Subcommittee backs concurrent bills seeking Article V convention on congressional term limits

The Senate Judiciary subcommittee voted to report favorably on House Bill 3008 and Senate Bill 105, concurrent measures that would call for an Article V convention to propose limits on the number of terms members of Congress may serve.

Paula, the committee staff member who summarized the bills, said the House resolution refers to "congressional term limits" while the Senate version specifies limits for members of both the House and Senate of the United States. The House language also includes a provision barring a convention from proposing amendments to the Bill of Rights or the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.

Shanna Chamblee, regional director with US Term Limits, testified in support and told the panel that term limits are broadly popular: "Term limits on Congress is the highest polling non partisan issue in the country at 87% across the board," she said. Chamblee said the group's historical work and recent state-level activity make congressional action more likely to preempt a convention when enough states are close to calling one.

Subcommittee members raised concerns about opening a convention to other topics and about whether term limits would remove effective, well-liked representatives. Chamblee and other presenters said state commissions would bind delegates to a single topic, that many states have passed laws to penalize rogue delegates, and that a proposed amendment would still require ratification by the states.

A motion to give both House Bill 3008 and Senate Bill 105 a favorable report to the full judiciary committee passed on a voice vote; a mover and a second were recorded, but the transcript does not identify the second member by name. The bills now move to the full committee.