The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Rules
BILL: SCR 326
INTRODUCER: Senator Ingoglia
SUBJECT: Congressional Term Limits
DATE: January 23, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Davis Cibula JU Favorable
2. Davis Twogood RC Favorable
I. Summary:
SCR 326 is an application to the United States Congress calling upon Congress to convene an
Article V constitutional amendments convention. The convention would be limited solely to
proposing an amendment to the Constitution to set a limit on the number of terms a person may
be elected to serve as a member of the United States House of Representatives and as a member
of the United States Senate.
The concurrent resolution is to be considered as covering the same subject matter as the
presently outstanding applications to Congress from other named states on this same subject. It is
to be added or aggregated to those applications for the purpose of attaining the two-thirds
number of states, or 34 applications, needed to call a constitutional convention.
The concurrent resolution is a continuing application until the legislatures of at least two-thirds
of the states have made applications on the term limit subject. If the application is used to call a
convention or used to support a convention on a subject other than this topic, the resolution is
revoked and withdrawn, nullified, and superseded as if it had never been passed.
II. Present Situation:
Amending the U.S. Constitution
Two Methods of Proposing Amendments
Article V of the United States Constitution provides two methods for proposing amendments to
the Constitution. The first method authorizes Congress to propose amendments to the states
which must first be approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress.1 Amendments
approved in this manner do not require the President’s signature and are transmitted to each state
1
U.S. CONST. art. V.
BILL: SCR 326 Page 2
for ratification.2 Starting with the Bill of Rights in 1789, Congress used this method to submit 33
amendments to the states. Of those 33 proposals, 27 amendments to the Constitution were
approved by the states.3
The second method, which has never been used, requires Congress to call a convention for
proposing amendments when two-thirds of the state legislatures apply to Congress to call an
amendments convention.4 Currently, 34 states would need to make applications to meet the two-
thirds requirement to call an Article V Convention. Because an Article V amendments
convention has never been conducted, what might occur procedurally or substantively is unclear.
Two Methods of Ratifying Amendments
Article V further provides that the amendments shall become a part of the Constitution when
ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the states or by conventions in three-fourths of the
states. This would require ratification by 38 states. Because Article V provides that the
amendments become valid when ratified by three-fourths of the legislatures or conventions “as
the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress,” Congress may
choose the method of ratification. With the exception of the 21st Amendment, which repealed
the 18th Amendment and prohibition, Congress has sent all proposed amendments to the
legislatures for ratification.5
It has become accepted procedure, although not stated in the Constitution, that Congress may set
time limits on the ratification process and specify when an amendment must be ratified by the
requisite number of states to become valid. With several amendments, Congress stated that
ratification must occur within 7 years after their proposal to become effective. The U.S. Supreme
Court, in Dillon v. Gloss, concluded that Congress does have the authority to determine a
reasonable time frame for ratification, even though the Constitution is silent on the matter.6
Congressional Terms of Service
The U.S. Constitution controls the election and terms of service for members of the U.S. House
of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. Representatives serve two-year terms and members of
the Senate serve six-year terms.7 While the Constitution establishes the qualifications for
members, it does not place a limit on the number of terms that a member may serve in either
chamber.
2
National Archives, Office of the Federal Register (OFR), Constitutional Amendment Process,
https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/constitution.
3
Thomas H. Neale, Congressional Research Service, The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments:
Contemporary Issues for Congress (Updated March 29, 2016), https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R42589.
4
U.S. CONST. art. V.
5
Neale, supra, note 102, at 25.
6
Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368 (1921).
7
U.S. CONST. art. 1, ss.2 and 3.
BILL: SCR 326 Page 3
Term Limits in the State Constitution
In 1992 Florida voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment to the State Constitution that
limited the terms of these offices:
Florida representative
Florida senator
Florida Lieutenant governor
Any office of the Florida cabinet
U.S. Representative from Florida
U.S. Senator from Florida
Pursuant to the amendment, no one is permitted to appear on the ballot for re-election if, by the
end of the current term of office, the person will have served (or, but for resignation, would have
served) in that office for 8 consecutive years.8
However, in 1995, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 opinion that invalidated the
congressional term limits portion of the amendment. In U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton,9 the
Court determined that the states could not impose qualifications for the office of U.S.
