Senate Joint Resolution 12 - Introduced
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 12
BY WHITING, ZAUN, DAWSON,
SHIPLEY, and GUTH
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
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31 to come, by proposing amendments to the Constitution of the
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
15 (SJR 67, 2016), Indiana (SJR 14, 2016), Oklahoma (SJR 4,
16 2016), Louisiana (SCR 52, 2016), Arizona (HCR 2010, 2017),
17 North Dakota (HCR 3006, 2017), Texas (SJR 2, 2017), Missouri
18 (SCR 4, 2017), Arkansas (SJR 3, 2019), Utah (SJR 9, 2019),
19 and Mississippi (SCR 596, 2019), for a convention for the
20 specific and exclusive purpose of proposing amendments to the
21 Constitution of the United States limited to the purposes
22 stated therein, provided, however, that the delegates from
23 Iowa to said convention are expressly limited to consideration
24 and support of amendments that impose fiscal restraints on
25 the federal government, amendments that limit the power and
26 jurisdiction of the federal government, and amendments that
27 impose limits on the number of terms that a person may serve
28 in the Congress of the United States, and no amendments on any
29 other topic; and
30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That it is the express intention of
31 the General Assembly that this application shall be aggregated
32 with the prior and subsequent applications of other states
33 limited to the purposes identified in this application; and
34 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this application constitutes
35 a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the
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1 Constitution of the United States until the legislatures of at
2 least two-thirds of the several states have made applications
3 for a similar convention under Article V, or the General
4 Assembly resolves to withdraw this application; and
5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State shall
6 transmit certified copies of this resolution to the President
7 and Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and
8 Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, the
9 presiding officer of each house of the legislature of each of
10 the several states, and to each member of Iowa’s congressional
11 delegation.
12 EXPLANATION
13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
14 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
15 This joint resolution constitutes an application requesting
16 the United States Congress to call a constitutional convention
17 in order to propose amendments to the Constitution of the
18 United States to impose fiscal restraints on the federal
19 government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal
20 government, and impose limits on the number of terms that
21 a person may serve in the Congress of the United States.
22 The resolution stipulates that Iowa’s delegates to such a
23 convention are expressly limited to consideration and support
24 of amendments on those topics. The resolution constitutes a
25 continuing application to call a constitutional convention
26 and states the intention of the General Assembly that the
27 application be aggregated with the prior and subsequent
28 applications of other states limited to the purposes identified
29 in the resolution.
30 The resolution also petitions the Congress of the United
31 States to propose an amendment to the Constitution of the
32 United States to impose fiscal restraints on the federal
33 government, limit the federal government’s power and
34 jurisdiction, and impose limits on the number of terms that a
35 person may serve in the Congress of the United States.
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1 The resolution requires the Secretary of State to transmit
2 certified copies of this resolution to the President and
3 Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk
4 of the United States House of Representatives, the presiding
5 officer of each house of the legislature of each state, and to
6 the members of Iowa’s congressional delegation.
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