ACTION ALERT: Term Limits Convention approaches next committee hurdle

Fresh from a 5-4 victory last week before the Florida Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and gaining several important endorsements, the Term Limits Convention bill (SM630) is headed to the Senate Rules Committee for a hearing and vote on Thursday, Dec. 3.

If it gets an OK from this committee, the next step is a vote on the floor of the Florida Senate! Hence, next week's vote is critical.

Two of the pro-Congressional term limits votes from last week's committee are on the Senate Rules Committee, Sens. Joe Negron and Garrett Richter. There are 9 Republicans and 4 Democrats on the committee.

While certainly no guarantee, this partisan breakdown bodes well for the bill as two important county Republican parties, Palm Beach and Osceola, recently passed resolutions endorsing the Term Limits Convention. The Republican Liberty Caucus of Florida officially endorsed the bills as well.

The Term Limits Convention bills (SM630 in the Florida Senate and HM417 in the House) are official applications for an amendment convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution explicitly limited to Congressional term limits. If two-thirds of the states (34) call for such a convention, Article V states that Congress 'shall' convene it. There, delegates from all the states will craft a Congressional term limits amendment proposal that would be submitted to the states for ratification. If three-quarters (38) of the states do so, Congressional term limits will be added to the U.S. Constitution.

Click on each Senator's name below to send them an email expressing your support for Congressional term limits and urging them to support SM630. Look for the Email This Senator radio button in the left-hand column on the webpage or the contact bar if you are on your phone.

The Florida Senate Rules Committee

Senator David Simmons (R), Chair  Winter Park

Sen. Darren Soto (D), Vice Chair  Kissimmee

Sen. Lizbeth Benaquisto (R)  Fort Myers

Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (R)   Miami

Sen. Don Gaetz (R)   Destin

Sen. Bill Galvano (R)  Bradenton

Sen. Audrey Gibson (D)   Jacksonville

Sen. Arthenia L. Joyner (D)   Tampa

Sen. Jack Latvala (R)   Clearwater

Sen. Tom Lee (R)   Brandon

Sen. Bill Montford (D)   Montford

Sen. Joe Negron (R)   Palm City

Sen. Garrett Richter (R)   Naples

Osceola County REC endorses Term Limits Convention as bills advance

Osceola REC Chair Mark Oxner

In an overwhelming voice vote, the Osceola Republican Executive Committee on Nov. 19 passed a resolution urging the Florida legislature to officially call for the Congressional term limits convention.

Their action follows a similar lopsided (79-1) endorsement from the Palm Beach County REC in October.

The resolutions are particularly potent after the Term Limits Convention bill in the Senate, SM630 introduced by Sen. Aaron Bean, has started an early advance through the committee maze that is expected to lead to a floor vote during the 2016 session. SM630 passed the Ethics and Elections Committee 5-4 on Tuesday and is headed to the Senate Rules Committee.

The House bill, Rep. Larry Metz' HM417, has not been heard yet, but has already picked up five cosponsors: Reps. Frank Artiles, Matthew Caldwell, Debbie Mayfield, Marlene O'Toole, Charles Van Zant and John Wood.

The bills are official applications for a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution explicitly limited to Congressional term limits. If two-thirds of the states (34) call for such a convention, Article V states that Congress 'shall' convene it. There, delegates from all the states will craft a Congressional term limits amendment proposal that would be submitted to the states for ratification. If three-quarters (38) of the states do so, Congressional term limits will be added to the U.S. Constitution.

The Sarasota REC considered a Term Limits Convention resolution Nov. 19 and is likely to take a floor vote at their January meeting. State Rep. Ray Pilon announced his support and likely co-sponsorship during the discussion.

Sen. Geraldine Thompson: term limits hero

On Nov. 17, the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee took up the Term Limits Convention bill (SM630). This is the bill that calls for a national amendment convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution in order to enact Congressional term limits.

It started out fine but quickly went awry as the vice chair of the committee, Republican John Legg, suggested that the term limits convention may be part of a conspiracy to overthrow the constitution. He was followed by Sen. Jeff Clemens, a South Florida Democrat who has never shown any love for the second amendment, who asked if perhaps our right to bear arms could be threatened by consideration of Congressional term limits. What?

How the hearing took this this sour and darkly comical turn is unclear, but what is certain was that some senators wanted to talk about anything else that afternoon except for term limits. Perhaps the bipartisan popularity of the successful political reform makes it impossible for would-be professional politicians to tackle it in a straightforward manner. They have to obfuscate, confuse, baffle and confound to somehow malign a very simple issue that voters both understand and have long and positive experience with.

