National Voter Opportunity To Inform Congress Effectively on Term Limits Act

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Voter Opportunity To Inform 
Congress Effectively on Term Limits Act'' (the ``VOICE Act'').

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the right of citizens of the United States to vote is a 
        fundamental right;
            (2) the right of citizens of the United States to have an 
        effective voice in the decisionmaking processes of the Congress 
        is grounded in the right to petition and is a fundamental part 
        of American democracy, and Congress should provide an 
        opportunity for citizens to express their views on important 
        public issues;
            (3) there is an increasing public sentiment and demand for 
        limiting the terms of members of Congress; and
            (4) voters in 15 States have already voted and approved 
        State laws to limit the terms of their congressional 
        delegations, and voters in other States have expressed their 
        interest in also having the opportunity to also vote on term 
        limits for members of Congress.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to give the citizens of every State the opportunity to 
        have a voice on whether or not the terms of members of Congress 
        should be limited; and
            (2) to conduct a national non binding referendum on term 
        limits in the 1994 general election, thereby affording an 
        opportunity to study the feasibility of conducting national non 
        binding referenda on other important issues in the future.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``advisory question'' means the question 
        stated in section 4(b);
            (2) the term ``general election'' means an election for 
        Federal office held in 1994;
            (3) the term ``Federal office'' means the office of a 
        member of the House of Representatives, Senate, or Delegate to 
        the Congress, or resident commissioner of a territory of the 
        United States; and
            (4) the term ``State election agency'' means the official 
        agency of a State or territory charged with the legal 
        responsibility for conducting general elections within that 
        jurisdiction.

SEC. 4. PROCEDURES FOR NATIONAL VOTER OPPORTUNITY TO INFORM CONGRESS 
              EFFECTIVELY ON TERM LIMITS NON BINDING REFERENDUM.

    (a) In General.--Each State shall place on the general election 
ballot the advisory question concerning term limits for members of 
Congress.
    (b) Advisory Question.--Not later than August 1, 1994, the Clerk of 
the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate shall 
jointly certify to the appropriate State election agencies for 
inclusion on the general election ballot in each congressional 
district, the following question:

             ``national advisory referendum on term limits

    ``Should Congress propose a constitutional amendment to limit the 
number of terms that a Member of the United States House of 
Representatives and United States Senator can serve in office?
              ``Yes                No''.
    (c) Transmission of Certified Results to the Congress, All Members, 
and Committees on the Judiciary.--The results of each State's non 
binding referendum on the advisory question shall be certified by the 
State election agency to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and 
the Secretary of the Senate in the same manner and at the same time of 
the certification of election of members of the House of 
Representatives and Senate for the general election. The results shall 
be certified by county, congressional district, and statewide totals. 
The Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, in light of the results of 
the non binding referendum, shall examine whether the Congress should 
propose an amendment to the Constitution providing for term limits and 
submit their recommendations for response to the House of 
Representatives and Senate within 6 months after the general election.
    (d) Comments Regarding Procedures for Future Non Binding 
Referenda.--Not later than 90 days after the general election, the 
State election agencies shall forward to the Clerk of the House of 
Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate their comments or 
suggestions regarding changes or improvements in procedures for 
conducting national non binding referenda in future general elections. 
All such comments shall be referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of 
the Senate.
    (e) Reimbursement of Costs.--The costs of including the advisory 
question required by this Act shall be reimbursed by the United States 
upon submission by the State election agency of the actual costs of 
conducting the non binding referendum in the State. All reimbursements 
to State election agencies for the costs of conducting the non binding 
referendum shall be made from the franking accounts of the Congress, 
with equal amounts drawn from the franking accounts of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate to reimburse the States for such 
expenses. The Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary 
of the Senate shall be responsible for ensuring the proper application 
for and reimbursement of such expenses.

Summary: National Voter Opportunity To Inform Congress Effectively on Term Limits Act - Requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to certify to appropriate State agencies for inclusion on the 1994 general election ballot in each congressional district a national advisory referendum that asks whether the Congress should propose a constitutional amendment to limit the number of terms that a Member of Congress can serve in office. Requires each State to place such question on the ballot. Requires the results of each State's non-binding referendum on the advisory question to be certified by the State election agency to the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate in the manner and at the same time of the certification of election of Members of the Congress for the general election. Requires the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, in light of the non binding referendum results, to examine whether the Congress should propose an amendment to the Constitution providing for term limits and submit their recommendations for response to the Congress within six months after the general election. Requires the State election agencies to forward to the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate their comments or suggestions regarding changes or improvements in procedures for conducting national non-binding referenda in future general elections. Requires: (1) the costs of including the advisory question required by this Act to be reimbursed by the United States upon submission by the State election agency of the actual costs of conducting the non-binding referendum in the State. And (2) such reimbursements to be made from the franking accounts of the Congress divided equally between the two Houses. Makes the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate responsible for ensuring the proper application for and reimbursement of such expenses.