.
While this may sound like an obscure procedural thing, this is part of a broader effort to lay the groundwork for an amendment convention under Article V that would propose a 28th Amendment to the Constitution on the issue of campaign finance reform.
Rep. Newell, together with the bill's co-sponsor, Rep. Ellen Read (D-Newmarket and Newfields), was recently on "TYT's The Conversation," with Cenk Uygur to discuss this bill. Worth a watch!