Action Guide March 7, 2000

DESCRIPTION

This proposition permits congressional candidates to voluntarily sign a non-binding declaration that if elected they either will or will not limit their service to no more than three terms in the House of Representatives or two terms in the United States Senate. This information would appear on ballots and other state-sponsored voter educational materials if requested by the candidate, but candidates would not be required to submit a declaration. Any such declaration by a winning candidate would also apply to future elections for the same office.

BACKGROUND

Federal law does not limit the number of terms a person may be elected to serve in Congress, and the courts have ruled that the qualifications for office, including term limits, can only be changed by an amendment to the United States Constitution. Two previous propositions dealing with term limits, Proposition 164, passed in California in 1992, and Proposition 225, passed in 1998, have been invalidated by the courts. Proponents believe that this measure, because it is voluntary and would have no legal effect on actual terms served, will be accepted by the courts.

IMPORTANT POINTS

• Limiting terms is unnecessary. The voters already have the power to end an incumbent's term at any election if they choose.

• Term limits cannot be imposed without a constitutional amendment, and this is simply an attempt to pressure candidates into committing themselves to term limits and to use the election materials put out by the Secretary of State to advertise a candidate's stand on that one issue.
• Campaign finance reform would be far more effective than term limits for restoring public confidence in Congress.
• Congress operates on a seniority system. If California's representatives are term-limited, our state won't benefit from having committee chairs and house leaders.

RESOURCES

No On 27, Sacramento City Taxpayers' Rights League, 916-447-6340, www.NoTermLimits.com