[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3835 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3835

 To establish a national advisory referendum on limiting the terms of 
          Members of Congress at the general election of 1994.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 9, 1994

 Mr. Hoekstra (for himself, Mrs. Fowler, Ms. Shepherd, Mr. Fingerhut, 
 and Mr. Torkildsen) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                to the Committee on House Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a national advisory referendum on limiting the terms of 
          Members of Congress at the general election of 1994.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Voter Opportunity To Inform 
Congress Effectively (V.O.I.C.E.) on Term Limits Act of 1994''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the right of citizens of the United States to vote is a 
        fundamental right;
            (2) the right of citizens of the United States to have an 
        effective voice in the decisionmaking processes of the Congress 
        is grounded in the right to petition and is a fundamental part 
        of American democracy, and Congress should provide an 
        opportunity for citizens to express their views on important 
        public issues;
            (3) there is an increasing public sentiment and demand for 
        limiting the terms of Members of Congress; and
            (4) voters in 15 States have already voted and approved 
        State laws to limit the terms of their congressional 
        delegations, and voters in other States have expressed their 
        interest in having the opportunity to also vote on term limits 
        for Members of Congress.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to give the citizens of every State the opportunity to 
        have a voice on whether or not the terms of Members of Congress 
        should be limited; and
            (2) to conduct a national nonbinding referendum on term 
        limits at the 1994 general election, thereby having an 
        opportunity to study the feasibility of conducting national 
        nonbinding referenda on other important issues in the future.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``nonbinding referendum'' means the placing on 
        the general election ballot in every congressional district and 
        delegate or resident commissioner district in 1994 the advisory 
        question defined below, the results of which shall be properly 
        tabulated and certified as described herein, but which results 
        shall not be legally binding on any person or institution;
            (2) the term ``advisory question'' means the National 
        Advisory Referendum on Term Limits, the language of which is 
        contained in section 4(b) of this Act;
            (3) the term ``general election'' means the election at 
        which Federal officers are elected in 1994;
            (4) the term ``Federal office'' means Members of the United 
        States House of Representatives and Senators, Delegates to the 
        United States Congress, and Resident Commissioners of the 
        territories of the United States; and
            (5) the term ``State election agency'' means the official 
        agency of each State and territory charged with the legal 
        responsibility for conducting general elections within that 
        jurisdiction.

SEC. 4. PROCEDURES FOR NATIONAL VOTER OPPORTUNITY TO INFORM CONGRESS 
              EFFECTIVELY ON TERM LIMITS NONBINDING REFERENDUM.

    (a) In General.--This Act shall have the effect of placing on the 
1994 general election ballot in every congressional district, and 
delegate and/or resident commissioner district, in the United States, 
the District of Columbia and the territories of the United States, the 
advisory question concerning term limits for Members of Congress.
    (b) Advisory Question; Ballot Title and Language.--Not later than 
August 1, 1994, the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives 
and the Secretary of the United States Senate shall jointly certify to 
the appropriate State election agencies for inclusion on the 1994 
general election ballot in each congressional district, the following 
ballot title and question:

             ``national advisory referendum on term limits

    ``Should Congress approve a constitutional amendment to limit the 
number of terms that a Member of the United States House of 
Representatives and United States Senator can serve in office?
          ``Yes                No''.
    (c) Preparation of Ballots.--
            (1) Procedures.--The procedures for printing and 
        preparation of the ballots containing the advisory question 
        shall be the same as provided in each State and territory for 
        conducting the elections of the Members of the United States 
        House of Representatives and Senators, and Delegates or 
        Resident Commissioners.
            (2) Advisory question.--In each congressional and delegate 
        district, every general election ballot shall include the 
        advisory question contained in subsection (b). Should there be 
        no general election scheduled to be held in any particular 
        congressional or delegate district, a ballot shall nonetheless 
        be prepared for the voters of said district to be able to 
        participate in the nonbinding referendum in the same manner as 
        all other districts where a general election is being held. The 
        costs of printing, disseminating and tabulating the ballots 
        with the advisory question for those congressional or delegate 
        districts where a general election would not otherwise be held 
        in November 1994, shall be reimbursed by the United States upon 
        submission by the State election agency of the actual costs of 
        conducting the nonbinding referendum in those districts. All 
        reimbursements to State election agencies for the costs of 
        conducting the nonbinding referendum in congressional districts 
        which would not otherwise be conducting a Federal election in 
        November 1994, shall be made from the franking accounts of the 
        Congress, with equal amounts drawn from the franking accounts 
        of the House of Representatives and the Senate to reimburse the 
        States for such expenses. The Clerk of the United States House 
        of Representatives and the Secretary of the United States 
        Senate shall be responsible for ensuring the proper application 
        for and reimbursement of said expenses.
    (d) Tabulation and Certification of Voting Results.--The State 
election agencies shall tabulate the results of the voting on the 
advisory question in the same manner as is customary for tabulating the 
results of elections of the Members of the United States House of 
Representatives and Senators. Said results shall be officially 
certified pursuant to the customary laws and procedures of each 
jurisdiction.
    (e) Transmission of Certified Results to the Congress, All Members, 
and Committees on the Judiciary.--The official, certified election 
results of each jurisdiction's nonbinding referendum on the advisory 
question shall be certified by the State election agency to the Clerk 
of the United States House of Representatives and the Secretary of the 
United States Senate in the same manner and at the same time of the 
certification of election of Members of the House of Representatives 
and Senate at the 1994 general election, said results to be certified 
by county, congressional district and statewide totals. The Clerk and 
the Secretary shall be responsible for transmitting to each Member of 
the respective House of Congress the results of the nonbinding 
referendum from all jurisdictions. The results shall also be taken 
under advisement by the respective Committee on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives and Senate, with recommendations for response 
reported back to the full House and Senate within 6 months of the 
general election.
    (f) Comments Regarding Procedures for Future Nonbinding 
Referenda.--Within 90 days of the date of the general election, the 
State election agencies shall forward to the Clerk of the United States 
House of Representatives and the Secretary of the United States Senate 
their comments or suggestions regarding changes or improvements in 
procedures for conducting national nonbinding referenda in future 
general elections. All such comments shall be referred to the 
respective committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 
and Senate.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall become effective immediately upon passage.

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