Ron DeSantis in Kentucky to urge lawmakers to back balanced budget resolution
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Kentucky Wednesday morning, but it wasn’t to attend the Kentucky Derby or a basketball game like he’s done in the past.
Instead, his third visit to the Bluegrass State was to testify in support of House Concurrent Resolution 45, which calls on Congress to submit a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution for states to ratify.
While Kentucky has a constitutional requirement to balance the state budget, that requirement doesn’t exist at the federal level. According to statistics from the U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data, the national debt is $38.65 trillion.
DeSantis said it’s time for states to step up to fix the country’s fiscal trajectory, and Kentucky “absolutely has to be a part of that.” He’s also visited Boise, Idaho, to advocate for its state legislature to pass their version of the Balanced Budget Amendment resolution.
“We now spend more on interest on our national debt just to service the debt than we do on national defense, and those numbers are going to escalate as some of these bonds have to be refinanced,” DeSantis said.
House Appropriations & Revenue Chair Jason Petrie, R-Elkton, is the primary sponsor behind the resolution and presented his proposal alongside DeSantis to two committees in Frankfort: the House Standing Committee on State Government and House Standing Committee on Elections, Constitutional Amendments and Intergovernmental Affairs.
Petrie’s resolution would call for a convention of the states to propose a federal budget amendment in the U.S. Constitution. An amendment was last ratified in 1992, with the 27th Amendment that prohibited Congress from raising its own salary until the next election occurs.
Amendments to the Constitution require two-thirds votes in both the U.S. House and Senate, or a convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures, in addition to three-fourths of all U.S. states’ approval to be ratified.
Florida is one of the 28 states that proponents say has passed resolutions calling for a convention under Article V of the Constitution to propose a balance budget amendment.
Supporters of the amendment believe while the threshold is 34 states for a convention, Congress will feel the pressure to propose the amendment directly.
Loren Enns, who leads the national campaign for a balanced budget amendment, said Congress has always shown up and proposed the amendment because they don’t want to lose control.
“They don’t want the states to do that so they can be predicted to act in their own self-interest, to draft and propose an amendment, no need for convention,” Enns said.
If Article V was invoked by the states for a convention, the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly set rules on delegate selection or whether a convention can be limited to a singular topic.
State Rep. Anne Donworth, D-Lexington, voiced concern about whether a convention could open up the opportunity for the entire constitution for revision.
DeSantis told reporters though legislatures would be able to impose rules, including criminal penalties, if delegates go beyond what the convention call is. Each state would have the authority on how delegates get selected and rules they have to follow.
“I think there is adequate safeguards that could be done,” DeSantis said. “Obviously, (states) can decide who they pick. If you’re somebody who has worked hard to get balanced budget amendments certified, and you end up with an Article V convention, you’re going to pick people who are loyal to the cause.”
The meeting was for discussion of the resolution only, so lawmakers did not vote on passing it out of committee.
This story was originally published February 18, 2026 at 2:11 PM.
