Senate Joint Resolution 2 - Introduced
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 2
BY DAWSON
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
1 A Joint Resolution calling for an Article V convention in order
2 to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United
3 States that impose fiscal restraints, limit the power and
4 jurisdiction of the federal government, and impose limits on
5 the number of terms that a person may serve in Congress, and
6 requesting Congress to similarly propose such amendments.
7 WHEREAS, the founders of the Constitution of the United
8 States empowered state legislators to be guardians of liberty
9 against future abuses of power by the federal government; and
10 WHEREAS, the federal government has created a crushing
11 national debt through improper and imprudent spending; and
12 WHEREAS, the federal government has invaded the legitimate
13 roles of the states through the manipulative process of federal
14 mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great extent; and
15 WHEREAS, the federal government has ceased to live under
16 a proper interpretation of the Constitution of the United
17 States; and
18 WHEREAS, the average length of service in Congress continues
19 to rise which creates a detachment between the members and
20 their constituents, making the American people feel they are no
21 longer being listened to; and
22 WHEREAS, open-seat elections will allow for more people to
23 participate in the government from a variety of backgrounds
24 providing better representation and more options for the voters
25 on the ballots; and
26 WHEREAS, the General Assembly of Iowa, a body of citizen
27 legislators, desires to restore rotation in office for members
28 serving in the Congress of the United States; and
29 WHEREAS, it is the solemn duty of the states to protect
30 the liberty of our people, particularly for the generations
31 to come, by proposing amendments to the Constitution of the
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32 United States through a convention of the states under Article
33 V of the Constitution of the United States for the purpose of
34 restraining abuses of power and restoring rotation in office
35 for members serving in the Congress of the United States; NOW
36 THEREFORE,
37 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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1 That the Congress of the United States is hereby petitioned
2 to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States,
3 for submission to the states for ratification, to impose fiscal
4 restraints on the federal government, to limit the federal
5 government’s power and jurisdiction, and to limit the number
6 of terms that a person may be elected as a member of the United
7 States house of representatives and to set a limit on the
8 number of terms that a person may be elected as a member of the
9 United States senate; and
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That, pursuant to Article V of the
11 Constitution of the United States, the General Assembly, as the
12 legislature of the state of Iowa, joins in the applications of
13 the states of Georgia (SR 736, 2014), Florida (SM 476, 2014),
14 Alaska (HJR 22, 2014), Alabama (HJR 112, 2015), Tennessee (SJR
15 67, 2016), Indiana (SJR 14, 2016), Oklahoma (SJR 4, 2016),
16 Louisiana (SCR 52, 2016), Arizona (HCR 2010, 2017), North
17 Dakota (HCR 3006, 2017), Texas (SJR 2, 2017), Missouri (SCR 4,
18 2017), Arkansas (SJR 3, 2019), Utah (SJR 9, 2019), Mississippi
19 (SCR 596, 2019), Wisconsin (AJR 9, 2022), Nebraska (LR 14,
20 2022), West Virginia (HCR 31, 2022), and South Carolina (H.
21 3205, 2022) for a convention for the specific and exclusive
22 purpose of proposing amendments to the Constitution of the
23 United States limited to the purposes stated therein, provided,
24 however, that the delegates from Iowa to said convention are
25 expressly limited to consideration and support of amendments
26 that impose fiscal restraints on the federal government,
27 amendments that limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal
28 government, and amendments that impose limits on the number of
29 terms that a person may serve in the Congress of the United
30 States, and no amendments on any other topic; and
31 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That it is the express intention of
32 the General Assembly that this application shall be aggregated
33 with the prior and subsequent applications of other states
34 limited to the purposes identified in this application; and
35 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this application constitutes
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1 a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the
2 Constitution of the United States until the legislatures of at
3 least two-thirds of the several states have made applications
4 for a similar convention under Article V, or the General
5 Assembly resolves to withdraw this application; and
6 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State shall
7 transmit certified copies of this resolution to the President
8 and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and
9 Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the
10 presiding officer of each house of the legislature of each of
11 the several states, and to each member of Iowa’s congressional
12 delegation.
13 EXPLANATION
14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
15 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
16 This joint resolution constitutes an application requesting
17 the United States Congress to call a constitutional convention
18 in order to propose amendments to the Constitution of the
19 United States to impose fiscal restraints on the federal
20 government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal
21 government, and impose limits on the number of terms that
22 a person may serve in the Congress of the United States.
23 The resolution stipulates that Iowa’s delegates to such a
24 convention are expressly limited to consideration and support
25 of amendments on those topics. The resolution constitutes a
26 continuing application to call a constitutional convention
27 and states the intention of the General Assembly that the
28 application be aggregated with the prior and subsequent
29 applications of other states limited to the purposes identified
30 in the resolution.
31 The resolution also petitions the Congress of the United
32 States to propose an amendment to the Constitution of the
33 United States to impose fiscal restraints on the federal
34 government, limit the federal government’s power and
35 jurisdiction, and impose limits on the number of terms that a
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1 person may serve in the Congress of the United States.
2 The resolution requires the Secretary of State to transmit
3 certified copies of this resolution to the President and
4 Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk
5 of the United States House of Representatives, the presiding
6 officer of each house of the legislature of each state, and to
7 the members of Iowa’s congressional delegation.
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