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The North Carolina legislature would formally endorse a U.S. constitutional convention that considers sending a congressional term-limit amendment to the states under a resolution approved by the state House on Wednesday.

The call for a convention had support from House Speaker Tim Moore, a resolution sponsor. Moore said limiting the time a U.S. representative or senator can serve in Washington would increase their effectiveness.

Having the same people in Washington for decades “leads to a lot of paralysis, regardless of which party is in charge,” said Moore, a Cleveland County Republican who has served in the state House since 2003. There are no term limits for North Carolina state legislators. Moore said serving in Raleigh is different from Washington because it’s part-time work. The resolution doesn’t propose specific limits on serving.

The resolution was approved on a largely party-line 61-52 vote, but some Republicans opposed the measure. They argued no limits can be placed upon the scope of a constitutional convention, raising worries about a wholesale edit of the U.S. Constitution. And there’s no telling who would be convention delegates, said GOP Rep. Keith Kidwell of Beaufort County.

“We’re going to end up with the same partisan problems,” Kidwell said.

The resolution now goes to the Senate. Congress would convene a term-limits convention if legislatures in 34 states asked for it. And any proposed amendment from the convention would need ratification from 38 states to be implemented.

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