H3558 establishes a process for selecting, qualifying, and overseeing the state’s delegates to a potential Article V constitutional convention. It provides for seven commissioners and one alternate chosen by the Legislature, sets eligibility requirements (e.g., citizenship, residency, voter status, age, no recent felony or lobbying history), and requires an oath of office. The bill creates a legislative advisory committee to monitor the delegates’ actions, directs that they cannot support amendments infringing on core liberties, and grants them pay and expense allowances similar to legislators.
The South Carolina State House of Representatives passed H3558 on March 5, 2025 by a vote of 76 to 29. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this bill gives a false sense of security that an Article V convention can be controlled, even though delegates from other states would not be bound by South Carolina’s rules and could propose sweeping changes—including a new constitution, as happened in 1787. Convention of States simulations in 2016 and 2023 produced amendments massively expanding federal power, spending, and control—the very abuses advocates claim they want to stop. A convention today would be a “Trojan horse” for globalists and leftists seeking to dismantle constitutional limits on government. Rather than risking a runaway convention that could permanently alter or destroy constitution, legislators must honor their oath, nullify unconstitutional federal actions, and use Article VI to enforce the Constitution.
