THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	18
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the legislative reference bureau to conduct a study of the benefits and drawbacks of implementing term limits for members of the legislature.

 

 

        WHEREAS, when the United States Supreme Court decided in Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976), that certain campaign spending limits would not have to be observed, the ability of nonincumbents to challenge elected officials was substantially impaired; and

 

        WHEREAS, in 1974, the year of the only state election which observed spending limits, twenty-two new members were elected to the House of Representatives and eight new members were elected to the Senate; and

 

        WHEREAS, forty-three percent of the representatives and thirty-two percent of the senators elected in Hawaii in 1974 were new to the Legislature; and

 

        WHEREAS, thirty-five states have imposed term limits on their governor, state legislators, or both; and

 

        WHEREAS, thirty-three states have imposed term limits on the members of their delegations to the United States House of Representatives and Senate; and

 

        WHEREAS, the expenses for nonincumbents seeking election to the Legislature and the small chance of winning leads to a reduction in the number of seriously contested races, which results in voter apathy and the undermining of the entire foundation and process of representative democracy; now, therefore,

 

        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to conduct a study of the benefits and drawbacks of implementing term limits for members of the Legislature; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to submit a report of the Bureau's findings to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:  

Requests the Legislative Reference Bureau to conduct a study of the benefits and drawbacks of implementing term limits for members of the Legislature