For immediate release
February 9, 2022
Contact: Scott Tillman, U.S. Term Limits
Phone: (321) 345-7455
stillman@termlimits.com
Arizona Senate Files Resolution to Term Limit Congress
Phoenix, Arizona —The Arizona state senate filed a resolution applying to participate in a national Term Limits Amendment Proposal Convention. Senate Concurrent Resolution 1048 (SCR1048) was introduced by prime sponsor Senator J.D. Mesnard. The Term Limits Convention initiative is being spearheaded by the nonpartisan, grassroots nonprofit advocacy group U.S. Term Limits.
Through Article V of the U.S. Constitution, 34 state legislatures may put Congress on notice that they plan to meet for a convention to propose a congressional term limits amendment. The states are the only government entity empowered to both propose and ratify the term limits amendment, completely bypassing Congress.
The President of U.S. Term Limits, Philip Blumel commended the sponsors of the concurrent resolution for working on such an important issue. Blumel said, “The people of Arizona are lucky to have public servants who see what is going on in Washington, D.C. and are willing to take action to fix it.” He added, “The states are obligated to use their authority to control a runaway Congress.”
Blumel also noted the high popularity of congressional term limits, which receives 87% support from Republicans, 83% support from Democrats and 75% support from independents nationwide, according to the most recent national poll by Scott Rasmussen.
In the 1990s, U.S. Term Limits assisted in successful campaigns to term limit 23 states’ congressional delegations by a vote of the citizens of those states. 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 only be imposed by constitutional amendment which must be proposed either by Congress or by the states at a national convention.
SCR1048 is scheduled to make its first committee stop in front of the State Government Committee on Monday, February 14, 2022.
Once SCR1048 clears both chambers of the state legislature, Arizona will join the 34 states required to call the term limits proposal convention. The term limits amendment must then be ratified by 38 states to become part of the U.S. Constitution.
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US Term Limits is the largest grassroots advocacy group focused solely on implementing term limits at all levels of government, but particularly on the U.S. Congress. Find out more at termlimits.org.