Jeff True of the Ithaca Rotary Club gave an interesting and informative talk on the New York State Constitution entitled “Shall there be a convention to amend the Constitution and revise the same?” Highlights included:

Voters are asked every twenty years whether or not to call a Constitutional Convention .
Our current constitution was adopted as a single package in 1894.
Calls for a convention were rejected in 1977 and 1997; the next referendum will be in the fall of 2017.

Potential Issues:

• • Legislature (terms of members)
  • Bill of Rights
  • Suffrage
  • Executive Branch (Governor’s Power to Reorganize)
  • Public Officials
  • Judiciary – Structure of the Courts; Selection of Judges

Reasons for Optimism:

• • Nothing in the State Constitution can diminish rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
  • Only a Constitutional Convention can deal with the fundamental structure and powers of the legislature.

Preparing for a Convention – 2017:

• Efforts to generate public discussion and awareness
• The most important words in the New York State Constitution: “We the People…Do Establish this Constitution.”
• The Constitution affirms that its source is not the legislature, not the governor, nor the judges, but the people themselves.
• Nothing can be inserted in the Constitution without the approval of the voters.