Back to the Real Salt Lake Newsfeed

‘I fear a Constitution that never changes’: With a narrow House vote, Utah will join the call for a convention of states

After years of failed attempts, Utah lawmakers voted Tuesday to formally call for a convention of states to propose, debate and potentially ratify amendments to the United States Constitution.

Roughly a dozen other states, most of which are led by conservatives, have adopted similar resolutions. But no convention of states will occur unless and until three fourths of the nation — or 38 states — join the cause, an unprecedented and seemingly insurmountable task.

“If certainty were the standard for action, then many great and wonderful things would not have happened,” said Grantsville Republican Rep. Merrill Nelson, the resolution’s House sponsor.