The Tennessee Senate voted 18-11 on Thursday to pass a resolution applying for a national convention to propose term limits on Congress.
The resolution, HJR5, will now be counted towards the 34 state applications required to call a term limits convention as the Tennessee House of Representatives passed the measure last year.
Tennessee joins the effort to term limit Congress!#ustermlimits pic.twitter.com/C5L6V4Cl3Y
— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) April 11, 2024
Sponsored by State Representative Chris Todd (R-Madison County) and State Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), the resolution is part of a national movement led by the group U.S. Term Limits, which advocates for “citizen legislatures arising from competitive elections, rotation in office and expanded citizen access to the electoral process.”
Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows states to impose term limits on Congress without congressional approval.
In order for the term limits amendment convention to be called, 34 states must pass resolutions similar to the one Tennessee passed on Thursday.
Once a term limits amendment is proposed, 38 states must ratify it for it to be added to the U.S. Constitution.
U.S. senators currently serve 6-year terms while U.S. representatives serve 2-year terms and are eligible for re-election indefinitely as long as they continue to meet the qualifications for office.
In 1951, Congress instilled term limits on the office of the president via the 22nd Amendment.
Our State Senate just passed HJR5, making Tennessee the next state to propose a congressional term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution!#USTermLimits pic.twitter.com/AOQvut0h3D
— Glenn Jacobs (@GlennJacobsTN) April 11, 2024
Knox County Mayor Glen Jacobs, who was appointed as chair of Tennessee for Congressional Term Limits, applauded Thursday’s vote in the Senate, saying, “I want to thank the Senate for putting the Volunteer State on record for congressional term limits.”
“This is a major step toward ending the political circus that has polarized and divided our nation because term limits will restore balance in our electoral process and once again empower voters. Term limits also will force Congress to come up with real solutions to the challenges our nation faces instead of going along to get along or kicking the problem down the road – something that continues to bury us under a mountain of debt,” Jacobs added.
President of U.S. Term Limits Philip Blumel added, “Eighty-seven percent of Americans support term limits on Congress, including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents.”
“This is a truly nonpartisan issue with national appeal,” Blumel said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
