On Thursday, the South Dakota house passed House Joint Resolution 5002 (HJR5002), which notifies Congress that South Dakota seeks to participate in an amendment convention for the sole purpose of proposing a congressional term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The effort, led by Rep. Taylor Rae Rehfeldt and spearheaded by the nonpartisan nonprofit U.S. Term Limits, passed with 42 yeas to 24 nays.
It is clear that the people of South Dakota agree with the successful outcome. According to the latest RMG Research poll, 88% of likely voters in South Dakota support term limits on Congress, including strong support among Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike.
State Chair for U.S. Term Limits, Erin Tobin, says “I am happy to see this pass through the house chamber. South Dakotans want term limits and our South Dakota legislators are delivering. Thank you!”
U.S. Term Limits President Philip Blumel commended the South Dakota state representatives who voted “yea” on our resolution saying, “The people of South Dakota are lucky to have public servants who see what is going on in D.C. and are willing to take action to fix it. They know that Congress won’t set term limits on itself. Therefore, it is the obligation of the states to do so.”
Once HJR5002 passes the senate, South Dakota will join other states in the call to convene the states for the exclusive purpose of proposing term limits on the U.S. Congress. Once 34 state legislatures pass similar resolutions on the topic and approve the term limits amendment, it must be ratified by 38 states to become part of the U.S. Constitution.
