House Joint Resolution 6 - Introduced HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 6 BY JACOBSEN and JENEARY HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION A Joint Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution 1 of the State of Iowa limiting years of service for members 2 of the general assembly. 3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1283YH (3) 89 ss/jh
H.J.R. 6 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of 1 the State of Iowa is proposed: 2 1. Section 3 of Article III of the Constitution of the State 3 of Iowa is repealed and the following adopted in lieu thereof: 4 Sec. 3. Representatives —— term limitation. The members 5 of the house of representatives shall be chosen every second 6 year, by the qualified electors of their respective districts, 7 and their term of office shall commence on the first day of 8 January next after their election, and continue two years, and 9 until their successors are elected and qualified. A person 10 shall not be elected for a term as representative if the term 11 would result in the person serving more than four consecutive 12 terms in the house of representatives or for two years next 13 after serving four consecutive terms. If a person is elected 14 to serve a portion of a term to which some other person was 15 elected but that person died in office or resigned from office 16 or was otherwise removed from office, that portion of a term 17 served shall not be included in the terms of service for 18 purposes of this limitation if the person did not serve for at 19 least one-half of the term. Service prior to January 1, 2025, 20 shall not be counted for the purpose of calculating consecutive 21 terms. 22 2. Section 5 of Article III of the Constitution of the State 23 of Iowa is repealed and the following adopted in lieu thereof: 24 Sec. 5. Senators —— qualifications —— term limitation. 25 Senators shall be chosen for the term of four years, at 26 the same time and place as representatives; they shall be 27 twenty-five years of age, and possess the qualifications of 28 representatives as to residence and citizenship. A person 29 shall not be elected for a term as senator if the term would 30 result in the person serving more than two consecutive terms in 31 the senate or for four years next after serving two consecutive 32 terms. If a person is elected to serve a portion of a term to 33 which some other person was elected but that person died in 34 office or resigned from office or was otherwise removed from 35 -1- LSB 1283YH (3) 89 ss/jh 1/ 2
H.J.R. 6 office, that portion of a term served shall not be included 1 in the terms of service for purposes of this limitation if 2 the person did not serve for at least one-half of the term. 3 Service prior to January 1, 2025, shall not be counted for the 4 purposes of calculating consecutive terms. 5 Sec. 2. REFERRAL AND PUBLICATION. The foregoing proposed 6 amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa is referred 7 to the general assembly to be chosen at the next general 8 election for members of the general assembly, and shall be 9 published as provided by law for three months previous to the 10 date of that election. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This joint resolution proposes an amendment to the 15 Constitution of the State of Iowa limiting years of service for 16 persons elected to the general assembly. 17 The amendment provides that a person shall not be elected 18 for a term as a representative if the term would result in the 19 person serving more than four consecutive terms in the house of 20 representatives or elected for a term as a senator if the term 21 would result in the person serving more than two consecutive 22 terms in the senate. Additionally, a representative shall 23 not be elected for a term as a representative for two years 24 following a fourth consecutive term, and a senator shall not 25 be elected for a term as a senator for four years following a 26 second consecutive term. For the purposes of this limitation, 27 a person shall not be considered to have served a term if that 28 person was elected to serve a portion of a term if that person 29 did not serve at least one-half of the full term. 30 The amendment does not apply to service occurring prior to 31 January 1, 2025. 32 The resolution, if adopted, would be referred to the next 33 general assembly for adoption before being submitted to the 34 electorate for ratification. 35 -2- LSB 1283YH (3) 89 ss/jh 2/ 2