[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 42 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 42

  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
   limit the number of terms a Member of Congress may serve, and to 
authorize a State to provide longer or shorter term limits for a Member 
                      of Congress from that State.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 5, 1997

 Mr. Blunt (for himself and Mr. Talent) introduced the following joint 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
  Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to 
   limit the number of terms a Member of Congress may serve, and to 
authorize a State to provide longer or shorter term limits for a Member 
                      of Congress from that State.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House 
concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:

                              ``Article --

    ``Section 1. A Representative shall be limited to three terms in 
such office, and a Senator shall be limited to two terms in such 
office. For purposes of this section, a Representative who has served 
more than one year of a term, or a Senator who has served more than 
three years of a term, is deemed to have served a term, and a 
Representative who has served one year or less of a term, or a Senator 
who has served three years or less of a term, is deemed not to have 
served that term.
    ``Section 2. A Senator or Representative who has served one or more 
terms in such office as of the date of the ratification of this 
article, or a part of such term or terms, is deemed to have served one 
term in such office after the date of ratification for purposes of 
section 1.
    ``Section 3. A State may, by amendment of the constitution of that 
State, provide for term limits with respect to a Representative or 
Senator representing that State that are longer or shorter than the 
limits provided in section 1.
    ``Section 4. There shall be no time limit within which this article 
must be ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several 
States to become valid as part of the Constitution.
    ``Section 5. Except as provided in section 2, this article shall 
apply only to terms of office beginning after the date of the 
ratification of this article.''.
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