Tennessee State House passes resolution to term limit Congress
Published March 24, 2023; 3:36 p.m.

NASHVILLE, TN -- Tennessee State House passed House Joint Resolution 5 (HJR5), which proposes a congressional term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution with 66 yeas and 27 nays. Representative Chris Todd led the resolution along with co-sponsors: Sparks, Warner, Zachary, Bricken Hawk, Lynn, Richey, Garrett, Powers, Capley, Carr, and Vital. HJR5 was backed by the nonpartisan nonprofit U.S. Term Limits.

More than 60 Tennessee legislators have signed the term limits pledge, indicating their support for this election reform. It's clear that the people of Tennessee agree. According to the most recent poll conducted by RMG Research, a whopping 78% of likely voters in Tennessee support term limits on Congress, including strong support across party lines. 77% of Republicans, 90% of Democrats, and 71% of independents support this important election reform.

U.S. Term Limits President Philip Blumel commended the Tennessee House for addressing the issue of term limits, saying, "The people of Tennessee are fortunate to have public servants who recognize what is happening in D.C. and are willing to take action to fix it. They understand that Congress won't establish term limits on itself. Consequently, it falls upon the states to do so."

Next stop is the senate committee then onto the senate floor for a full vote. If approved by the senate, Tennessee will be one of several states applying for a states-only convention to propose term limits on Congress. To become a part of the U.S. Constitution, the term limits amendment must be approved by 38 states after being proposed by 34 state legislatures. This move towards term limits for Congress is a significant step towards bringing back citizen legislators to Congress and restoring trust in the democratic process.