Indiana passes a resolution that calls for congressional term limits

• • By Schyler Altherr, TheStatehouseFile.com

Indiana lawmakers Monday passed a resolution to call for a change in the United States Constitution.

Supporters of the resolution are intending to add a constitutional amendment that would place term limits on U.S. Congress members. Despite the resolution passing, some lawmakers hold reservations on its possible success.

SJR 21 passed the Indiana House 66-30 with 10 Democrats joining the Republican majority and nine Republicans voting against the resolution. It will have Indiana join 10 other states to propose an Article V convention; the Constitution dictates there must be a coalition of at least 38 states to amend it, which has never occurred.

Rep. Ed DeLaney, D-Indianapolis, voted against SJR 21 and voiced his opposition during discussion.

“I will not have to explain to my constituents why I’m not voting for term limits on myself when I’m voting on it for the rest of congressional members,” said DeLaney, “The rest of you can enjoy yourself making that explanation.”

The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Dave Hall, R-Norman, responded to this comment during discussion.

“We are a citizen legislature, we’re part time, we’re here three to four months of the year, we live in our districts, most of us keep full-time jobs in our district, ” said Hall. “So I don’t think it’s an apples-to -apples comparison.”

One lawmaker, Rep. Christopher Judy, R-Fort Wayne, made a point to vote no on the bill because he does not believe term limits are enough. Instead, he proposed that they should repeal the 17th Amendment of the Constitution so senators would be chosen by the state legislatures.

Schyler Altherr is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students.