Idaho lawmakers consider call to amend US Constitution

Idaho lawmakers are considering joining fellow Republican-dominated states calling for a constitutional amendment to limit federal government power.

The Senate State Affairs Committee introduced legislation Wednesday calling for a convention of states to propose a federal balanced budget requirement. Previous efforts have failed to take hold in the Idaho Legislature. However, with Republicans controlling the majority of state legislatures, Congress and the White House, the idea has once resurfaced with full force.

Proponents argue that every state except Vermont has some sort of balanced budget requirement and that the federal government should be held to the same standard.

Critics counter there’s no way to control a convention to amend the U.S. Constitution.

Either 34 states or two-thirds of both houses of Congress can call for a constitutional amendment. Thirty-eight states have to approve amendments.