Just to be clear: A "convention to propose amendments" under Article V has no power whatever to make or change laws. According to Article V, it "shall" be convened upon the official calls of 2/3 (or 34) of the states. At the convention, delegates chosen and sent by the states can craft and suggest an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That's it. To become law, three quarters (38) of the states have to ratify the amendment.

Sen. Joe Negron was about to suggest a tabling of the issue for a saner day, when Sen, Geraldine Thompson announced she intended to support the bill and wanted a vote. She got it, and SM630 passed its first Senate committee 5-4.

That Sen. Thompson, a Democrat, would save the day should not be surprising. Polling (Gallup 2013) shows that some 75% of Americans support Congressional term limits, including 65% of Democrats and 79% of independents.

Most special interests are not ideological but instead purely self-interested, representing corporations, professional organizations and unions that seek special favors and benefits from lawmakers and are willing to pay for them one way or another. Protecting individual Americans from corporate exploitation is a central message of Democratic campaign rhetoric. Term limits regularly sever the cozy relationships between special interest lobbyists and decision-makers and greatly reduce their influence.

There is also a self-interested -- and completely legitimate -- component of Florida Democratic support for term limits that is, currently, unique to the party. Florida (like some other Southern states) was once solidly blue and started to turn Republican long before that change was reflected in the legislature, as the power of incumbency prevented rotation in office and blocked the changes in the voters views to be expressed. The enactment of term limits speeded up the transition because it improved representation of the people through open seats, competitive elections and the introduction of new people and ideas.

Now that the Republicans are in a solid majority in Tallahassee, nearly every session a GOP bill to lengthen and weaken term limits is introduced in order to thwart electoral competition and protect their position. But when and if the pendulum swings back to the blue among the electorate, it will be the fluidity that comes with term limits that will ensure the voters' will is reflected in a timely manner -- not a generation later.

With her timely vote for term limits, Sen. Thompson struck a blow for the voters, her country and her party.

ACTION ALERT: LPF urging passage of Term Limits Convention bills

Joining the grass roots clamor for a Congressional term limits amendment, the Libertarian Party of Florida on Nov. 1 called on the Florida legislature to make an official application under Article V of the U.S. Constitution for a Term Limits Convention.

"Term limits have been deemed necessary since incumbents have a lopsided advantage, the general population favors term limits as it limits federal power and encourages new perspectives from citizen legislators who are not career politicians," wrote Stacey Selleck in a brief to the LPF board. "We must start taking our place in the role of the government of the people, by the people and for the people -- not a government of career politicians."

The six-page brief summarized the arguments for term limits and also for the specific method of enacting them, the Article V convention route for Constitutional amendments.

"Since the Congress will not impose limits on itself, and the states may not limit the term of their own representatives, the only path to codifying term limits into law is through proposing a Constitutional Amendment via a convention of states for the sole purpose of enacting term limits on U.S. Senators and members of the House of Representatives," Selleck wrote. "[This is] a right, provided to us by the framers in Article V of the Constitution, designed to remedy federal abuse."

SM630 and HM 417 are official applications for an amendment convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution explicitly limited to Congressional term limits. If two-thirds of the states (34) call for such a convention, Article V states that Congress 'shall' convene it. There, delegates from all the states will craft a Congressional term limits amendment proposal that would be submitted to the states for ratification. If three-quarters (38) of the states do so, Congressional term limits will be added to the U.S. Constitution.

Click on each Senator's name below to send them an email expressing your support for Congressional term limits and urging them to support SM630. Look for the Email This Senator radio button in the left-hand column on the webpage or the Contact bar if you are on your phone.

The Florida Senate Rules Committee

Senator David Simmons (R), Chair  Winter Park

Sen. Darren Soto (D), Vice Chair  Kissimmee

Sen. Lizbeth Benaquisto (R)  Fort Myers

Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (R)   Miami

Sen. Don Gaetz (R)   Destin

Sen. Bill Galvano (R)  Bradenton

Sen. Audrey Gibson (D)   Jacksonville

Sen. Arthenia L. Joyner (D)   Tampa

Sen. Jack Latvala (R)   Clearwater

Sen. Tom Lee (R)   Brandon

Sen. Bill Montford (D)   Montford

Sen. Joe Negron (R)   Palm City

Sen. Garrett Richter (R)   Naples

Palm Beach County GOP calls for Term Limits Convention!

