HOUSE BILL REPORT

HJR 4212

BYRepresentatives Fisher, S. Wilson, Fisch, Pruitt, Amondson, Barnes, Leonard, Sanders, K. Wilson, Haugen, Patrick, Ballard, Silver, Grimm, Brooks, Madsen, Walk, Rayburn, Belcher, Nelson, O'Brien, Sayan, Armstrong, Crane, McMullen, Nutley, Chandler, Schmidt, Betrozoff, J. Williams, Walker,  Gallagher, Zellinsky, Nealey, Allen, Winsley, Miller, Hankins, Hine, Brough, C. Smith, Lux, Meyers, Taylor, May and Ferguson

Lengthening legislative terms.

House Committe on Constitution, Elections & Ethics

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (7)

      Signed by Representatives Fisher, Chair; Pruitt, Vice Chair; Amondson, Barnes, Fisch, Leonard and Sanders.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 11, 1987

BACKGROUND:

The state's constitution establishes the length of the terms of office for members of the legislature.  Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and members of the Senate serve four-year terms.  Every two years, one-half of the members of the Senate are to stand for election.

SUMMARY:

The state's constitution is amended.  The term of office for a member of the Senate is extended to six years.  A person elected to the House of Representatives shall serve a four-year term unless the person resigns or seeks other legislative office.

Procedures are established for staggering the terms so that, as nearly as possible, one half of the members of the House and one-third of the members of the Senate will be elected every two years.

At the general election held in November 1988, the candidate for the House receiving the greatest number of votes in each representative district shall be elected to a four-year term and the winning candidate with the second highest number of votes shall be elected to a two-year term, and thereafter for a term of four years.  Elections of House members shall be conducted in November of even-numbered years unless changed by law.

Senatorial districts shall be divided into three groups:  the first group consisting of every first district; the second, of every second district; and the third, of every third district.  For senators elected in 1988, those from the first and second groups shall serve four-year terms and those from the third group, six-year terms.  For senators elected in 1990, those from the first group shall serve four-year terms and those from the second and third groups, six-year terms.  Thereafter all shall be elected to six-year terms.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

Effective Date:The constitutional amendment becomes effective if it is adopted and ratified by the voters at the November 1987 general election.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Representative S. Wilson.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (1) The workload of legislators has grown two- or three-fold during recent years; two years is not enough time in which to conduct successfully the requirements of the office.  (2) The pressure to begin campaigning for the next election begins right after an election for House members is over.  A four-year term for House members would reduce these pressures.  Such House terms and six-year Senate terms would also reduce the aggregate cost of campaigns for seats in the legislature during a given election.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.