Tennessee State House passed House Joint Resolution 5, which proposes a congressional term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution with 66 yeas and 27 nays. Rep. Chris Todd led the resolution along with co-sponsors: Sparks, Warner, Zachary, Bricken Hawk, Lynn, Richey, Garrett, Powers, Capley, Carr, and Vital. HJR5 was backed by the nonpartisan nonprofit U.S. Term Limits.
More than 60 Tennessee legislators have signed the term limits pledge, indicating their support for this election reform. According to the most recent poll conducted by RMG Research, 78 percent of likely voters in Tennessee support term limits on Congress, including support across party lines. Seventy-seven percent of Republicans, 90 percent of Democrats, and 71 percent of independents support this election reform, officials said.
U.S. Term Limits President Philip Blumel commended the Tennessee House for addressing the issue of term limits, saying, "The people of Tennessee are fortunate to have public servants who recognize what is happening in D.C. and are willing to take action to fix it. They understand that Congress won't establish term limits on itself. Consequently, it falls upon the states to do so."
Next stop is the senate committee then onto the Senate floor for a full vote. If approved by the Senate, Tennessee will be one of several states applying for a states-only convention to propose term limits on Congress. To become a part of the U.S. Constitution, the term limits amendment must be approved by 38 states after being proposed by 34 state legislatures.