The New York State Constitution, anticipating periodic need for change, contains a procedure to allow the fundamental precepts of government to be reconsidered by the public and reshaped every 20 years. That opportunity, in the form of a statewide referendum asking whether a constitutional convention is warranted, last occurred in 2017.

Consisting of substantive chapters written by experts in their fields, Making a Modern Constitution: The Prospects for Constitutional Reform in New York examines the history, potential benefits and pitfalls of a state constitutional convention.

Edited by Rose Mary Bailly and Scott N. Fein, Making a Modern Constitution is the result of work by a coalition that includes the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the Government Law Center of Albany Law School, the League of Women Voters, the Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz, and the Siena College Research Institute, in collaboration with the New York State Bar Association.