2021 -- S 0426

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LC001950

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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J O I N T   R E S O L U T I O N

MEMORIALIZING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO CALL A CONVENTION OF

STATES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO SET A LIMIT ON THE

NUMBER OF TERMS THAT A PERSON MAY BE ELECTED AS A MEMBER OF THE U.S.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND TO SET A LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF TERMS

THAT A PERSON MAY BE ELECTED AS A MEMBER OF THE U.S. SENATE

     Introduced By: Senator Elaine J. Morgan

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2021

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     WHEREAS, Voter support for term limits is unmistakably united, breaching all political,

geographic, and demographic divides; and

     WHEREAS, The influence of money in politics and elections has continued to increase

and members of the United State Congress often listen more to their funders than to their voters;

and

     WHEREAS, The average length of service in the United States Congress has also

continued to rise, which has created a detachment between the members and their constituents;

and

     WHEREAS, The Founders of the United States Constitution empowered state legislators

to be guardians of liberty against undue use of power by the federal government; and

     WHEREAS, Article V of the Constitution provides two ways to propose amendments to

the Constitution. Amendments may be proposed either by the Congress, through a joint resolution

passed by a two-thirds vote, or by a convention called by Congress in response to applications

from two-thirds of the state legislatures; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island hereby makes an

application to Congress, as provided by Article V of the Constitution of the United States, to call

a convention limited to proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to set a

limit on 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 this application shall be considered as covering the same subject

matter as the applications from other states to Congress to call a convention to set a limit on the

number of terms that a person may be elected to the House of Representatives of the Congress of

the United States and the Senate of the United States; and this application shall be aggregated

with same for the purpose of attaining the two-thirds of states necessary to require Congress to

call a limited convention on this subject, but shall not be aggregated with any other applications

on any other subject; 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 on the same subject; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this General Assembly hereby urges Congress to call a convention of

the states, under the authority reserved to the states in Article V of the United States Constitution,

limited to proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States to call a convention

limited to proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America to set a

limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected as a member of the United States

House of Representatives or as a member of the United States Senate; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this application resolution to the President and Secretary of the

Senate of the United States and to the Speaker, Clerk and Judiciary Committee Chairman of the

House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, and to the members of Rhode

Island's Congressional Delegation.

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LC001950

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