constitutional convention; faithless delegates

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how delegates are chosen or appointed, nor does it detail processes for ratifying amendments after a convention.

Faithless Delegates in Constitutional Conventions

This bill sets rules for delegates at a constitutional convention, including penalties for those who do not follow their oath.

What This Bill Does

• Requires any approved amendment to the U.S. Constitution to be ratified by a bill passed by the Arizona Legislature and approved by the Governor.
• Makes delegates take an oath before they can join a constitutional convention.
• Says that if a delegate breaks this oath, they must report it to certain officials.
• Disqualifies delegates who break their oath or do things outside of what was agreed upon for the convention.
• Defines penalties for faithless delegates as a felony and a civil fine.

Who It Names or Affects

• Delegates at constitutional conventions
• The Arizona Legislature and Governor

Terms To Know

Faithless Constitutional Convention Delegate

A delegate who votes or acts on matters not related to the agreed-upon topics of a convention.

Legal Convention Scope

The specific subjects that states and Congress agree should be discussed at a constitutional convention.

Limits and Unknowns

• Does not specify how delegates are chosen or appointed.
• Does not detail the process for ratifying amendments after they pass through the convention.
• Does not provide guidance on what happens if an amendment is ratified but not approved by Arizona's Legislature and Governor.

Official Summary Text

HB2908 - 572R - Senate Fact Sheet

Assigned to
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PASSED BY COMMITTEE

ARIZONA STATE SENATE

Fifty-Seventh
Legislature, Second Regular Session

AMENDED

FACT SHEET FOR
H.B. 2908

constitutional
convention; faithless delegates

Purpose

Outlines requirements for a constitutional delegate,
including penalties for a faithless constitutional convention delegate and
prescribing an oath of office that a delegate must take before accepting
appointment. Requires any approved amendment to the U.S. Constitution to be
ratified by a bill and approved by the Governor.

Background

Article
V of the U.S. Constitution establishes processes for amending the U.S.
Constitution. The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate may propose
a constitutional amendment by a vote of two-thirds of the members present.
Article V also sets forth an alternative method for amending the U.S.
Constitution by calling a convention for proposing amendments at the request of
two-thirds of the state legislatures. The proposed amendments to the U.S.
Constitution must be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the
states or by conventions in three-fourths of the states (
U.S. Const. art. V
).

There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General
Fund associated with this legislation.

Provisions

1.

Requires any approved amendment to the
U.S. Constitution to be ratified by a bill passed by the Arizona Legislature
and approved by the Governor.

2.

Requires an Arizona
constitutional convention delegate to take a statutorily
prescribed oath of office before accepting the delegate's appointment.

3.

Requires a delegate who is aware of any
violation of the prescribed oath or any other violation by a delegate to report
the violation to the Attorney General, the President of the Arizona Senate and
the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.

4.

Requires a faithless constitutional convention delegate to
be immediately disqualified from the delegation.

5.

Requires the President of the Arizona
Senate and the Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives to determine
when a faithless constitutional convention delegate is deemed disqualified.

6.

Classifies, as a class 2 felony,
knowingly acting as a faithless constitutional convention delegate.

7.

Subjects a faithless constitutional
convention delegate to a civil penalty of at least $5,000.

8.

Defines
delegate
as a member of
a delegation or an alternate to the delegation to a constitutional convention
who has been elected, appointed or selected from that position.

9.

Defines
faithless constitutional
convention delegate
as a person who is a delegate to a constitutional
convention and who knowingly casts a vote or takes any official action in
furtherance of subject matter that differs from the legal convention scope.

10.

Defines
legal convention scope
as the subject matter
that has been specified in the application for a convention of states by at
least two-thirds of the states in their calls for a convention of the states,
in the call for the convention of the states from U.S. Congress and by the Arizona
Legislature in its application for a convention of states.

11.

Contains a severability clause.

12.

Becomes effective on the general effective date.

Amendments Adopted by
Committee

1.

Requires a faithless delegate to be immediately disqualified, rather
than recalled.

2.

Requires the President of the Arizona Senate and the
Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives to determine when a faithless
constitutional convention delegate is deemed disqualified.

House Action
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Senate
Action

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Prepared by Senate Research

March 17, 2026

AN/TR/ci

Current Bill Text

HB2908 - 572R - H Ver

House Engrossed

constitutional
convention; faithless delegates

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HOUSE BILL 2908

AN
ACT

amending title 41, chapter 7, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 41-1108; relating to
constitutional amendments.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 41, chapter 7, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 41-1108, to read:

START_STATUTE
41-1108.

Constitutional convention; state delegates; violation;
classification; oath; definitions

A. Any approved amendment to the
United States Constitution shall be ratified by a bill passed by the
legislature and approved by the governor.

B. A person in this state who is a
faithless constitutional convention delegate is guilty of a class 2 felony
and is subject to a civil penalty of at least $5,000.�
A faithless constitutional convention delegate shall be immediately
recalled from the delegation.

C. Any delegate of this state shall
take the following oath of office before accepting the
delegate's
appointment:

I, _____, do solemnly swear or affirm that to
the best of my abilities, I will, as a delegate to a convention for proposing
an amendment to the United States constitution, uphold the Constitution and
Laws of the United States and the State of Arizona.

I will not vote to allow consideration of or
to approve any amendment proposed for ratification to the United States
Constitution that is unrelated to the specified subject or subjects of the
approved call of the convention from Congress and from not less than two-thirds
of the states that submitted applications. I will also abide by any
other instructions from the legislature of the State of Arizona if the
instructions are not contrary to the subject matter that was specified by
Congress and not less than two-thirds of the states.

I acknowledge that any violation of this oath
shall result in being immediately recalled by the Legislature of the State of
Arizona or its authorized committee, subject to civil penalty of at least
$5,000 and guilty of a class 2 felony.

D. A delegate who is aware of any
violation of the oath or any other violation by a delegate shall report the
violation to the attorney general, the president of the senate and the speaker
of the house of representatives.

E.
For the
purposes of this section
:

1. "Delegate" means a
member of a delegation or an alternate to the delegation to a constitutional
convention who has been elected, appointed or selected for that position.

2. "Faithless
constitutional convention delegate" means a person who is a delegate to a
constitutional convention and who knowingly casts a vote or takes any official
action in
furtherance of subject matter that differs from
the legal convention scope.

3. "Legal convention scope"
means the subject matter that has been specified in the application for a
convention of states by not less than two-thirds of the states in their
calls for a convention of the states, in the call for the convention of states
from congress and by the legislature of this state in its application for a
convention of states.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.

Severability

If a provision of this act or its
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect
without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of
this act are severable.