[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1073 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1073

 To establish a national advisory referendum on limiting the terms of 
          Members of Congress at the general election of 1996.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                July 26 (legislative day, July 10), 1995

Mrs. Hutchison (for herself, Mr. Brown, Mr. Frist, Mr. Inhofe, and Mr. 
Mack) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
              to the Committee on Rules and Administration

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a national advisory referendum on limiting the terms of 
          Members of Congress at the general election of 1996.
    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 1995''.

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 23 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 1996 general election and thereby provide 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 1996 the advisory 
        question, the results of which shall be properly tabulated and 
        certified as provided in this Act, but 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);
            (3) the term ``general election'' means the election at 
        which Federal officers are elected in 1996;
            (4) the term ``Federal office'' means Members of the House 
        of Representatives and Senators, Delegates to the 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 
1996 general election ballot in every congressional district, and 
delegate and 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 
June 1, 1996, the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 
Secretary of the Senate shall jointly certify to the appropriate State 
election agencies for inclusion on the 1996 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.--
                    (A) In general.--In each congressional and delegate 
                district, the general election ballot shall include the 
                advisory question. If there is no general election 
                scheduled to be held in a congressional or delegate 
                district, a ballot shall be prepared for the voters of 
                that district containing the advisory question. The 
                voters in the district shall vote on the nonbinding 
                referendum in the same manner as all other districts 
                where a general election is being held.
                    (B) Reimbursement.--States and territories shall be 
                reimbursed at 4 cents per voter, or an estimated 
                $5,000,000 for the costs incurred in placing the 
                advisory question on ballots in November 1996. There 
                are hereby authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to 
                reimburse costs as provided in this subparagraph. All 
                reimbursements to State election agencies for the costs 
                of conducting the nonbinding referendum 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 House of 
                Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall 
                be responsible for ensuring the proper application for 
                and reimbursement of expenses under this subparagraph.
    (d) Tabulation and Certification of Voting Results.--Each State 
election agency 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 House of Representatives and 
Senators. The 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 House of Representatives and the Secretary of the 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 1996 general 
election. The results shall 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 Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate, with recommendations for response reported back to the 
full House and Senate not later than 6 months after the general 
election of 1996.
    (f) Comments Regarding Procedures for Future Nonbinding 
Referenda.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the general 
election of 1996, the State election agencies shall forward to the 
Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the 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.
                                 <all>