HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1462

TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

proposing an amendment to article iii, section 4, of 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 nonincumbents 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 for bringing new blood into the process.  Among the 22 new faces in the house of representatives that year were a former governor and the congressman from the first congressional district.  Eighteen years later, four others were still members of the legislature.

     In contrast, the 1990 elections saw the election of only one new senator.  Even the solitary member of the senate's freshman class had prior elective 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.

     Things were only a little better for challengers 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 result of the high cost to nonincumbents running to become a member of the legislature and the small chance of winning leads to a reduction in the number of seriously contested races.  This, in turn, has increased voter apathy.  It is a cycle that is undermining the entire foundation and the process of a representative democracy.  To help correct this problem, this Act proposes an amendment to Article III, section 4, of the Hawaii Constitution to limit members of the legislature to a maximum of 24 years, consisting of a maximum of 12 years in the house of representatives and 12 years in the senate.  The legislature proposes to give the people of Hawaii an opportunity to weigh the benefits and detriments of term limits and, upon due consideration, choose whether or not to apply them.

     SECTION 2.  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 12 years in the house of representatives and 12 years in the senate.

     SECTION 3.  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 no member of the legislature shall serve for more than twelve years in the house of representatives and twelve years in the senate, after the general election of 2010; provided further that a member may complete a term if the member reaches the twelve-year limit in the house of representatives or 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 4.  The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:

"Shall members of the legislature be limited to serving a maximum of twelve years in the house of representatives and twelve years in the senate, starting with service beginning after the general election of 2012?"

     SECTION 5.  Constitutional material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New constitutional material is underscored.

     SECTION 6.  This amendment shall take effect upon compliance with Article XVII, section 3, of the Hawaii Constitution.

 

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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Report Title:

Legislative Term Limits

 

Description:

Limits the terms of members of the Legislature to 12 years in the House of Representatives and 12 years in the Senate, beginning on the day of the general election of 2012.

 

 

 

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