SJR 11 (LSB 1998SS (3) 88)

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 11

BY  WHITING

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

A Joint Resolution requesting the call of a constitutional convention for the purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relating to term limits for federal legislators.

   WHEREAS, Article V of the Constitution of the United States provides that Congress must call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution upon application by two-thirds of the states demanding such action; and
   WHEREAS, the general assembly of Iowa is hereby joining with other states in asserting rights and responsibilities under Article V of the Constitution of the United States with regard to proposing a congressional term limits amendment; and
   WHEREAS, the average length of service in Congress continues to rise which creates a detachment between the members and their constituents, making the American people feel they are no longer being listened to; and
   WHEREAS, open-seat elections will allow for more people to participate in the government from a variety of backgrounds providing better representation and more options for the voters on the ballots; and
   WHEREAS, the general assembly of Iowa, a body of citizen legislators, desires to restore rotation in office for members serving in the Congress of the United States; NOW THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

   That the general assembly, as the legislature of the state of Iowa, pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States, hereby applies to the Congress of the United States to call a convention for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to limit the number of terms that a person may be elected as a member of the United States house of representatives and to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected as a member of the United States senate.
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the secretary of the Iowa senate transmit copies of this resolution to the president and secretary of the United States senate, the speaker, clerk, and judiciary committee chairperson of the United States house of representatives, to each senator and representative from Iowa in the Congress of the United States, and to the presiding officers of each legislative body of each of the several states, requesting the cooperation of the states in issuing an application compelling Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States.
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this application shall be considered as covering the same subject matter as the applications from other states to Congress to call a convention to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected to the United States house of representatives and the United States senate; and this application shall be aggregated with the same for the purpose of attaining the two-thirds of states necessary to require Congress to call a limited convention on this subject, but shall not be aggregated with any other applications on any other subject.
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the United States until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the several states have made applications on the same subject.

EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This resolution constitutes a petition requesting the United States Congress to call a constitutional convention for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States proposing term limits for members of the United States senate and house of representatives.
   The resolution also provides that it shall serve as a continuing application to call a constitutional convention, until at least two-thirds of the legislatures of the several states have made application for a similar convention and the convention is convened by Congress. The resolution provides that it shall not be aggregated with applications requesting that constitutional conventions be called for other reasons.
   The resolution also requires that the secretary of the Iowa senate transmit copies of the resolution to the president and secretary of the United States senate, to the speaker, clerk, and judiciary committee chairperson of the United States house of representatives, to each senator and representative from Iowa in the Congress of the United States, and to the presiding officers of each legislative body of each of the several states, requesting the cooperation of the states in issuing an application compelling Congress to call a convention for proposing amendments pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States.