[19980604]96-152GOV_国会议员的任期限制：状态活动.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS Web96-152 GOVUpdated June 4, 1998Term Limits for Members of Congress: State ActivitySula P. RichardsonAnalyst in American National GovernmentGovernment DivisionSummaryIn 1990, term limit advocates began their campaign to limit congressional termsby changing state laws, amending state constitutions, and passing state ballot initiatives,rather than by amending the U.S. Constitution. Their strategy was to circumvent themore difficult and time consuming amendment process at the federal level and godirectly to the voters and legislatures of each state. By mid-1995, voters or legislaturesin 23 states had approved congressional term limits. In 1995, however, the U.S.Supreme Court ruled that state-imposed limits on congressional tenure violate theConstitution and that term limits can only be set through passage and ratification of anamendment to the U.S. Constitution. Since then, term limit supporters have pressedCongress to propose a constitutional amendment and encouraged state legislatures topass resolutions calling on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment. Since the1996 genera