Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem and House Assistant Majority Leader Alice Hanlon Peisch have introduced resolutions in the Massachusetts legislature to rescind all previous state applications for a convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The move responds to concerns that Congress or the Trump Administration could use past Massachusetts resolutions to push for a constitutional convention, potentially leading to significant changes in current constitutional protections.
Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows states to propose amendments if two-thirds, or 34, of state legislatures request it. There are no clear rules on what an Article V Convention could address, raising fears that it might lead to unpredictable changes in the Constitution. While such a convention has never occurred, there is recent momentum among conservative groups to combine active resolutions from various states in order to reach the required threshold.
“Rescinding these outdated resolutions is an important step towards securing our rights under the Constitution. Calls for an Article V constitutional convention open the door to rewriting the very principles that have guided our democracy since its inception,” said Senate Majority Leader Cindy Creem (D-Newton). “Massachusetts has always been a leader in strengthening, not destabilizing, the foundations of our communities – and today Leader Peisch and I are proud to continue that tradition.”
“I am honored to partner with Leader Creem on this important initiative. Given the uncertainty surrounding an Article V convention, such a process could present a serious threat to the U.S. Constitution, our democracy, and the civil rights and liberties that are the foundation of our nation,” said House Assistant Majority Leader Alice Hanlon Peisch (D-Wellesley). “Rescinding these outdated resolutions gives the people of the Commonwealth a meaningful voice to safeguard the values we all hold and closes a door that never should have been opened.”
“In today’s divided political climate, a Constitutional Convention would create chaos and endanger the freedoms Massachusetts residents hold dear,” said Geoff Foster, Executive Director of Common Cause Massachusetts. “By rescinding outdated calls for an Article V convention, this new joint resolution will protect our Constitution from powerful special interests and ensure that any effort to twist the math to reach the 34-state threshold cannot include Massachusetts.”
If passed, Massachusetts would join other states—including Connecticut, Washington, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Colorado and more than 20 others—that have already rescinded similar resolutions between 2021 and 2025.
The proposed resolution will next be reviewed by each chamber’s Rules Committee before being sent for further consideration at a Joint Committee hearing.