Representative or U.S. Senator in addition to those qualifications specifically set forth in the
Constitution. The Court concluded its opinion stating:
We are, however, firmly convinced that allowing the several States to adopt
term limits for congressional service would effect a fundamental change in the
constitutional framework. Any such change must come not by legislation
adopted either by Congress or by an individual State, but rather—as have other
important changes in the electoral process -- through the amendment procedures
set forth in Article V.10
As a result of this ruling, there are no limits on the number of terms someone may serve as a
member of the U.S. House of Representative or the U.S. Senate.
Past Efforts for an Article V Convention
In 2016, the Legislature passed House Memorial 417, which was an application to Congress to
call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The purpose
was to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected to serve as a member of
the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate.
Applications Made By Other States for an Amendments Convention
The Clerk of the United States House of Representatives maintains a publicly available web page
entitled “Selected Memorials.”11 The site states that “each memorial purports to be an application
8
FLA. CONST., art VI, s. 4(c).
9
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995).
10
Id. at 837.
11
Clerk, United States House of Representatives, Selected Memorials, Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives -
Selected Memorials.
BILL: SCR 326 Page 4
of the legislature calling for a convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution” or the
rescission of a previous application. The site, dating back to 1960, lists 192 results by year, state,
and designation, as to whether the correspondence is an application or a rescission.
While some applications request an amendment convention solely for term limit purposes, some
applications request an amendments convention for a term limit amendment along with
additional topics such as a balanced budget or a limitation on the power of the Federal
Government. Applications limited singularly to seeking a convention to limit the terms of
members of Congress have been submitted by Oklahoma in 2023, Missouri and Wisconsin in
2022, and Alabama in 2018.
The State’s Article V Constitutional Convention Act
This state adopted the “Article V Constitutional Convention Act” in 2014.12 The act establishes
guidelines for the qualification, appointment, recall, and function of delegates to an Article V
constitutional convention.
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
The Senate concurrent resolution13 is a state application to the United States Congress to convene
an Article V amendments convention for the sole purpose of proposing amendments to the U.S.
Constitution to limit the terms of members of Congress. This is a continuing application in
accordance with Article V until the legislatures of at least two-thirds, or 34, legislatures have
made an application on this same subject.
The concurrent resolution states that its purpose is to conform its application to the active
applications made to Congress by the States of Alabama, Missouri, and Wisconsin.
If the application is used to call or support a convention on a subject other than this term limit
topic, the resolution is revoked and withdrawn, nullified, and superseded as if it had never been
passed.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
None.
12
Sections 11.93–11.9352, F.S.
13
A Senate Concurrent Resolution is an official legislative document used to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution as
well as apply to Congress when requesting a constitutional convention. The U.S. Constitution does not specify the type of
document a state must use when making an application to Congress. The Florida Senate, Office of Bill Drafting Services,
Manual for Drafting Legislation, 139-140 (2009),
https://flsenate.sharepoint.com/sites/Secretary/Publications%20Library/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FSecretary%2F
Publications%20Library%2FManual%20for%20Drafting%20Legislation%20%28Senate%29%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2F
Secretary%2FPublications%20Library.
BILL: SCR 326 Page 5
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None identified.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
None.
C. Government Sector Impact:
If an Article V amendments convention is called, the state might be responsible for the
costs of sending delegates to the convention. Whether Congress or the state would be
responsible for related expenses for the convention is not a settled issue at this time.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
The Senate Rules require that concurrent resolutions be read by title on two separate days before
a voice vote is taken on adoption, unless the matter is decided otherwise by a two-thirds vote of
those Senators present.14
Because an Article V amendments convention has never been conducted, what might actually
occur procedurally or substantively is unclear.
Diverse scholars have raised, but not necessarily answered, many questions regarding the nature
of an amendments convention. Some of those issues involve, in part:
14
Florida Senate Rule 4.13 (adopted Nov. 22, 2022).
BILL: SCR 326 Page 6
To what extent Congress would establish the framework for the convention;
Whether the scope of the convention would be limited in its focus or may be expanded to
include other topics;
Whether the states have any constitutional authority over the convention once it is convened;
Whether it is the role of Congress to summon, convene, define, and administer the
convention; or
How convention delegates will be apportioned among the states and whether it might occur
in a manner similar to the Electoral College.15
VIII. Statutes Affected:
None.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.
15
Thomas H. Neale, Congressional Research Service, The Article V Convention to Propose Constitutional Amendments:
Contemporary Issues for Congress (Updated March 29, 2016), https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R42589.