On August 11 the Convention of States Texas team kicked off the first in a series of Article V symposiums specifically for Texas legislators in Tarrant County. This unique initiative features COSTX leadership co-hosting events with legislators for legislators around the state over the next few months.
The COSTX team designed these meetings to give legislators a solid understanding of the Article V process and explain why it’s important for state sovereignty. They are also meant to engage citizens in their communities about the constitutional process to rein in the federal government.
According to co-host Representative Stephanie Klick (HD-91), many of her constituents have been calling her office, urging her to support an Article V application for the state of Texas.
The porous border is the main issue facing Texans at the moment. Texans are not only concerned about the lack of security on the border, but also, as Breitbart Texas reported earlier this month, about the fact that taxpayers will be on the hook for upwards of $45 million in educational costs associated with unaccompanied minors (UAC) who will be joining the Texas public school system in the fall.
The federal government’s lack of urgency to secure America’s border is just one way Washington, D.C., is failing the citizens of Texas and other border states. Article V gives citizens—through their state legislatures—the opportunity to tell the federal government that if they won’t do their job, the states will.
Convention of States Texas is working with legislators to support their preparation of an Article V application for the 84th legislative session, which begins on January 15, 2015.