Bill Text: HI HB973 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Legislative Term Limits; Constitutional Amendment
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [HB973 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-HB973-Introduced.html
Report Title:
Legislative Term Limits; Constitutional Amendment
Description:
Limits the terms of members of the Legislature to a maximum of 40 years, with a maximum of 20 years in each the house of representatives and the senate, beginning on the day of the General Election of 2010.
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
973 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO the hawaii constitution TO ESTABLISH LEGISLATIVE TERM LIMITS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The decision of the United States Supreme Court in Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976), by disallowing certain campaign spending limits, substantially impaired the ability of non-incumbents to challenge elected officials. It is instructive to compare the election of 1974, the only state election with mandatory spending limits, with the 1990 election.
In 1974, 22 new members were elected to the house of representatives (43 per cent) and eight new members were elected to the senate (32 per cent). As this election was held under the 1973 reapportionment plan, some of the turnover may be attributable to changes in district boundaries. However, there can be no doubt that this was an extraordinarily fruitful election that brought new blood into the legislature. Among the 22 new faces in the house of representatives that year were a former governor and the congressman from the first congressional district.
In contrast, the 1990 elections saw the election of only one new senator, who had prior election experience and replaced a senator who did not seek reelection. Eleven incumbent senators ran in 1990; all were reelected. Of the ten incumbent candidates from the majority party, five faced no opposition in the primary or general election (but still spent between $17,328 and $41,632) and three others faced no general election opposition. This includes one race that was technically contested, but the opponent made no expenditure beyond the filing fee of $25.
Challengers scarcely fared better in the 51-member house of representatives in 1990. Seventeen incumbents were elected, without opposition, by merely filing their nomination papers, although they still spent an average of almost $30,000 per candidate. Thirteen more incumbents faced only token opposition. Of 49 incumbents running, only four were defeated. Ninety-two per cent of the incumbents successfully retained their seats.
The high costs and low chance of success for non-incumbent legislative candidates have reduced the number of seriously contested races. This, in turn, has increased voter apathy and perpetuated a cycle that undermines the entire foundation and process of a representative democracy.
The purpose of this Act is to propose an amendment to article III, section 4, of the Hawaii Constitution, to limit the terms of members of the legislature to a maximum of 20 years in each the house of representatives and the senate.
SECTION 2. Article III, section 4, of the Hawaii Constitution is amended to read as follows:
"ELECTION OF MEMBERS; TERM
Section 4. Each member
of the legislature shall be elected at an election. If more than one candidate
has been nominated for election to a seat in the legislature, the member
occupying that seat shall be elected at a general election. If a candidate
nominated for a seat at a primary election is unopposed for that seat at the
general election, the candidate shall be deemed elected at the primary
election. The term of office of a member of the house of representatives shall
be two years and the term of office of a member of the senate shall be four
years[.]; provided that, beginning with terms commencing on the day
of the general election of 2010, no member of the legislature shall serve for
more than twenty-years in the house of representatives and twenty-years in the
senate; provided further that a member of the legislature may fulfill a term if
the member reaches the twenty-year limit in the house of representatives or in
the senate before a current term has ended.
The term of a member of the legislature shall begin on the day of the general election at which elected or if elected at a primary election, on the day of the general election immediately following the primary election at which elected. For a member of the house of representatives, the terms shall end on the day of the general election immediately following the day the member's term commences. For a member of the senate, the term shall end on the day of the second general election immediately following the day the member's term commences."
SECTION 3. The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:
"Shall state senators and state representatives be limited to serving a maximum of twenty-years in the house of representatives and twenty-years in the senate beginning with terms commencing on the day of the general election of 2010?"
SECTION 4. Constitutional material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New constitutional material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This amendment shall take effect upon compliance with article XVII, section 3, of the Hawaii Constitution.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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