RALEIGH - The last amendment to the United States Constitution was more than 20 years ago but a group called Convention of States Project is trying to get enough states -- including North Carolina -- to get together to work on passing new amendments. Gary Lyons, legislative liaison for the group, says they are pursuing amendments such as a mandatory balanced budget, restrictions on executive actions, and term limits.

"Our framers were brilliant and what they realized was, coming from the perspective of England, was that there could come a day when our federal government was simply too large and too incestuous and it needed to be throttled back or checked," Lyons says.

Lyons says a bill to call for a Convention of States is currently in a North Carolina House Judiciary Committee.

"It will be heard, we think, in the next few weeks," Lyons says. "And we hope the Senate will be putting forth the same companion resolution in short order."

More than half of all states need to pass bills showing their desire to hold a Convention of States, and even then, Lyons says the process to pass amendments is complex.

"If, and only if, at least 26 of the states vote for one or more of those amendments, they then are sent back to all 50 states for a vote," he says. "Three-quarters of the states must approve of those amendments in order for them to become part of the Constitution."

While amendments for things like a balanced budget and congressional term limits have come up in the past, Lyons says restrictions on the Supreme Court have rarely been floated.

"That may be even more important than term limits on Congress because at least Congress is elected and we can vote the guys who are corrupt out of office," he says. "We can't vote the Supreme Court justices out of office."

Currently, Alaska, Florida, and Georgia's state legislatures have passed bills expressing their support for a Convention of States. Lyons will be speaking to the Person County Republican Party this Saturday.