U.S. Term Limits (USTL), a grassroots organization in the national, non-partisan movement to limit terms for elected officials, is gathering support from state lawmakers across the nation. Its mission is to get 34 states to apply for an amendment proposal convention specific to term limits on Congress. Louisiana State Sen. Beth Mizell (R-Franklinton) has committed her support for term limits on Congress by signing the Term Limits Convention Pledge.

USTL President, Philip Blumel commented on Mizell’s pledge.

“Beth’s support of term limits shows that there are individuals who are willing to listen to the majority of voters who want term limits,” he said. “America needs a Congress that will be served by citizen legislators, not career politicians.”

The U.S. Term Limits Pledge is provided to candidates and members of state legislatures. It reads, “I pledge that, as a member of the state legislature, I will support and vote for the resolution applying for an Article V convention for the limited purpose of enacting term limits on Congress.”

In the 1995 case, Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits, the Supreme Court of the United States opined that only a constitutional amendment could limit the terms of U.S. senators and representatives. According to Nick Tomboulides, executive director of USTL, the best chance of imposing term limits on congress is through an Article V Proposal Convention of state legislatures.

“The Constitution allows for amendments to be proposed by either 3/4 of Congress or 3/4 of the states. While we’d like for Congress to take the high road and impose limits on itself — our goal is to trigger the latter, a convention of states,” Tomboulides said. “That is why it is important to get buy-in from state legislators.”

Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.

“More than 82 percent of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership,” Blumel said. “The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits amendment. Mizell knows this and is willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.”

According to the last nationwide poll on term limits conducted by McLaughlin & Associates in January 2018, the concept of term limits enjoys wide bipartisan support. McLaughlin’s analysis states, “Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 82 percent of voters approve of a constitutional amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress.”