SJR 2 (LSB 1117XS (1) 90)

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 2

BY  DAWSON

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

A Joint Resolution calling for an Article V convention in order to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States that impose fiscal restraints, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and impose limits on the number of terms that a person may serve in Congress, and requesting Congress to similarly propose such amendments.

   WHEREAS, the founders of the Constitution of the United States empowered state legislators to be guardians of liberty against future abuses of power by the federal government; and
   WHEREAS, the federal government has created a crushing national debt through improper and imprudent spending; and
   WHEREAS, the federal government has invaded the legitimate roles of the states through the manipulative process of federal mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great extent; and
   WHEREAS, the federal government has ceased to live under a proper interpretation of the Constitution of the United States; 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; and
   WHEREAS, it is the solemn duty of the states to protect the liberty of our people, particularly for the generations to come, by proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States through a convention of the states under Article V of the Constitution of the United States for the purpose of restraining abuses of power and restoring 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 Congress of the United States is hereby petitioned to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States, for submission to the states for ratification, to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, to limit the federal government’s power and jurisdiction, and 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; and

   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That, pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States, the General Assembly, as the legislature of the state of Iowa, joins in the applications of the states of Georgia (SR 736, 2014), Florida (SM 476, 2014), Alaska (HJR 22, 2014), Alabama (HJR 112, 2015), Tennessee (SJR 67, 2016), Indiana (SJR 14, 2016), Oklahoma (SJR 4, 2016), Louisiana (SCR 52, 2016), Arizona (HCR 2010, 2017), North Dakota (HCR 3006, 2017), Texas (SJR 2, 2017), Missouri (SCR 4, 2017), Arkansas (SJR 3, 2019), Utah (SJR 9, 2019), Mississippi (SCR 596, 2019), Wisconsin (AJR 9, 2022), Nebraska (LR 14, 2022), West Virginia (HCR 31, 2022), and South Carolina (H. 3205, 2022) for a convention for the specific and exclusive purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States limited to the purposes stated therein, provided, however, that the delegates from Iowa to said convention are expressly limited to consideration and support of amendments that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, amendments that limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and amendments that impose limits on the number of terms that a person may serve in the Congress of the United States, and no amendments on any other topic; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That it is the express intention of the General Assembly that this application shall be aggregated with the prior and subsequent applications of other states limited to the purposes identified in this application; and
   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 for a similar convention under Article V, or the General Assembly resolves to withdraw this application; and
   BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State shall transmit certified copies of this resolution to the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the presiding officer of each house of the legislature of each of the several states, and to each member of Iowa’s congressional delegation.

EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This joint resolution constitutes an application requesting the United States Congress to call a constitutional convention in order to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and impose limits on the number of terms that a person may serve in the Congress of the United States. The resolution stipulates that Iowa’s delegates to such a convention are expressly limited to consideration and support of amendments on those topics. The resolution constitutes a continuing application to call a constitutional convention and states the intention of the General Assembly that the application be aggregated with the prior and subsequent applications of other states limited to the purposes identified in the resolution.
   The resolution also petitions the Congress of the United States to propose an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the federal government’s power and jurisdiction, and impose limits on the number of terms that a person may serve in the Congress of the United States.
   The resolution requires the Secretary of State to transmit certified copies of this resolution to the President and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the presiding officer of each house of the legislature of each state, and to the members of Iowa’s congressional delegation.