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U.S. Term Limits
| U.S. Term Limits | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | 501(c)(4) |
| Top official: | Philip Blumel, President |
| Year founded: | 1990 |
| Website: | Official website |
U.S. Term Limits (or USTL) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that lobbies for term limits for elected officials at each level of government in the United States. Among other activities, USTL supports ballot initiatives as a way for citizens to impose term limits on elected officials. The organization was established in 1990. Since the group began, according to USTL's website, "term limits have been placed on 15 state legislatures, city councils in eight of the ten largest American cities, and 37 states have placed term limits on their elected officials."[1]
Mission
According to the U.S. Term Limits website, the group's mission is as follows:[1]
| “ |
US Term Limits stands up against government malpractice. We are the voice of the American citizen. We want a government of the people, by the people, and for the people- not a ruling class who care more about deals to benefit themselves, than their constituents.[2] |
” |
Background
Established in 1990, U.S. Term Limits is an organization that seeks to place term limit initiatives on ballots. The organization is aiming to implement term limits at multiple levels of government, including the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, and offices at the municipal, county, and state levels.[1][3]
Article V
The UTSL website provides a sample application for term limits that falls under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, which outlines the process for passing constitutional amendments. The sample is as follows:[4]
| “ |
Section 1. The legislature of [INSERT STATE NAME] hereby makes an application to Congress, as provided by Article V of the Constitution of the United States of America, to call a convention limited to proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected as a Member of the United States House of Representatives and to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected as a Member of the United States Senate. Section 2. The Secretary of State is hereby directed to transmit copies of this application to the President and Secretary of the Senate of the United States and to the Speaker, Clerk and Judiciary Committee Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States, and copies to the members of the said Senate and House of Representatives from this State; also to transmit copies hereof to the presiding officers of each of the legislative houses in the several States, requesting their cooperation. Section 3. This application shall be considered as covering the same subject matter as the applications from other States to Congress to call a convention to set a limit on the number of terms that a person may be elected to the House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States and the Senate of the United States; and this application shall be aggregated with same for the purpose of attaining the two-thirds of states necessary to require Congress to call a limited convention on this subject, but shall not be aggregated with any other applications on any other subject. Section 4. This application constitutes a continuing application in accordance with Article V of the Constitution of the United States of America until the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the several states have made applications on the same subject.[2] |
” |
Work
Since it began, according to U.S. Term Limits, the organization has helped impose term limits on 15 state legislatures. The organization has also worked on the municipal level, having helped pass term limits on mayors and city councils in eight out of the 10 largest cities in the U.S. In 37 states, USTL has passed term limits on constitutional officers.[1]
UTSL cites 11 "battleground" states, in which the organization is seeking to pass the Article V Term Limits Amendment:[5]
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Missouri
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- West Virginia
In 2016, USTL began a campaign to begin an Article V Convention, which would allow the imposition of term limits on Congress without congressional approval. According to USTL, the process is as follows:[6]
- Two-thirds of state legislatures (34) must pass bills applying for a convention to consider only amendments for congressional term limits.
- Congress is compelled by law to call the convention, which includes delegates chosen solely by their respective states.
- The convention reports out an amendment for congressional term limits.
- The amendment must be ratified by either three-quarters (38) of state legislatures or state conventions.
Ballot measures
- See also: Term limits on the ballot
| Year | State | Measure | Position | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Illinois | Illinois Term Limits for Legislators Amendment (2014) |  [7] |
Not on ballot |
| 2014 | Arkansas | Issue 3 |  [8] |
 |
| 2008 | South Dakota | Amendment J | |
 |
| 2008 | California | Proposition 93 | |
|
| 2007 | Maine | Question Five | |
|
| 2006 | Oregon | Measure 45 | |
|
Noteworthy events
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
- See also: U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
In 1992, Jacob helped place term limits on ballots in 14 states, which was followed in 1994 with measures in eight more states. In 1995, a case challenging the legality of a state placing restrictions on congressional terms was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court as U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton.[9] The Supreme Court concluded, by a 5-4 vote, that it was not legal for a state to impose term limits on elected federal positions.[10] The result of the court's decision de facto struck down all 23 laws that U.S. Term Limits had helped pass around the country. In 1996, U.S. Term Limits put forth new term limit measures in 14 states.[11]
Leadership
Below is a list of U.S. Term Limits' board of directors:[12]
- Howard Rich, Chairman, U.S. Term Limits
- John Aglialoro, Chairman, U.S. Term Limits Foundation
- Philip Blumel, President
- Duncan Scott
- Travis Anderson
- Paul Jacob
- Joseph Stilwell
- Paul Farago
- Tim Jacob
- Steve Merican
Finances
The following is a breakdown of U.S. Term Limits' revenue from contributions and grants received, total revenue and expenses for the 2012-2014 fiscal years, as reported to the IRS.
| Contributions and grants received, total revenue, and expenses for the Main Street Advocacy Fund, 2012-2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax Year | Contributions and grants received | Total annual revenue | Expenses |
| 2014[13] | $1,069,414 | $1,069,414 | $1,309,009 |
| 2013[14] | $266,217 | $266,217 | $80,907 |
| 2012[15] | $1,046,444 | $1,046,444 | $655,457 |
| 2011[15] | $4553,419 | $553,419 | $427,126 |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'U.S. Term Limits'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
External links
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 U.S. Term Limits, "About," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ USTL, "Activism," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ UStL, "Sample Application Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ USTL, "Battle Ground States," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ USTL, "Article V," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ USTL, "Illinois," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ USTL, "Arkansas," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ Oyez, "U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton," accessed May 18, 2016
- ↑ Justia.com, "U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton - 514 U.S. 779 (1994)," accessed December 27, 2013
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Paul Jacob," accessed May 18, 2016
- ↑ USTL, "Our Board of Directors," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ Guidestar, "U.S. Term Limits, IRS Form 990 (2014)," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ Guidestar, "U.S. Term Limits, IRS Form 990 (2013)," accessed May 19, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Guidestar, "U.S. Term Limits, IRS Form 990 (2012)," accessed May 19, 2016
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