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Committee hears HJ 25 urging repeal of 17th Amendment to return Senate selection to state legislatures
Summary
A sponsor presented House Joint Resolution 25 asking Montana’s legislature to urge Congress to propose an amendment repealing the Seventeenth Amendment and restoring selection and removal of U.S. senators by state legislatures; committee members questioned effects such as recall thresholds and state duties but no votes were recorded.
The House Energy Committee (hearing date not specified) heard an opening presentation on House Joint Resolution 25, which urges the U.S. Congress to propose a constitutional amendment repealing the Seventeenth Amendment and restoring selection of U.S. senators by state legislatures.
The sponsor described the resolution as a restoration of the framers’ original design to give state legislatures a direct voice in the Senate and argued the change would rebalance federalism, reduce Washington-centered influence, and make senators more accountable to state governments. The sponsor acknowledged historical reasons for the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913—deadlocking, bribery and corruption, and lack of recall power—but said modern reforms and provisions in the proposed text would address those concerns.
Under the draft language presented to the committee, section highlights include a repeal clause; a selection method returning appointment to state legislatures for six-year terms; a provision requiring states to set rules and procedures to prevent deadlocking; a clause allowing state legislatures to remove senators by majority vote; and a provision that state governments provide salary and benefits for senators.
The sponsor noted a correction to the bill materials: a reference to Federalist No. 10 in the draft incorrectly attributed the essay to Alexander Hamilton; the sponsor said the correct author is James Madison and promised to correct that language.
Committee members asked the sponsor several questions. Representative Fielder asked whether Montana’s U.S. senators had expressed opposition; the sponsor replied they had not. Representative Mallette expressed concern about a removal standard set at a simple majority in section 5, asking whether that threshold risked partisan removals in closely divided state legislatures; the sponsor said he preferred a standard tied to a legislative majority and did not want the bar set so high as to make removal impractical.
No proponents or opponents signed in for HJ 25 during the hearing, and no informational witnesses appeared. The sponsor closed by urging the committee to vote the resolution to the House floor so the issue could receive broader debate. The transcript records the hearing concluded with no formal committee vote on HJ 25.
