Russ Diamond for Lt. Gov.

Founder & Chairman - PACleanSweep, 2005-2009 | Golden Dot Award - George Washington University, 2005 | Citizen of the Year - Philadelphia Inquirer, 2006
Public Service Achievement Award - Common Cause/PA, 2006 | Communicator of the Year - International Association of Business Communicators (Harrisburg), 2006

Dedicated to reforming state government through a limited constitutional convention, eliminating property taxes once
and for all, and defending Pennsylvanians from federal intrusion by enforcing the 10th Amendment from Harrisburg.

debunking common misconceptions about a constitutional convention

A constitutional convention is a “can of worms” or a “Pandora’s Box.”

That might be true at an unlimited (or general) convention, but not at a limited convention.

Because our state constitution is completely silent on the topic of a convention, the General Assembly has the authority to regulate all aspects of a convention - including which portions of the constitution are subject to debate - with an appropriately crafted statute that enables a convention.

Legal precedent and judicial decree in Pennsylvania hold that such a statutory limitation is proper, constitutional, and enforceable.

Senate Bill 340 and House Bill 1929, the language of which was recently called “most sweeping Constitutional Convention bill” before the General Assembly by the Commonwealth Foundation’s Nathan Benefield, calls for a limited constitutional convention.

The founders got it right – why mess with it?

That depends on whom you consider to be the founders.

If you mean honorable gentlemen in powdered wigs living 200 or more years ago, only one part of our state constitution remotely resembles what they wrote: Article I, the Declaration of Rights.

SB340 and HB1929 take Article I off the table; it won’t be subject to any discussion at the convention.

The rest of our constitution has been rewritten four times over the years. The last rewrite was completed in 1968 and was planned and carried out by lawyers and politicians.

As a result, we’re saddled with an expensive full-time legislature, an unaccountable court system, and an executive branch that can’t seem to secure a budget without taking children, police, libraries, or state workers hostage on a yearly basis.

They don’t follow the current constitution; what makes you think they’d obey a new one?

It’s easy to not follow the rules when no one enforces them and the courts refuse to apply them properly. One of the things a convention could do is suggest reforms that would give the document teeth by specifying methods by which citizens could take direct action to reject reprehensible acts of government or to recall those officials who blatantly disregard the constitution’s plain language.

I don’t want politicians or special interests rewriting our most fundamental law.

Under SB340 and HB1929, public officials and registered lobbyists are prohibited from serving as delegates to the convention. Further, influence at the convention by registered lobbyists is tightly regulated by the bill and would only occur in an open, transparent, and publicly visible manner.

Finally, the convention does not possess any authority to rewrite the constitution. It is only empowered to suggest changes, which must then be approved by the electorate before being adopted.

A convention will get bogged down in divisive social issues.

Most social issues fall under the provisions of Article I, the Declaration of Rights, which would not be subject to discussion at all under SB340 and HB1929.

To help prevent divisive issues that may not fall under Article I from becoming the focus of the convention, any proposed constitutional changes are required to obtain the approval of 2/3 of the convention’s delegates before being submitted to the voters for final approval or rejection.

Pennsylvanians can’t afford a tax increase to cover the costs of holding a convention.

SB340 and HB1929 specify that $20 million be set aside from existing legislative surpluses to pay for the convention. No new taxes are required. This figure represents less than 10% of the total current legislative surpluses, and less than 7% of the current annual cost of funding the legislature.

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Paid for by Russ Diamond for Lieutenant Governor.