HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF FINAL BILL ANALYSIS
BILL #: HCR 703 Balanced Federal Budget
SPONSOR(S): Sirois, Gregory, and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SCR 324
FINAL HOUSE FLOOR ACTION: 80 Y’s 33 N’s GOVERNOR’S ACTION: N/A
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
HCR 703 passed the House on January 9, 2024, and subsequently passed the Senate on February 1, 2024.
The last balanced federal budget was in Fiscal Year (FY) 2001. Each federal budget since then has seen a
deficit of revenues to expenditures, resulting in steadily accumulating federal debt. The federal budget deficit
for FY 2023 was $1.7 trillion, and the current outstanding total federal debt is estimated to be $33.8 trillion. In
2022, the United States Treasury issued an annual report finding that continuing present federal fiscal policies
would result in an unsustainable ratio of debt to gross national product.
Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides the specific process for amending the document. Congress may
directly propose amendments to the Constitution, the method used for each amendment ratified since the
Constitution went into effect. Alternatively, upon application by the legislatures of two-thirds of the states,
Congress must call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments. A proposed amendment goes into
effect once ratified by the legislatures or state conventions of three-fourths of the states; the method of
ratification being solely the choice of Congress.
In 2010 and 2014, Florida adopted and submitted to Congress applications under Article V for a convention on
an amendment for a balanced federal budget. Currently, 26 other states have filed similar applications with
Congress. If adopted, this concurrent resolution would update Florida’s application but not increase the number
of state applications on this issue.
The concurrent resolution constitutes the state’s application to Congress under Article V of the U.S.
Constitution to call a convention for the sole purpose of considering and proposing constitutional amendments
to the Constitution requiring a balanced federal budget, in the absence of a national emergency.
This concurrent resolution does not have a fiscal impact on the state or local governments.
The concurrent resolution is not subject to the Governor’s veto powers.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 I. SUBSTANTIVE INFORMATION
A. EFFECT OF CHANGES:
Background
Amending the United States Constitution
Article V of the U.S. Constitution1 provides the exclusive process for amending the document.2
Congress may directly propose amendments to the Constitution, the method used for each of the 27
amendments ratified since the Constitution went into effect. Alternatively, upon application by the
legislatures of two-thirds of the states,3 Congress must call a convention for the purpose of proposing
amendments. A proposed amendment goes into effect once ratified by the legislatures or state
conventions of three-fourths of the states;4 the method of ratification being solely the choice of
Congress.
State Applications for an Article V Constitutional Convention
Article V requires application to be made by a state’s legislature, meaning the representative body
authorized to make laws and not referring generally to a state’s legislative process. 5 The specific text
does not refer to the authority of the President or a Governor to approve or veto legislation 6 and the
Governor’s approval is not required.
Under Article V, Congress has the exclusive authority to review state applications and determine
whether they count toward the two-thirds requirement. While Congress has not specified the form,
structure, or content of a valid state application,7 the accumulation of pending applications from the
various states shows Congress groups applications according to the issues expressly stated by the
petitioning state rather than simply counting the total number of applications. For example, the current
twenty-seven applications seeking a convention on a balanced federal budget amendment are not
combined with the four applications requesting a convention for an amendment barring discrimination in
public schools to satisfy the necessary two-thirds requirement and call a convention.8
Article V requires neither a state application nor the congressional call for a convention to include the
specific text of a proposed amendment. Article V authorizes applications to Congress to call a
convention “for proposing [a]mendments,” apparently requiring the convention to study, debate, and
compose the terms of a proposed amendment within the scope of issues authorized in the call. 9 As
1 “The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on
the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, wh ich, in
either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of t hree fourths of
the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the
Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any
Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, with out its Consent, shall be
deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.” Art. V, U.S. CONST.
2 “The language of the article is plain, and admits of no doubt in its interpretation. It is not the function of courts or legi slative bodies,
national or state, to alter the method which the Constitution has fixed.” Hawke v. Smith, 253 U.S. 221, 227 (1920). See Henry Paul
Monaghan, We the People[s], Original Understanding, and Constitutional Amendment, 96 Colum. L. Rev. 121, 127 (1996); Arthur Earl
Bonfield, Proposing Constitutional Amendments b y Convention: Some Prob lems, 39 Notre Dame L. Rev. 659 (1964).
3 Currently, 34 states.
4 Currently, 38 states.
5 Hawke, supra note 2 at 227.
6 Sen. Sam J. Ervin, Jr., Proposed Legislation to Implement the Convention Method of Amending the Constitution, 66 Mich. L. Rev.
