House Concurrent Resolution 40

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS 34 AND 35, MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO HAS SERVED THREE CONSECUTIVE TERMS AS A MEMBER OF THE MISSISSIPPI HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OR THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE IS NOT ELIGIBLE TO SERVE AGAIN IN THAT OFFICE UNTIL ONE FULL TERM HAS INTERVENED DURING WHICH THE PERSON DID NOT SERVE IN THAT OFFICE.

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendment to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 is proposed to the qualified electors of the state:

Amend Section 34, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read as follows:

"Section 34. The House of Representatives shall consist of members chosen every four (4) years by the qualified electors of the several counties and representative districts. A person elected as a member of the House of Representatives is eligible to succeed himself or herself in office; however, after serving three (3) full and consecutive four-year terms in the House of Representatives, he or she is not eligible to serve again in that office until at least one (1) full term has intervened during which the person did not serve in that office. Any years served by a member elected to fill a vacancy in office for less than a full four-year term shall not be included in the three-term limitation set forth in this section."

Amend Section 35, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, to read as follows:

"Section 35. The Senate shall consist of members chosen every four (4) years by the qualified electors of the several districts. A person elected as a member of the Senate is eligible to succeed himself or herself in office; however, after serving three (3) full and consecutive four-year terms in the Senate, he or she is not eligible to serve again in that office until at least one (1) full term has intervened during which the person did not serve in that office. Any years served by a member elected to fill a vacancy in office for less than a full four-year term shall not be included in the three-term limitation set forth in this section."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That these proposed amendments shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2011, as provided by Section 273 of the Constitution and by general law, with the amendments in this resolution being voted on as one amendment.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This proposed constitutional amendment provides that a person who has served for three consecutive four-year terms in the Mississippi House of Representatives or the Mississippi Senate is not eligible to serve again in that office until one full term has intervened."

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall submit this resolution, immediately upon adoption by the Legislature, to the Attorney General of the United States or to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in accordance with the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended and extended.