For immediate release
Contact: Sean Grehalva
Alabama State Director
US Term Limits
Phone: 205-908-3679
Email: sgrehalva@termlimits.com
Alabama House Files Congressional Term Limits Resolution HJR-23
Birmingham, Alabama — Rep. Kerry Rich (HD-26) has filed House Joint Resolution-23 applying for a Term Limits Convention, an initiative to impose term limits on members of the U.S. Congress. Through Article V of the U.S. Constitution, 34 state legislatures can team up for a convention to propose a congressional term limits amendment. The measure has garnered so much support in the Alabama House that thirty-one cosponsors signed on. In addition to Rep. Rich, the following state legislators have cosponsored HJR-23: Whorton (R), Whorton (I), Shedd, Martin, Ainsworth, Faust, Fridy, Greer, Henry, Wilcox, Wadsworth, Weaver, Harper, Standridge, Treadaway, Tuggle, Farley, Mooney, Collins, Moore (B), Butler, Nordgren, Drake, Lovvorn, Holmes (M), Wingo, Fincher, Brown, Ellis, Carns and Ledbetter.
The President of U.S. Term Limits, Philip Blumel commended the nearly 1/3 of the lawmakers in the Alabama house who cosponsored the resolution. Blumel said that “The people of Alabama are lucky to have public servants who see what is going on in Washington and are willing to take action to fix it. By using Article V to term limit Congress, they can restore balance between states and the federal government as our Founders intended.”
Blumel also noted the high popularity of congressional term limits, which receive 82% support from Republicans, 79% support from Independents and 65% support from Democrats nationwide, according to the most recent survey from Gallup.
In the 1990s, U.S. Term Limits assisted in successful ballot initiatives to term limit congressional representatives in 23 states. However, the Supreme Court ruled in the 1995 case U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton that these measures were unconstitutional and that congressional term limits may be imposed only by constitutional amendment.
In Alabama, the HJR-23 is set to be heard by the House Rules committee and must also go to the House floor for a vote. A joint resolution in the Senate is expected to be filed shortly. Once the Term Limits Convention resolution passes both chambers, Alabama will be among the first states in the nation to pass an Article V resolution for the exclusive purpose of placing term limits on the U.S. Congress.
Since 34 states must apply for the Term Limits proposal in order to trigger the convention call, U.S. Term Limits has spread its grassroots resources throughout the country. In addition to Alabama, the group is also targeting Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. Once the Term Limits Convention is called, 38 states must ratify the resulting proposed amendment in order for it to become a part of the U.S. Constitution.
The text of HJR-23 may be found here.
Get the latest status here.
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