Legislative Term Limits
Alabama and Arkansas Compared
Term Limits Introduced
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First became popular in late 1980’s
Federally:
– Republican “Contract with America,” 1994
– Legislation did not pass
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The governments of Alabama and Arkansas demonstrate the difference
between non-term-limited and term-limited legislatures, allowing for the
examination of the strengths and weaknesses of legislative term limits.
Alabama
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1
of 35 states who do not have term limits
of 29 states who have never had term limits
Pushes for Term Limits in Alabama
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Governor Bob Riley, 2006 State of the State Address: “No reform will do
more to restore our citizens’ faith in government than term limits…By
enacting term limits, we will return the power of government back to the
people—which is exactly where it belongs.”
House Bill 349, Senate Bill 105: limit to three terms per house (term is at
least two years)
FAILED
Pushes for Term Limits in Alabama
 Alabama
Policy Institute: recommended 6 point compensation
plan including pay raise and term limits
 Session began in March, 62% pay raise has been passed, up to
$49,000/year
 Vetoed by Governor Riley, overridden despite objection of 80%
of citizens
Citizen Initiative Process
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
Initiative: “a procedure whereby citizens can propose new laws or changes
in state constitutions and determine by their votes in an election whether
the proposal will be adopted.”
Possible reason why Alabama does not have term limits
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
15 states with term limits, 6 previously had term limits- only Louisiana
does not have initiative
Without this process, legislators would have to choose to place term limits
upon themselves.
Arkansas
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Amendment 73, 1992- 59.9% vote of approval
Limited to 2, 4-year Senate terms and 3, 2-year House of Representatives
terms
“among the most restrictive state legislative term limits in the nation” –
Joint Project on Term Limits
Limited Arkansas Congressmen- section overruled by Supreme Court in
1998U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
Changes in Arkansas
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1988-1996: 18% turnover
1998 & 2000: 56% turnover in House, 36% in Senate
More Republican members, the advent of new leadership positions, a new
inferiority to the executive branch, the development of various practices,
such as passing on the seat to a son or daughter, to extend incumbency in
the legislature and government
Attempts to Repeal or Change

1999
– HJR 1005
– SJR 10

2001
– HJR 1001, 1013, 1014
– SB 84
– SJR 2, 3

2003
– HB 2803
– HJR 1001, 1006, 1030

2004

2005
– Proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 1- lost by 70.14%
– HJR 1012

FAILED
Term Limits Proponents
 “Term-Limit Progressivism”
 “Term-Limit Populism”
 “Term-Limit Republicanism”
 “Term-Limit Libertarianism”
– Bruce E. Cain and Marc A. Levin
“Term-Limit Progressivism”
 Believe in a professional legislature
 Think that often representatives are corrupted
by their own
career goals
 Envision term limits as a means for providing a rotation of
professionals through the legislature
“Term-Limit Populism”
 Desire more citizen participation
 View term-limits as a way to bring
more average citizens into
the governmental process
“Term-Limit Republicanism”
 See
legislators as trustees, rather than individuals who act
according to the will of their constituents
 Think term limits will allow legislators to truly behave in this
way without being overly concerned with reelection
“Term-Limit Libertarianism”
 Believe that term limits hinder the effectiveness of government
 They desire this result in order to maintain a small government
system
Goals Contradict


“proof that term limits weaken legislative competence would strengthen
opposition among the professionalists…but the same evidence would
strengthen support for term limits among populists and libertarians”
Bruce E. Cain and Marc A. Levin
Citizens and legislators alike must continue to judge the strengths and
weaknesses of term limits, all though it is clear that the issue can be
approached from multiple angles.
Turnover
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Presumably prevents corrupt legislators from becoming career legislators and
remaining in office indefinitely
Arkansas House of Representatives: 100 members, 49 termed out in 1998, 25 in 2000,
14 fourteen in 2002, 36 in 2004, and 29 in 2006
Arkansas Senate: 35 members, 13 termed out in 2000, 11 in 2002, 0 in 2004, and 1 in
2006
“Term limits mean regular open-seat elections. Career politicians make way for fresh
blood and new ideas. Legislators who serve temporarily are more likely to promote
laws that reflect the people’s will and get down to business in the limited time they
have.”
– Paul Farago, spokesman for Oregon’s Term Limits Committee
L e a d e rs h i p

“requiring lawmakers to step down…redistributes the legislative power that used to be
concentrated in a small number of entrenched leaders. ‘I don’t think people want ironfisted dictators ruling their legislature.’”
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Downside:
2004: Arkansas lost the Speaker of the House, the House Majority Leader, the House
Minority Leader, 9 committee chairs, 8 committee co-chairs
2006: Arkansas lost the Speaker of the House and 14 committee chairs
– Eric Kelderman, quoting Paul Jacobs of the U.S. Term Limits advocacy groups

