Tennessee is the 22nd state to call for a convention of the states to propose a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The General Assembly’s lower chamber passed HJR 548, sponsored by Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksborough, on a vote of 89 to 2, with three representatives identified as “present and not voting.”
The two “no” votes were Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar, and Rep. JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga. The three identified as present and not voting were Memphis Democrat state Reps. Raumesh Akbari, Karen Camper and Barbara Cooper.
Shaw, who also voted against the measure in committee twice previously, said in committee that he thought the proper way to address the problems in Washington, D.C., would be to elect better people to Congress, and he didn’t approve of the bill’s intent. Favors made no remarks about the legislation before voting and could not be reached for comment.
The resolution requests that Congress call an Article V convention of the states, a constitutional process to propose amendments to the Constitution, for the purpose of adding an amendment to the nation’s founding document that would require the federal government’s budget be balanced each year.