Hofstra Law & Policy Symposium Volume 1 Article 4 1-1-1996 Are State Constitutional Conventions Things of the Past? The ncrI easing Role of the Constitutional Commission in State Constitutional Change Robert F. Williams Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/hlps Part of the Constitutional Law Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Robert F. (1996) "Are State Constitutional Conventions Things of the Past? The ncrI easing Role of the Constitutional Commission in State Constitutional Change," Hofstra Law & Policy Symposium: Vol. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/hlps/vol1/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Hofstra Law & Policy Symposium by an authorized editor of Scholarly Commons at Hofstra Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. ARE STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS THINGS OF THE PAST? THE INCREASING ROLE OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION IN STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE* ROBERT F WILLIAMS** Increasing use of the constitutional commission as an auxiliary device for initiating both major and minor changes is one of the most significant developments in the procedure of modernizing state constitutions. Constitutional commissions were developed initially, and have been used primarily, as auxiliary staff arms of state legislative assemblies. Their principal function has been to provide expert advice on constitutional problems and issues and to propose and draft amendments, revisions, and even entire constitutions. The 1968 Florida Constitution was the first state organic law to accord constitutional status to the commission as a formal method of proposing constitutional change.