00CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5(JUD)                                                                                
01 Proposing amendments to the Constitution of the State of Alaska relating to terms                                       
02 of legislators.                                                                                                         
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04    * Section 1.  Article II, sec. 3, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended to read:                           
05  SECTION 3.  ELECTION AND TERMS.  (a) Legislators shall be elected at                                                
06 general elections.  Their terms begin on the fourth Monday of the January following                                     
07 election unless otherwise provided by law.  The term of representatives shall be two                                    
08 years, and the term of senators, four years.  One-half of the senators shall be elected                                 
09 every two years.  A person may not serve consecutively during more than twelve                                         
10 regular sessions in the legislature.  Thereafter, the person may not again serve in                                     
11 the legislature as a result of election or appointment to fill a vacancy until at least                                 
12 two consecutive full regular sessions  have elapsed during which the person has not                                     
13 served.                                                                                                                
14    * Sec. 2.  Article II, sec. 3, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended by adding new                         

01 subsections to read:                                                                                                    
02  (b)  For purposes of applying the tenure limit under (a) of this section, periods                                     
03 served in the legislature during the interim between sessions or during special sessions                                
04 shall not be considered.  Unless a member of one house resigns and is appointed to                                      
05 office in the other house, periods served in the legislature as a result of appointment to                              
06 fill a vacancy shall not be considered for purposes of determining whether the tenure                                   
07 limit has been reached.                                                                                                 
08  (c)  Notwithstanding (a) of this section, a person may complete a four-year senate                                    
09 term to which elected if the person has served consecutively during no more than ten                                    
10 regular sessions in the legislature immediately before the beginning of the senate term.                                
11    * Sec. 3.  Article XV, Constitution of the State of Alaska, is amended by adding a new                               
12 section to read:                                                                                                        
13     SECTION 29.  APPLICATION OF 1996 TENURE LIMIT AMENDMENT.                                                           
14 Regular sessions served in the legislature before the convening of the First Regular                                    
15 Session of the Twentieth Alaska State Legislature shall not be considered for purposes                                  
16 of applying the tenure limit added by the 1996 amendment to Section 3 of Article II.                                    
17    * Sec. 4.  The amendments proposed by this resolution shall be placed before the voters of                           
18 the state at the next general election in conformity with art. XIII, sec. 1, Constitution of the State                  
19 of Alaska, and the election laws of the state.