875, 888-889 (1968); see also art. I, s. 7, cl. 2, U.S. CONST.; art. III, s. 8(a), FLA. CONST.
7 Legislation previously was proposed but never enacted. See Kenneth F. Ripple, Article V and the Proposed Federal Constitutional
Convention Procedures Bills, 3 Cardozo L. Rev. 529, 530-533 (1981-1982); Ervin, supra note 6 at 885. See also Mary M. Penrose,
Conventional Wisdom: Acknowledging Uncertainty in the Unknown , 78 Tenn. L. Rev. 789, 796 (2011), citing separate prior legislation
filed by Senator Sam Ervin and Senator Jesse Helms.
8 See Selected Memorials, Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, available at
https://clerk.house.gov/SelectedMemorial (last visited Dec. 4, 2023)
9 Michael A. Almond, Amendment b y Convention: Our Next Constitutional Crisis, 53 N.C. L. Rev. 491, 513 (1975); Robert M. Rhodes, A
Limited Federal Constitutional Convention, 26 Fla. L. Rev. 1 (1973).
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 Article V does not restrict the scope of a state’s application, states may request a general convention
for any purpose or a convention limited only to certain issues. 10
There is no court decision on whether a time limit applies to state applications. However, the U.S.
Supreme Court determined Congress has sole authority to set a time limit for states to ratify proposed
amendments.11 Federalist Papers 43 and 8512 imply that applications for a convention should be
reasonably contemporaneous, addressing a particular problem or issue recognized by at least two-
thirds of the states as requiring consideration of constitutional amendment.
Calling an Article V Convention on Application by the States
Article V states that “Congress…on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several
states, shall call a Convention…” (emphasis supplied). As the U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted the
text as “plain” and its interpretation “admits of no doubt,” 13 the general consensus appears to be that
once two-thirds of the states apply for a convention on a common topic, Congress has no discretion
and must call for the requested convention.14
Article V is silent on such matters as the selection of delegates by the states, voting requirements at the
convention, and the procedural rules of the convention. Under the Supremacy Clause,15 because
Congress would be exercising its national power provided in Article V, congressional action on these
issues would be controlling, particularly on national matters such as the date, time, place, and financing
of the convention. Congress also could determine the number of votes allocated to each state and
establish uniform requirements for the selection, guidance, removal, and replacement of state
delegates. Absent congressional action, each state may be able to decide such matters for itself.
Florida Control of Delegates to an Article V Constitutional Convention
The Article V Constitutional Convention Act16 provides guidelines for Florida to qualify, appoint, remove,
and recall delegates to an Article V constitutional convention. These statutes would control absent
express directions by Congress on the same issues, whether in the convention call itself or established
in separate federal legislation.17
Submitted State Applications for a Balanced Budget Amendment
The current national debt is approximately $33.84 trillion,18 representing a debt-to-Gross Domestic
Product ratio of 97.3 percent.19 For the federal Fiscal Year (FY) ending September 30, 2023, the
budget deficit was $1.7 trillion.20 The U.S. Department of the Treasury has projected that continuing the
current fiscal policies of the federal government would result in increases to the debt-to-GDP ratio that
are unsustainable.21 The U.S. Department of the Treasury defines a sustainable fiscal policy as “one
where the ratio of debt held by the public to GDP (the debt-to-GDP ratio) is stable or declining over the
long term.”22
10 William W. Van Alstyne, A Response to Justice Thomas Brennan’s Remarks at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School Article V
Symposium, 28:1 Thomas M. Cooley L. Rev. 51, 54 (2011); Ripple, supra note 7 at 548; William W. Van Alstyne, The Limited
Constitutional Convention – The Recurring Answer, 1979 Duke Law Journal 985; Rhodes, supra note 9 at 18.
11 Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433, 454 (1939); Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368, 375-376 (1921).
12 See James Madison, The Federalist No. 43 (January 23, 1788); Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 85 (May 28, 1788).
13 Hawke, supra note 2 at 227.
14 Michael B. Rappaport, The Constitutionality of a Limited Convention: An Originalist Analysis, 81 Constitutional Commentary 53, 80
(2012); Gerald Gunther, Constitutional Brinksmanship: Stumbling toward a Convention, 65 A.B.A. J. 1046, 1048 (1979); Almond, supra
at 498; Ervin, supra note 6 at 885; Bonfield, supra note 2 at 675. See also Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 85 (May 28, 1788).
