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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 206 FILED ON: 1/10/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3541
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Steven George Xiarhos
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying
resolution:
Resolutions calling on Article V of the United States Constitution for the convening of a
convention of the states.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Steven George Xiarhos5th Barnstable1/10/2023Mathew J. Muratore1st Plymouth1/26/2023Bradley H. Jones, Jr.20th Middlesex1/26/2023Joseph D. McKenna18th Worcester1/26/2023Susan Williams Gifford2nd Plymouth1/26/2023Steven S. Howitt4th Bristol1/26/2023Marcus S. Vaughn9th Norfolk1/28/2023Patrick M. O'ConnorFirst Plymouth and Norfolk2/2/2023 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 206 FILED ON: 1/10/2023
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3541
By Representative Xiarhos of Barnstable, a petition (accompanied by resolutions, House, No.
3541) of Steven George Xiarhos and others for the adoption of resolutions memorializing the
Congress of the United States to convene a Constitutional Convention. Veterans and Federal
Affairs.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 3660 OF 2021-2022.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
(2023-2024)
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Resolutions calling on Article V of the United States Constitution for the convening of a
convention of the states.
1 WHEREAS, Executive Orders by the President of the United States have become a
2vehicle through which the President may overstep the limits of his constitutional authority; and
3 WHEREAS, the concentration of power at the federal level has had the effect of making
4federal officials less responsive to the will of the people and more readily influenced by
5lobbyists, wealthy corporations, and special interests in Washington, D.C.; and
6 WHEREAS, much of federal law is now enacted by federal bureaucrats who were never
7chosen by the people and have no accountability to the people whatsoever; and
8 WHEREAS, policy decisions made at the state level tend to be more responsive to the
9needs and desires of the people; and 2 of 3
10 WHEREAS, the federal government has created a crushing national debt through
11improper and imprudent spending; and
12 WHEREAS, the federal government has invaded the legitimate roles of the states through
13the manipulative process of federal mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great extent; and
14 WHEREAS, the States have the ability to restore the responsiveness of government to the
15people and to restrain abuses of federal power by proposing Amendments to the Constitution of
16the United States through a limited Convention of States under Article V;
17 Be it therefore resolved by the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
18 SECTION 1. That the legislature of the State of Massachusetts hereby applies to
19Congress, under the provisions of Article V of the Constitution of the United States, for the
20calling of a convention of the states limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the
21United States that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and
22jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and for
23members of Congress;
24 SECTION 2. The Secretary of State is hereby directed to transmit copies of this
25application to the President and Secretary of the United States Senate and to the Speaker and
26Clerk of the United States House of Representatives from this State; also to transmit copies
27hereof to the presiding officers of each of the legislative houses in the several States, requesting
28their cooperation; 3 of 3
29 SECTION 3. This application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with
30Article V of the Constitution of the United States until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of
31the several states have made applications on the same subject.