Georgia committee hears competing views on Article V balanced-budget application SR 262

Senate Judiciary Committee members heard more than an hour of testimony on SR 262, an Article V application asking Congress to convene a states-only convention limited to proposing a balanced-budget amendment.

Senator Kouser, the resolution's sponsor, told the committee the measure is narrowly focused on restoring fiscal discipline and includes a delegate-limitation provision (noted in the draft as code section 28-6-8) that would require Georgia's delegates to take an oath not to approve unauthorized amendments and would allow the legislature to recall delegates and impose misdemeanor penalties for violations. Kouser said the measure differs from broader Convention of States applications and stressed that any proposed amendment would still require ratification by three-fourths of the states.

Supporters, including Sully Sullivan of the Black Republican Council, framed the resolution as a nonpartisan step to address national deficits and congressional inaction. Opponents included Christie Minor, Ron Hammond, and a representative of Common Cause Georgia, who warned that Article V contains few procedural guardrails, that scope limits have not been conclusively enforceable, and that well-funded special interests could influence delegate selection and the convention agenda.

The committee received both technical and constitutional objections: witnesses noted uncertainty about delegate selection, enforcement of state instructions at a federal convention, and historical examples of state applications. No roll-call vote on SR 262 was recorded in the transcript; committee staff took a procedural motion after public comment and moved on to other business.

The committee did not advance SR 262 to final committee action during this hearing; the matter remains at the committee's discretion for further consideration.