In 2011 a national trade group of state lawmakers asked me to summarize Article V research for state legislators around the country. The group, the non-partisan American Legislative Exchange Council, wanted a practical guide for how state decision makers could begin the task of curing our dysfunctional federal government.
The result was the Article V Handbook—which has turned out to be perhaps the most influential publication I’ve ever authored. It has provided a road map for the many state legislatures that have adopted applications for a “convention for proposing amendments” in the years since 2011.
The American Legislative Exchange Council has just issued my new update of the Handbook. Here is what Linda Upmeyer, Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, has to say in her Foreword to the new edition:
As the Chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council’s Center to Restore the Balance of Government, I am proud to present to you the newest edition of the Article V Handbook. First published in 2011, the Handbook is an invaluable guide for state lawmakers who recognize that the states have the power and the duty to rein in a federal government that is unable and unwilling to reform itself. Much has been accomplished since this Handbook first appeared, and it has been wonderful to witness this progress. The idea of states serving as the catalyst to restore functionality to Washington continues to gain traction. Article V initiatives that got their start before the Handbook’s original release are closing in on the 34-state threshold to call an amendments convention, and new Article V initiatives have launched. However, there is a lot more work to be done, so the Handbook’s update could not have come at a better time!
You don’t have to be a state official to read the Article V Handbook. You can find it here!