Brianna Kraemer
Carolina Journal
The North Carolina Senate passed a resolution on Monday that calls for an Article V convention of the states to impose term limits on members of Congress in Washington, DC.
The North Carolina House already approved the resolution in 2023. The Senate passed the bill in a 29-20 vote on Monday, which officially puts North Carolina on record as the ninth state to agree to a term-limits consitutional amendment specifically. The Constitution requires 34 states to pass a resolution in order for a convention to take place.
“Eighty-seven percent of Americans support term limits on Congress, including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents. This is a rare, truly nonpartisan issue with national appeal,” said Philip Blumel, President of US Term Limits. “All of the sponsors and co-sponsors have been an integral part of the victory in North Carolina. Their efforts helped put North Carolina at the forefront of states calling for term limits on Congress.”
US Term Limits is the organization behind the national effort. The group has solidified four passages in 2024 alone. The effort is not connected to House Joint Resolution 235, a similar effort that has passed in 19 states, including the North Carolina House, and is led by the group Convention of States Action.
While most Democrats voted against the bill and most Republicans were in favor of it, some senators flipped from their party’s positioning. Sen. Mary Wills Bode, D-Granville, supported the resolution, while Republican Sens. Tom McInnis, R-Moore, and Eddie Settle, R-Wilkes, voted against it.
“Lifelong, career politicians lead to the gridlock that we have seen in DC today,” said Sen. Todd Johnson, R-Union. “With this resolution, North Carolina would join the other eight states to do our part to address the issues in DC.”
Johnson suggested that as the states sign on and approach the 34-state requirement, Congress itself could take action to address the people’s concerns, like in the past.
The legislation reads: “The legislature of North Carolina hereby makes an application to Congress, as provided by Article V of the Constitution of the United States of America, to call a convention limited to proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected as a member of the United States House of Representatives and to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected as a member of the United States Senate.”
“Let’s be clear, you are opening the doors to a constitutional convention,” said Sen. Graig Meyer, D-Orange. “This is an insane idea. I will vote against it.”
Critics point to fears of a runaway convention or an overhaul of the Constitution, theories that have been debunked by proponents.
Though legislators supported placing term limits on members of Congress, North Carolina’s legislators don’t face any term limits themselves, something brought up during the committee meeting.
Article V of the Constitution states that both Congress and the states can propose amendments. For the states to meet in a convention, 34 state legislatures must first pass applications. If a convention were to be called, 38 state legislatures must then approve any amendment proposals that come from the convention for it to be ratified into the US Constitution.
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