[As Amended by House Committee of the
Whole]
As Amended by House Commettee
Session of 1997
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5020
By Representatives Weber, Aurand, Ballou, Farmer, Flower,
Glasscock,
Horst,
Landwehr, Mason, McKechnie, Minor, Mollenkamp, Morrison,
J.
Peterson, Spangler and Vining
3-5
14
A PROPOSITION to amend section 2 of article 2 of the
constitution of
15 the state of Kansas,
relating to senators and representatives.
16
17 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the
State of Kansas, two-thirds of the
18 members elected (or
appointed) and qualified to the House of Repre-
19 sentatives and
two-thirds of the members elected (or appointed) and
20 qualified to the
Senate concurring therein:
21 Section
1. The following proposition to amend the constitution of
the
22 state of Kansas shall be submitted to the
qualified electors of the state
23 for their approval or rejection: Section 2
of article 2 of the constitution
24 of the state of Kansas is hereby amended to
read as follows:
25
``ยง 2. Senators and representatives.
(a) The number of repre-
26 sentatives and
senators shall be regulated by law, but shall not ex-
27 ceed one hundred
twenty-five representatives and forty
forty-one
28 senators.
Representatives and senators shall be elected from single-
29 member districts
prescribed by law. Representatives shall be
30 elected for
two-year terms. Senators shall be elected for
four-year
31
terms. The terms of representatives and senators
shall commence
32 on the second Monday
of January of the year following election.
33
(b) (1) At the election of representatives
in 2000 the year
34 2002,
representatives elected from even-numbered districts shall
be
35 elected for
two-year terms and representatives elected from odd-
36 numbered districts
shall be elected for four-year terms. At the elec-
37 tion of
representatives ] in 2002, and
the year 2004, and every
38 tenth year
thereafter, representatives shall be elected for
four-year
39 terms.
After December 31, 2000, no person shall serve for more
than
40 three
successive four-year terms as representative. terms
not to
41 exceed four
years. [After December 31, 2002, no person shall
42 be elected for more
than three successive terms as represen-
43 tative; except that
if a petition signed by at least 20% of the
HCR 5020--Am. by HCW
2
1 qualified
electors of a representative-district is filed in the
2 office of the
secretary of state by 12:00 noon June 10 prior
3 to the
primary election requesting that such limitation be sus-
4 pended, such
limitation shall be suspended for the purpose
5 of the
election held in that year.]
6
(2) At the election of senators in
2000 the year 2002: (A)
Sen-
7 ators elected
from district number one and each successive district,
8 the number of
which is determined by adding three to the number
9 of the
preceding district, shall be elected for two-year terms;
(B)
10 senators elected
from district number two and each successive dis-
11 trict, the number
of which is determined by adding three to the
12 number of the
preceding district, shall be elected for four-year
13 terms; and (C)
senators elected from district number three and each
14 successive
district, the number of which is determined by adding
15 three to the number
of the preceding district, shall be elected for
16 six-year terms. At
the election of senators in 2002 and
the year
17 2004, and every
tenth year thereafter, senators shall be elected
18 for
six-year terms. After December 31, 2000, no person shall
serve
19 for more
than two successive six-year terms as
senator.'' for terms
20 not to exceed six
years[. After December 31, 2002, no person
21 shall be elected
for more than two successive terms as sena-
22
tor].''
23 Sec. 2. The
following statement shall be printed on the ballot with
24 the amendment as a whole:
25 ``Explanatory
statement. This amendment would allow the leg-
26 islature to increase
the number of state senators from 40 to 41 and
27 would increase terms
of state representatives from two to four years
28 and terms of state
senators from four to six years. The amendment
29 would also stagger
terms of members of both houses of the legis-
30 lature and
limit the number of consecutive terms for which a
person
31 can serve as a
representative or senator after 2000 [and limit
the
32 number of
consecutive terms for which a person can serve as
33 a representative or
senator] after the year 2002. [The amend-
34 ment would limit
the number of successive terms a person
35 can be elected as a
representative or senator, unless a peti-
36 tion is filed
requesting the suspension of such limitation.]
37 ``A vote for
this amendment favors allowing the senate to be in-
38 creased to 41 members,
extending and staggering legislators' terms
39 and limiting
the number of consecutive terms for which a person
40 can serve as a
representative or senator after 2000 [and
limiting
41 the number of
consecutive terms for which a person can serve
42 as a representative
or senator; except that if a petition signed
43 by at least 20% of
the qualified electors of a senatorial district
HCR 5020--Am. by HCW
3
1 is filed in
the office of the secretary of state by 12:00 noon
2 June 10 prior
to the primary election requesting that such
3 limitation be
suspended, such limitation shall be suspended
4 for the
purpose of the election held in that year] after the
5 year 2002
[and limiting the number of successive terms for
6 which a
person can be elected as a representative or senator].
7 ``A vote
against this amendment favors retaining current consti-
8 tutional
provisions relating to the number of senators and legisla-
9 tors'
terms.''
10 Sec. 3. This
resolution, if approved by two-thirds of the members
11 elected (or appointed) and qualified to the
House of Representatives and
12 two-thirds of the members elected (or
appointed) and qualified to the
13 Senate, shall be entered on the journals,
together with the yeas and nays.
14 The secretary of state shall cause this
resolution to be published as pro-
15 vided by law and shall cause the proposed
amendment to be submitted
16 to the electors of the state at the general
election in November 1998.
17