Georgia CommonsSR 23: US Congress; limited to proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected; apply to call a convention
Last action March 20, 2026 · House Withdrawn, Recommitted
A Georgia Senate resolution formally asks the United States Congress to call a constitutional convention limited to proposing term limits for members of the U.S. House and Senate.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the resolution and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
This resolution does not change any Georgia law. Instead, it uses Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which lets two-thirds of the states force Congress to call a convention to propose constitutional amendments, without waiting for Congress to act on its own. The Georgia Senate applies to Congress to call such a convention, but strictly limited to one topic: setting term limits for members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The resolution says Georgia's application should be combined with similar applications from other states on the same subject, so they can add up toward the two-thirds of states needed. It also asks Congress to create strict criminal penalties for anyone who tries to expand the convention beyond term limits, and it declares the application stays active until enough states join in. Copies would go to Congress and other state legislatures.
What the bill does
- Applies to the U.S. Congress on behalf of Georgia to call an Article V convention limited to proposing a constitutional amendment on congressional term limits.
- States that Georgia's application should be aggregated with other states' applications on the identical topic to help reach the two-thirds threshold required by Article V.
- Asks Congress to impose severe criminal penalties on anyone who tries to expand the convention beyond the term limits topic.
- Declares the application to be a continuing one that remains in effect until two-thirds of state legislatures have made the same application.
- Directs copies of the resolution be sent to federal officials and other states' legislatures to encourage similar action.
Who it affects
This resolution directly affects the U.S. Congress and the process for amending the U.S. Constitution. It also involves other state legislatures, since Georgia's application depends on being combined with similar applications from other states to reach the two-thirds threshold.
Why it matters
If enough states pass similar applications, Congress would be constitutionally required to convene a convention to consider term limits for federal lawmakers, a process that has never happened in U.S. history. The resolution itself changes no law but adds Georgia's voice to a long-running national effort.
Key provisions
- The resolution applies to Congress to call a convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution solely to propose term limits for U.S. House and Senate members.
- It specifies the application covers the same subject as other states' applications and should be aggregated with them, but not with applications on other topics.
- It asks Congress to enact severe criminal penalties for anyone who violates the limited scope of the convention call.
- It states the application remains a continuing one in effect until two-thirds of state legislatures have made applications on the same subject.
- It directs distribution of copies to federal officials, including the Senate president, House speaker, and Judiciary Committee chairperson, and to legislatures of other states.
From the bill
“this body does hereby apply to the United States Congress to call a convention pursuant to Article V of the Constitution of the United States for the sole and express purpose of proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States”
“the United States Congress enact a severe criminal penalty for persons who violate the finite scope of the call”
Status timeline
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
Show full history (10 actions)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
- Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
- John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
- John Albers (R, SD-056)
- Brandon Beach (R, SD-021)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
- Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
- Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
- Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
Votes
- Senate voteFebruary 20, 2025
22 yea, 30 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)
- Senate voteFebruary 20, 2025
34 yea, 18 nay (0 not voting, 4 absent)
Topics
- congressional term limits
- constitutional convention
- Article V
- federal government reform