Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

A proposal in Lansing would help force a convention that would decide � without Congress � whether to require a balanced federal budget in the U.S. Constitution.

Republicans, including Gov. Rick Snyder, claim a balanced-budget amendment would help rescue the country from crippling debt.

Some Michigan Democrats and economists believe that requiring a balanced federal budget could force painful cuts, tax increases, or both in a weak economy.

The Constitution�s Article 5 requires two-thirds of the country�s legislatures, or 34, to approve an application calling for a constitutional convention.

To date, 20 state legislatures have approved applications, and Michigan could be next.

�The forefathers that wrote the Constitution were really concerned about the federal Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. overstepping its boundary and running up a huge debt, and so they actually already were concerned about this back then. So it�s interesting that they already have this within the Constitution,� said state Rep. Cindy Denby, R-Handy Township, who sits on the committee reviewing application resolutions.

�We see each year ... that the deficit is higher than it was a couple years ago. If the deficit is that much higher, then in my opinion, it would show no, they�re not dealing with a balanced budget,� Denby added.

The resolutions call for prohibiting federal appropriations to exceed estimated federal revenues.

Requiring a balanced federal budget could hamper funding to Michigan if spending cuts were needed to balance the federal ledger, the House Fiscal Agency concluded.

Roughly 42 percent of the current state budget, or $21 billion, is from federal sources, the agency said.

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