Federal

A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve.

Source: Congress.gov · 459 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment that would limit how long members of Congress can serve. The amendment would need approval from two-thirds of the Senate and House, then ratification from three-fourths of state legislatures within seven years to become part of the Constitution.

Who It Affects

Members of the House of Representatives, members of the Senate, and state legislatures that would vote to ratify the amendment.

Key Provisions

• House members who have served 3 terms become ineligible for election to the House, with a vacancy-filling period counting as one term if the person serves more than one year (Sec. 1) • Senators who have served 2 terms become ineligible for election or appointment to the Senate, with a vacancy-filling period counting as one term if the person serves more than 3 years (Sec. 2) • Any term beginning before this amendment is ratified does not count toward the eligibility limits (Sec. 3)

What Changes

If ratified, individuals would lose eligibility to run for or be appointed to Congress after hitting the term limits described above. Current service would not count against these limits.

Important Definitions

Term: A period of elected or appointed service in the House or Senate. For vacancy-filling, a term counts only if the person serves longer than one year in the House or more than 3 years in the Senate.

Effective Date

The amendment becomes effective upon ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures, which must occur within seven years of congressional submission.

IIA 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. J. RES. 2 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 23 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023 Mr. CRUZ (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, Mr. DAINES, Mr. HAGERTY, Mr. LEE, Ms. LUMMIS, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, Mr. TUBERVILLE, Mr. VANCE, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following joint resolution; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to limiting the number of terms that a Member of Congress may serve. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 1 of the United States of America in Congress assembled 2 (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the fol- 3 lowing article is proposed as an amendment to the Con- 4 stitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all 5 intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 6 ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jan 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SJ2.IS SJ2 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SJ 2 IS States within seven years after the date of its submission 1 by the Congress: 2 ‘‘ARTICLE — 3 ‘‘SECTION 1. No person who has served 3 terms as 4 a Representative shall be eligible for election to the House 5 of Representatives. For purposes of this section, the elec- 6 tion of a person to fill a vacancy in the House of Rep- 7 resentatives shall be included as 1 term in determining 8 the number of terms that such person has served as a Rep- 9 resentative if the person fills the vacancy for more than 10 1 year. 11 ‘‘SECTION 2. No person who has served 2 terms as 12 a Senator shall be eligible for election or appointment to 13 the Senate. For purposes of this section, the election or 14 appointment of a person to fill a vacancy in the Senate 15 shall be included as 1 term in determining the number 16 of terms that such person has served as a Senator if the 17 person fills the vacancy for more than 3 years. 18 ‘‘SECTION 3. No term beginning before the date of 19 the ratification of this article shall be taken into account 20 in determining eligibility for election or appointment under 21 this article.’’. 22 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:53 Jan 23, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SJ2.IS SJ2 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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