Term limits have led to higher turnover in state legislatures, with term-limited states seeing 25-40% membership changes compared to 15-25% in non-term limited states. The experience gap between new and returning legislators has also widened, with fewer members in term-limited chambers having 5+ years of experience. Additionally, term limits have shifted legislators' focus away from constituents towards more public policy issues and the legislative process itself. Governors have gained relative power compared to state legislatures under term limit systems.

1. The Effects of Term Limits
Karl Kurtz
National Conference of State Legislatures

2. Term Limit Provisions
Limit in Years Consecutive Limit Lifetime Limit
6 House/8 Senate AR, MI
8 Total NE
8 House/8 Senate AZ, CO, FL, ME, MT,
OH, SD
MO
12 Total CA, OK
12 House/12 Senate LA NV

3. Turnover and Term Limits:
Membership Change in Houses
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1968 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 2000 2 4 6 8 10
percent
House Turnover in Term-Limited and Non-Term-Limited States
TL States
NTL States
Source: Gary Moncrief, Richard G. Niemi and Lynda W. Powell, "Turnover in State Legislatures: An Update,"
Western Political Science Association, March 22-25, 2008
Term limit
enactment
period

4. The Experience Gap
Percent of Members in Each Chamber With at Least Five
Years Experience at Start of Next Session
-10
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002
6-yr TL 8-yr TL No TL
Source: Gary Moncrief, Richard G. Niemi and Lynda W. Powell, "Turnover in State Legislatures: An Update,"
Western Political Science Association, March 22-25, 2008

5. The “Burkean Shift”
0 1 2 3 4
Talk to constituents
Solve constituent problems
Seek district projects
Send mailings
NTL States
TL States
“Legislators today compared to a decade ago…
Scale: 1 (Much less time) to 5 (Much more time)

6. Legislators’ Knowledge
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
Statewide issues
Process
Committee issues
NTL States
TL States
“Legislators today compared to a decade ago…
Scale: 1 (Much less knowledgeable) to 5 (Much more knowledgeable)

7. House to Senate Movement
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
1994 1996 1998 2000 2002
6-8 yr. TL
12-yr. TL
NTL

8. Experience of House Speakers in TL
Legislatures
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
AZ AR CA CO ME OH Avg.
Averageyearsofservice
3 Pre-TL Spkrs
Post-TL Spkrs
Source: Joint Project on Term Limits

9. Power Shifts over 10 Yrs.
-1
-0.8
-0.6
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
AZ AR CA CO ME OH IL IN KS
Governor Agencies
TL States Control States
Score of Zero Indicates “about the same.”
ExecutiveGainsLegislativeGains
Source: JPTL Knowledgeable Observer Survey, 2003

10. Summary: Effects of Term Limits
• Vary depending on type of legislature
• Loss of experienced legislators
– Less knowledge of substantive issues
– Less institutional knowledge
– More chaotic legislatures
• No effect on who is elected
• Less attention to constituents
• Senates have more experience
• Governors gained power

11. Limits on Leaders’ Terms
Years By Custom By Rule By Statute
2 Florida House
Florida Senate
North Dakota House
South Dakota House
Wyoming House
Arkansas Senate
Wyoming Senate
4 Kansas House
Kansas Senate
Oklahoma House
6 Connecticut House Maine House
Maine Senate
8 Massachusetts House
Massachusetts Senate