Kansas committee hears testimony on HCR 5001 seeking Article V convention to impose congressional term limits

A Kansas House committee on Tuesday heard hours of testimony on HCR 5001, a concurrent resolution asking Congress to call an Article V convention limited to proposing a constitutional amendment establishing term limits for members of the U.S. Congress.

Supporters told the committee the resolution would pressure Congress to act and could ultimately produce a constitutional amendment limiting how long members of the House and Senate may serve. Mike Heim of the Supervisor of Statutes office summarized the measure as “a concurrent resolution making application to Congress of the United States, for a limited national convention for the exclusive purpose of proposing an amendment establishing term limits for members of Congress.”

Proponents said public support for term limits is high and that the state should join other states that have passed single-topic applications. Representative Bill Sutton said lawmakers should act because “serving in the legislature was never meant to be a career,” and urged support for HCR 5001. Shana Chamblee, regional director for US Term Limits, told the committee her group’s polling showed broad support, saying “79 percent of Kansans … want to see this happen,” and noting national polling US Term Limits cited showing high approval across party lines.

Opponents told the committee they fear the risks of an Article V convention and questioned whether term limits would address the underlying problems in Washington. John Axtell of the Kansas Campaign for Liberty said term limits would not eliminate entrenched influence, arguing that “term limits just won't simply magically change demographics” and warning that delegates to a convention could exceed their commissions.

Testimony touched on legal and procedural questions: witnesses cited Article V’s requirement for applications from two thirds of states to trigger a convention and the requirement that proposed amendments be ratified by three quarters of states. Supporters pointed to historical examples in which Congress proposed amendments, while opponents raised federal‑court precedent and an ongoing Kansas lawsuit concerning whether a two‑thirds state‑legislature threshold is required in state process. A representative of US Term Limits said her organization is not a party to that litigation.

Committee members asked about safeguards against a so‑called “runaway convention,” whether a convention limited to a single topic could be broadened, and what specific term limits would look like. Witnesses described the proposed congressional plan in federal legislation as three House terms and two Senate terms (six years in the House, 12 in the Senate) but emphasized that HCR 5001 itself is an application to Congress, not a text of an amendment.

The committee did not take a final vote on HCR 5001 during the hearing. Committee leadership said further discussion of the term‑limits measure will occur at the committee's next meeting.

The hearing included multiple questioners from the committee and written opponent materials filed in advance. Speakers included committee chair Kessler and representatives and advocacy groups who represented both organized national efforts and local citizens; no formal committee action on HCR 5001 was recorded at this session.