requesting Congress to call a constitutional convention relative to implementing term limits for elected members of both houses of Congress.
Summary
HCR 13 is a House Concurrent Resolution that asks Congress to call an Article V constitutional convention for a single purpose: proposing a U.S. constitutional amendment to impose term limits on elected members of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The resolution states that there are currently no term limits for members of Congress and directs New Hampshire’s clerk to transmit the application to federal officials and to the legislatures of other states.
The measure also declares that New Hampshire’s application should be counted together with similar applications from other states, but only for the term-limits subject, and that it remains a continuing application until two-thirds of the states have applied on the same topic. Because it is a concurrent resolution, it does not change New Hampshire’s own statutes or create state regulatory requirements; instead, it expresses the legislature’s position and seeks to influence the federal constitutional amendment process.
Impact
HCR 13 does not amend New Hampshire law or alter state agency duties, but it has legal significance under Article V of the U.S. Constitution because it is an application for a limited constitutional convention. Its practical effect is to add New Hampshire to any interstate count of states seeking a convention on congressional term limits and to direct official transmission of the application to Congress and other state legislatures. The resolution affects federal constitutional procedure and could contribute to the threshold needed for Congress to call a convention, but it does not itself impose term limits on federal officeholders.
Sentiment
The available voting history suggests the resolution was controversial and did not command broad consensus. On March 12, 2026, the House voted to table the measure by a margin of 188-159, and then voted 139-192 against removing it from the table, indicating that a majority preferred to set it aside rather than advance it. That pattern suggests mixed or divided sentiment, with support for the term-limits concept present but insufficient to overcome procedural resistance.
Contention
The main point of contention is the use of an Article V constitutional convention, which some lawmakers may view as an appropriate way to pursue congressional term limits while others may see it as risky or unnecessary. A second likely point of disagreement is the underlying policy itself: supporters favor limiting congressional tenure to increase turnover and accountability, while opponents may worry about loss of institutional experience or about the broader implications of opening a convention process. The recorded votes show enough opposition to table the resolution and then keep it from being revived, indicating that procedural concerns and/or substantive disagreement both played a role.