Leadership Changes Necessary
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Formerly: Arkansas had a Speaker and a Speaker Pro Tem
Now: an assistant speaker pro tem for each of the four congressional districts
Now: majority leaders, minority leaders, whips- added as official positions in both
houses
“Under term limits a speaker designate is now selected in their second two-year term,
and a pro tem may be selected just after the conclusion of their first four-year-term and
their successful re-election to another term.”
– Joint Project on Term Limits
Leaders Serve for Less Time
 They
have more to learn in a shorter amount of time and there is
less incentive for other legislators to cooperate with them, as
everyone knows that the time they have in office is limited.
Power Relationships:
Executive v. Legislative
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Before: Legislators often in office much longer than governor
Now: Governor generally on office longer than legislators
“term-limited legislators make far fewer changes in governors’ proposed budgets than
their predecessors did”
– Alan Greenblatt

Arkansas: governor generally has the advantage of having been through a larger
number of budget cycles, giving him the upper hand in conflicts over the budget
Power Relationships:
Executive v. Legislative
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
Governors often control top-level government positions in the state that
term-limited legislators may aspire to be appointed to following their
tenure
“the formal and informal powers of the executive, his dominance with the
media, his experience and staff, seem significantly weighted in favor of
the executive in how term limits has affected power relationships between
the two branches”
– Joint Project on Term Limits
Diversity
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Leading argument of proponents
studies have shown that in term-limited states there has been little or no
increase in diversity
No increase in minorities or females, and no variation in occupational
background or age
Average age of legislators in Arkansas: high forties to the low fifties, just
as it was before term limits
Diversity
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Increases in African Americans in Michigan and Arkansas
“term limits accelerated demographic trends that already were at work in
the state population, leading to these increases”
– Joint Project on Term Limits

Arkansas: it seems that African Americans have gained power, due to the
formation of a Black Legislative Caucus and more open leadership
positions
Decrease in Legislative Knowledge and
Experience

“institutional memory is very important, to have people who remember as
far back as possible to avoid mistakes and to have people who were
witnesses to what has happened before”

New legislators come in with their own agendas, neglecting previous
programs and forfeiting a long-term vision in order to push across their
plans in the short time that they have .
– Massachusetts Representative John McDonough
National Conference of State Legislatures
Survey
 74%
have seen a decrease in legislative efficiency since term
limits
 64% believe that their legislatures are less effective
Legislator Opinions

“Term limits force a large amount of time spent at the legislature to be
focused on bringing legislators up to speed on redundant issues as
opposed to building on institutional knowledge.”
– Unidentified legislator

“The lobbyists and the Legislative Research Council is where the base of
knowledge will be, where the institutional memory will be. It won’t be
with the new lawmakers because they’re still trying to figure out where
the bathrooms are.”
– South Dakota Senator
Lobbyists

Double-Edged Sword:
– seeming to give them more power as legislators depend on them for information
– requiring a lot more work as they lose their established relationships and struggle to educate all of
the new legislators on their issues
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NCSL Survey: 75% report an increase in the power of lobbyists
“by definition lobbyists serve the interests of their clients, not necessarily the best
interest of the state as a whole”
– Jean M. Ross on the dangers of lobbyists becoming the legislature’s institutional memory
Staff
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NCSL Survey: 66% claim that legislative staff has increased in influence

“legislators rely more than ever on nonpartisan staff for roles they have
traditionally filled—providing procedural advice, policy history, and
revenue and budgetary analysis”
– Jennifer Drage Bowser
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Quantity and power of partisan staff has also increased
Power shifting away from legislators?
Ch a n g e s a n d Ad a p ta ti o n s
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Solutions presented in: Coping with Term Limits: A Practical Guide, by Jennifer
Drage Bowser, Keon S. Chi, and Thomas H. Little
Shortage of experience present in legislatures:
– California’s CAPITOL Institute: an example of an expanded orientation and training program that
provide helpful information to make up for the lack of experience
– “new members often report that they are overwhelmed by the information presented in orientation,
or that they find it difficult to apply what they learn until they have actually experienced the
legislative process”
Ch a n g e s a n d Ad a p ta ti o n s
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Leadership Problems:
– Specific ladders of leadership that provide stability
– Earlier selection of leaders
– The advent of new leadership positions, and better preparation of, and
communication with, leaders
– Better preparation of committee chairs could also help with both leadership and
structural issues
Ch a n g e s a n d Ad a p ta ti o n s
 Legislative Staff:
– valuable staff need to be kept and given greater training
– partisan staff need to be centralized and be clearly defined from non-
partisan staff
– staff-legislator relationships need to be improved
Ch a n g e s a n d Ad a p ta ti o n s
 Executive/Legislative Relationship:
– Increased in legislative oversight to check the executive branch
– Maine’s Office of Program Evaluation and Government
Accountability:

“was designed specifically to counteract the reduced policy expertise and
institutional memory of the Legislature under term limits”
Ch a n g e s a n d Ad a p ta ti o n s
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Lobbyists:
– educating legislators on the issues and on the role of lobbyists
– implementing an ethics code for lobbyists
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Other Suggestions:
– Party Caucuses:


Should play a role in helping legislators adapt to term limits
Caucus leaders can recruit qualified candidates, promote relationships among legislators, and
implement mentoring programs
Conclusion

“Term limited legislatures report more general chaos, a decline in civility, reduced
influence of legislative leaders and committees, and in some states, a shift in power
relationships. However…they continue to function efficiently under term limits.”
– Jennifer Drage Bowser

“Legislatures are remarkably resilient institutions.”