When the history is written of the successful effort to achieve Congressional term limits via an Article V convention, recall that it started right here.

At their Oct. 14 meeting, the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee made a resounding call for an Article V convention limited to the issue of Congressional term limits. The resolution was approved 79-1. 

Chairman Michael Barnett (photo, left) presided over the vote. Two weeks earlier, the board approved the resolution for a floor vote by a vote of 12-0.

In taking this action, the Palm Beach County Republicans are speaking for the 83 percent of Republicans nationwide that told Gallup pollsters in 2013 that they want to see the terms of Congress limited by a Constitutional amendment.  Ironically, they are also standing up for the 65 percent of Democrats that share their view.

For Florida to make an official call -- or 'application' -- for an Article V convention, a bill to do so must pass each of Florida's legislative chambers, both currently dominated by Republicans. The bill has just emerged from drafting and is starting its journey through the legislative maze. Hence, this resolution by one of Florida's largest and most respected county RECs is both timely and powerful.

Here is the text of the resolution in its entirety:

WHEREAS, legislative term limits improve citizen access to office, broaden the range of experience in a political body, improve incentives faced by lawmakers, and mandate competitive elections at regular intervals;

WHEREAS, recent national polling (Gallup 2013) indicates 75% of voters of all parties continue to support term limits, including 83% of Republicans and 65% of Democrats;

WHEREAS, Florida voters imposed term limits on their Congressional delegation in 1992 with 77% of the vote, and more recent polling (Quinnipiac, 2009) shows that 82% of Floridians continue to support term limits on public officials;

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States (U.S. Term Limits v Thornton, 1995) declared that term limits could only be imposed by a constitutional amendment;

WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress has steadfastly refused to send a Congressional term limits amendment to the states for ratification in spite of broad popular support;

WHEREAS, Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides an alternate means of proposing constitutional amendments via a convention of the states that does not require a Congressional vote;

WHEREAS, upon receiving official calls from two-thirds of the states, Congress must call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments;

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF PALM BEACH COUNTY HEREBY RESOLVES that the Florida legislature make an official Article V call to convene an amendment convention for the specific purpose of limiting the terms of the U.S. Congress.

This resolution will be even more effective if amplified by the resolutions of other RECs across the state. If you are a member of a local REC, please take this resolution to your board and ask for a vote.

For more info on the Florida Term Limits Convention campaign, go here.

Will Florida be the first state to make THE CALL?

Each election cycle, a hundred or two Congressional challengers (and even an incumbent or two) sign the U.S. Term Limits Congressional Pledge to sponsor and vote for a term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution. And each national election day, a dozen or two new signatories are elected to Congress. We believe we are headed toward a critical mass that will one day secure a floor vote on this popular reform. 

But skeptics (including many term limits activists!) tell us Congress will never, ever vote out a term limits amendment. OK, maybe, but what if there were a way to pass a Constitutional amendment without the consent of Congress?

There is.

Article V of the Constitution provides two ways to amend the document. The first is the traditional route through the Congress and then to the states for ratification. But the founders knew there would be times when Congress would refuse to act against its own interests even when an overwhelming majority of Americans demand it. Hence, they provided a way to bypass Congress.

If two-thirds (34) of the states call for a convention of states for the purpose or proposing an amendment on a specific subject, the amendment convention 'shall' be called. The amendment it produces would go back to the states -- not the Congress -- for ratification. 

It is now clear that the best and fastest way to impose term limits on Congress is through a term limits convention as authorized by Article V of the U.S. Constitution.

Hence, U.S. Term Limits is launching a massive nationwide campaign to convene it. And it is starting right here in Florida. 

A single-amendment convention committed to specifically and exclusively imposing term limits will get bipartisan support. It will bypass the career politicians in Washington. It will allow average people like you and me to clean up corruption and careerism on Capitol Hill and reintroduce the regular rotation and competitive elections that the founders intended.

Convening an Article V convention will not be easy, however.  We’ll have to lobby the various states to support this historic idea. This will be a tough and costly fight. Sign the online petition here. Make a financial contribution here. When the bill is introduced for the upcoming session, U.S. Term Limits will alert you with the bill info and how you can help get it passed. 

Let's hit the restart button on Congress and make history!

(You can follow the progress of the campaign on the Florida Term Limits page on Facebook, Twitter and/or right here on this blog. To get involved see the U.S. Term Limits Florida action page here.)