State legislatures have avoided calling Article V constitutional conventions largely because they fear a 'runaway convention' that proposes amendments beyond its original mandate. Between 1975 and 1983, 32 states petitioned Congress for a balanced budget amendment convention, reaching within two states of the 34 needed to force such a gathering. Enthusiasm collapsed as state legislators worried the convention could not be limited to a single subject. Convention opponents argue gatherings summoned to consider specific issues like balanced budgets could venture into other policy questions and propose unanticipated amendments. Proponents counter that proposed amendments require ratification by 38 states, more than the 34 needed to call a convention, providing a safeguard against extreme proposals. Historical precedent offers little guidance, as states have never successfully triggered an Article V convention since the Constitution's ratification in 1788. The constitutional text itself is silent on whether a convention can be limited by subject matter—a gap that gives the runaway convention fear its staying power, since no court has ever ruled on the question and no modern convention has tested the answer.