Alabama Governor Bob Riley: Plan 2010 includes legislative term limits
– Gary Moncrief and Joel A. Thompson

Alabama, Arkansas, and other states must weigh the advantages and disadvantages and
decide whether term limits are best for them.
Bibliography
Bob Riley for Governor, “Plan 2010: Our Vision for Alabama,” Bob
Riley for Governor, Inc.,
http://www.bobrileyforgovernor.com/Plan2010.aspx (accessed
April 16, 2007).
 Bowser, Jennifer Drage, Keon S. Chi, and Thomas H. Little, Coping
with Term Limits: A
Practical Guide, National Conference of State Legislatures, (2006): 1-23.
 Bowser, Jennifer Drage, “The Effects of Legislative Term Limits,” The
Book of the States 2005,
114-115.
 Cain, Bruce E. and Marc A. Levin, “TERM LIMITS”, Annual Review
of Political Science 2, no.
1: 168-79. Academic Search
Premier,EBSCOhost (accessed February 25, 2007).

Bibliography
Ciamarra, Michael, “Legislator’s Compensation—Tie it to term limit
vote: The Alabama
Legislature Six Point Compensation Plan,”
Alabama Policy Institute,
http://www.alabamapolicy.org/press2007-01-12.html (accessed February 25, 2007).
 Ehinger, John, “The pay-raise gamble,” The Huntsville Times, March
22, 2007,
http://www.al.com/huntsvilletimes/stories/index.ssf?/base/opinio
n/1174554972263020.xml&coll=1 (accessed April 12, 2007).
 English, Art and Brian Weberg, “Term Limits in the Arkansas General
Assembly: A Citizen
Legislature Responds,” Joint Project on Term Limits (2004): 1-47.

Bibliography
Farago, Paul, “Turnover brings fresh blood.” USA Today. Academic
Search Premier,
EBSCOhost, (accessed February 24, 2007).
 Farmer, Rick, “Lemonade from Lemons: Responding To Term Limits
Via Party Caucuses.”
Spectrum: Journal of State Government 74,
no. 4: 36-37. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost
(accessed
February 25, 2007).
 Greenblatt, Alan, “The Limits of Limits,” Wilson Quarterly 30, no. 2:
78-79. Academic Search
Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed February 24, 2007).
 ________. “The Truth About Term Limits,” Governing Magazine
(2006).

Bibliography
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Heavey, Susan, “Term Limits Take Effect,” Washingtonpost.com, 5 March 1999 (accessed
February 25, 2007).
Kelderman, Eric, “Term limits take out legislative leaders,”
Stateline.org,
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=106923 (accessed February 24,
2007).
Lee, McDowell, Alabama’s Legislative Process, S. Doc. 3
Matthews, Merrill, Jr., “Term Limits Have Lost Their Attractiveness,”
Dallas Morning News, 26
June 1998, National Center for Policy Analysis, http://www.ncpa.org/pd/govern/pd052101c.html
(accessed February 25, 2007).
Moncrief, Gary and Joel A. Thompson, “Lobbyists’ Views on Term
Limits,” Spectrum:
Journal of State Government 74, no. 4:13-15.
Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed
February 25, 2007).
Bibliography
National Conference of State Legislatures, “The Effect of Term Limits
in the 2004 Elections,”
National Conference of State Legislatures,
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legismgt/statevote/effectstl.htm (accessed February 24, 2007).
 ________. “The Effect of Term Limits in the 2006 Elections,”
National Conference of State
Legislatures, http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legismgt/about/effects0tl2006.htm (accessed
February 24, 2007).

________. “Frequently Asked Questions about Term Limits,” National
Legislatures, http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legismgt/about/TLFAQ.htm
2007).
 ________. “Statewide Votes on Term Limits,” National Conference of
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/legismgt/about/SWVotesonTL
24, 2007).

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________. “Survey Results: NCSL’s Online Term Limits Poll,”
National Conference of State
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(accessed February 25,
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 ________. “Term Limits Legislation,” National Conference of State
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 Riley, Bob, “Governor Riley’s State of the State Address,” 10 January
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February 24, 200).

Bibliography
Ross, Jean M., “Changes under Term Limits,” Spectrum: Journal of
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 Saffell, David C. and Harry Basehart, State and Local Government: Politics and Public Policies, 8th ed.
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 Verhovek, Sam Howe, “In State Legislatures, 2 nd Thoughts on Term
Limits,” New York Times,
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