DECISION ’17 The Citizens’ Guide to the Constitutional Convention Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the same? Jim Malatras Jim Malatras, Editor October 2017 www.rockinst.org 1.7" @rockefellerinst Constitutional Convention Booklet Rockefeller Institute of Government Decision ’17 The Citizens’ Guide to the Constitutional Convention Jim Malatras, Editor1 Contributors: Gerald Benjamin, Christopher Bopst, Richard Brodsky, Scott Fein, Peter Galie, Jessica Ottney Mahar, Andrew Pallotta, Karen Scharff, David Siracuse, and Heather Trela Contents Foreword ................................................................................................................................... 3 How the New York Constitution Can Be Changed ..................................................................... 5 Section 1. The Constitutional Convention Process and History ................................................ 7 How the Constitutional Convention Process Works ............................................................... 8 Highlights of the Constitutional Conventions Held In New York, 1777-1967 ........................ 10 From Colony to Constitutional Republic: The Constitution of 1777 ................................... 11 New York’s Only Limited Constitutional Convention: 1801 ............................................... 12 Participation and Property: The Constitutional Convention of 1821 .................................. 12 The Constitution of 1846: Canals, Commerce, and the Common Man ............................. 13 The First Rejection: The Constitutional Convention of 1867-68 ........................................ 14 The Constitution of 1894: Confronting a “New” New York ................................................ 15 The Second Rejection: The Constitutional Convention of 1915 ........................................ 16 Constitutional Reform and the Depression: The Convention of 1938 ............................... 17 A Modern Constitution? The Constitutional Convention of 1967....................................... 18 Section 2: Perspectives on the Constitutional Convention ....................................................... 20 Vote ‘Yes’ for a Constitutional Convention this November ................................................... 21 Vote No: A Constitutional Convention Poses a Serious Threat to Public Education ............ 23 Before the Convention: Issues Surrounding the Delegate Section Process ......................... 25 Voting Rights Act Issues .................................................................................................. 25 The Concern of Political Insiders...................................................................................... 26 Ways to Open Up the Process to All New Yorkers ........................................................... 27 Why New York Needs a Constitutional Convention ............................................................. 29 Part I: The “Yes” Argument for a Constitutional Convention ............................................. 29 1 I would like to thank Michele Charbonneau, publications assistant at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, for her help in compiling the material as well as the layout and design. Special thanks also to Henry M. Greenberg, member of the Rockefeller Institute of Government’s Board of Overseers, for his thoughtful comments on the document, the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) and Center for New York City Affairs for allowing us to reprint several opinion pieces. Page | 1 Decision ’17: The Citizens’ Guide to the Constitutional Convention Rockefeller Institute of Government Part II. Not the “Same Old Same Old Politics as Usual”: Why Insiders Won’t Dominate a Constitutional Convention ............................................................................................. 32 Part III: Money Worth Spending: A Response to the Argument That a Constitutional Convention Would Cost Too Much Or A $300M Error: When a Mistake Became an Alternative Fact to Oppose a Constitutional Convention .................................................. 38 “The Risks Outweigh the Rewards”: Who Are the Opponents of a Constitutional Convention and What Are Their Arguments? ....................................................................... 42 The Opposition ................................................................................................................ 42 Opponents Argue a ConCon Would be Dominated by Special Interests Who Would Drive the Convention and Its Outcomes ........................................................................... 42 The “Special Interest” Convention: Loss of Constitutional Rights and Significant Taxpayer Cost ................................................................................................................. 43 A Better Way: The Current Amendment Process through the Legislature ........................ 44 Moving Forward and Other Subjects of Contention .......................................................... 45 Amending New York’s Constitution, In Between Conventions.............................................. 46 When Rhetoric Attempts to Trump Reality: Why a Constitutional Convention Would Not Take Away Public Employee Rights .............................................................................. 49 What Rights Does the State Constitution Afford Public Employees? ................................ 49 A Convention Could Not Reduce the Pensions of Current Employees and Retirees ........ 50 New York’s Support for Public Employees ....................................................................... 51 What Is a Constitutional Convention Likely to Do? The Politics ........................................ 51 When Misinformation Spirals Out of Control: The Case of a “Rigged” Constitutional Convention Process in New York State ............................................................................... 54 A Constitutional Agenda for the Protection and Expansion of the Rights and Liberties of the People of New York ................................................................................................... 56 Text of proposed Constitutional Amendments .................................................................. 58 A Constitutional Reform Agenda for New York: Some Suggestions ..................................... 60 I. HOUSEKEEPING ................................................................................................... 60 II. INSTITUTIONS ....................................................................................................... 60 III. PUBLIC POLICIES .................................................................................................. 62 IV. CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION ......................................................................... 63 Why a Constitutional Convention Can Strengthen Enforcement of New York State’s Constitutional Rights ............................................................................................................ 64 Why New Yorkers Should Vote ‘No’: Basic Rights Could Be Put at Risk ............................. 66 Why New Yorkers Should Vote ‘Yes’: It Comes Down to Trusting or Fearing Democracy .. 68 Contributors Biographies ..................................................................................................... 69 Page | 2 Decision ’17: The Citizens’ Guide to the Constitutional Convention Rockefeller Institute of Government Foreword In New York, there are two ways to change the state constitution: through the legislative process or a constitutional convention. Either way, any changes must be approved by voters. A constitutional convention could be convened by the state legislature at any time but, at the very least, the question of whether to convene a convention is automatically placed on the ballot every twenty years. This November, New Yorkers will have the authority to call a constitutional convention. A constitutional convention is a special body that assembles to propose changes to how our government works, as well as rights and protections granted to the people. New York is one of a handful of states that possess this constitutional clause and something that comes out of a Jeffersonian view that state constitutions should be revisited every “nineteen or twenty years” or for “periodic repairs.”2 The last time a convention was approved by voters was in 1967. Not only must New Yorkers decide on whether to approve the organizing of a constitutional convention this year, voters must also decide on two constitutional amendments that made their way through the legislative process and appear on the ballot for final adoption or rejection. In other words, there is a lot at stake. Given the importance of these issues, it is imperative to provide as much information to the public so they may make an informed decision. That is why the Rockefeller Institute of Government, with other stakeholders, is working to educate New Yorkers on what it means to hold a constitutional convention, as well as the other specific changes to the constitution. As an educational organization, we have no position on the constitutional convention or other individual constitutional amendments on the ballot. Therefore, in the following pages, we offer an overview of the process; benefits, and challenges to convening a constitutional convention; and, finally, various perspectives on the issue — those who support, those who are against, alternative pathways