15 Art. VI, cl. 2, U.S. C ONST.
16 Ss. 11.93-11.9352, F.S.
17 See art. VI, cl. 2, U.S. C ONST., the “Supremacy Clause.”
18 U.S. Dept. of Treasury, What is the national deb t?, available at https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-
debt/#dive-deeper-into-the-debt (last visited Nov. 29, 2023).
19 Congressional Budget Office, Monthly Budget Review: Summary for Fiscal Year 2023, availab le at
https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2023-11/59640-MBR.pdf (last visited Nov. 29, 2023).
20 Id.
21 U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, Financial Report of the United States Government: Fiscal Year 2022,” at 9, availab le at
https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/static-data/published-reports/frusg/FRUSG_2022.pdf (last visited Nov. 29, 2023).
22 Id. at 7.
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 The last year in which the federal budget was balanced was 2001. 23 As shown by the following chart,
each subsequent federal FY through 2022 produced a deficit of expenditures over revenues:24
(In billions of dollars)
FY Revenues Expenditures Surplus/(Deficit) Debt Held by Public25
2001 1,991.4 1,863.2 128.2 3,319.6
2002 1,853.4 2,011.2 (157.8) 3,540.4
2003 1,782.5 2,160.1 (377.6) 3,913.4
2004 1,880.3 2,293.0 (412.7) 4,295.5
2005 2,153.9 2,472.2 (318.3) 4,592.2
2006 2,407.3 2,655.4 (248.2) 4,829.0
2007 2,568.2 2,728.9 (160.7) 5,035.1
2008 2,523.6 2,978.5 (454.8) 5,802.9
2009 2,105.0 3,517.7 (1,412.7) 7,544.7
2010 2,162.7 3,457.1 (1,294.4) 9,018.9
2011 2,303.5 3,603.1 (1,299.6) 10,128.2
2012 2,450.0 3,526.6 (1,076.6) 11,281.1
2013 2,775.1 3,454.9 (679.8) 11,982.7
2014 3,021.5 3,506.3 (484.8) 12,779.9
2015 3,249.9 3,691.9 (442.0) 13,116.7
2016 3,268.0 3,852.6 (584.7) 14,167.6
2017 3,316.2 3,981.6 (665.4) 14,665.4
2018 3,329.9 4,109.0 (779.1) 15,749.6
2019 3,463.4 4,447.0 (983.6) 16,800.7
2020 3,421.2 6,553.6 (3,132.4) 21,016.7
2021 4,047.1 6,822.4 (2,775.3) 22,284.0
2022 4,896.1 6,271.5 (1,375.4) 24,256.8
Under current federal fiscal policies, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects the following for
federal FY 2033 (in billions of dollars):26
Total revenues: 7,102
Total expenditures: 9,955
Total deficit: (2,852)
Total debt held by public: 46,709 – 118.9% of GDP
Total GDP 2033: 39,288
Twenty-seven states have submitted applications for Congress to call a convention under Article V to
consider amendments to the U.S. Constitution requiring a federal balanced budget. 27
23 U.S. Dept. of the Treasury, What is the national deficit? available at https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/national-
deficit/ (last visited Dec. 4, 2023).
24 Congressional Budget Office, Budget and Economic Data, availab le at https://www.cbo.gov/data/budget-economic-data#11 (last
visited Dec. 4, 2023)
25 “Debt Held by Public” is comprised of securities issued by the U.S. Treasury and is the measure of debt primarily used by the
Congressional Budget Office in its reports. The total Debt Held by Public does not include intragovernmental Treasury securit ies (debt
owed by the Treasury to other federal governmental entities such as federal trust funds). Congressional Budget Office, Federal Deb t: A
Primer, availab le at https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56309#_idTextAnchor048 (last visited Dec. 4, 2023).
26 Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook: 2023 to 2033, availab le at https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2023-
02/58848-Outlook.pdf, (last visited Dec. 4, 2023).
27 See Selected Memorials, Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, available at
https://clerk.house.gov/SelectedMemorial (last visited Dec. 4, 2023).
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 Florida previously passed and submitted applications for Congress to call a convention to consider
amendments on a balanced federal budget, in 201028 and 2014.29 If passed, this concurrent resolution
would update Florida’s application for an Article V convention on a balanced budget amendment but
would not increase the total number of states applying for such a convention.
Effect of the Concurrent Resolution
The concurrent resolution constitutes the state’s application to Congress under Article V of the U.S.
Constitution to call a convention for the sole purpose of considering and proposing amendments to the
Constitution requiring a balanced federal budget, in the absence of a national emergency. The
concurrent resolution states it covers the same subject matter as similar applications from states that
are presently outstanding, is to be aggregated with such other applications to achieve the two-thirds