Do term limits constrain a legislature's ability to produce complex and broad policy? I investigate this question by examining patterns of policymaking in six states before and after term limits went into effect in four of them. I find that term limits reduced policy complexity in three hybrid and citizen legislatures, while laws became increasingly intricate in the highly professional California legislature. I conclude that both the institutional context and experience of the term-limited legislators condition the effects of this reform on policymaking. In particular, a legislator's experience—in either state or local government—allows him or her to write broad and complex bills, and in legislatures that provide little staff support to compensate for the inexperience of their new members, term limits can reduce overall legislative policy knowledge, thus reducing the complexity of legislation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllebaughDalenePinneyNeil. 2003. “The Real Costs of Term Limits: Comparative Study of Competition and Electoral Costs.” In The Test of Time: Coping with Legislative Term Limits, eds. FarmerRickDavid RauschJohnJr.GreenJohn C.. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
2.
BermanDavid R.2003. “Effects of Legislative Term Limits in Arizona: Final Report for the Joint Project on Term Limits.” Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.
3.
CainBruce E.KousserThad. 2004. Adapting to Term Limits: Recent Experiences and New Directions. San Francisco, CA: Public Policy Institute of California.
4.
CareyJohnMoncriefGaryNiemiRichardPowellLynda. 2003. “The Effects of Term Limits on State Legislatures: Evidence from a New Survey of the 50 States.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, PA.
5.
Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services. 2001. Bills Passed and Included in Session Laws and Average Number of Pages in Session Laws. Denver, CO: Colorado Office of Legislative Legal Services.
6.
Council of State Governments. 2004. The Book of the States 2004. Vol. 36. Lexington, KY: Council of State Governments.
7.
EnglishArtWebergBrian. 2004. “Term Limits in the Arkansas General Assembly: A Citizen Legislature Responds: Final Report for the Joint Project on Term Limits.” Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.
8.
FarmerRickLittleThomas H.. 2004. “Legislative Power in the Buckeye State: The Revenge of Term Limits: Final Report for the Joint Project on Term Limits.” Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.
9.
FennoRichard F.1973. Congressmen in Committees. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.
10.
GregoryBion M. Various Years. Statutes of California and Digests of Measures. Sacramento, CA: Legislative Counsel.
11.
HuberJohn D.ShipanCharles R.. 2002. Deliberate Discretion? The Institutional Foundations of Bureaucratic Autonomy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
12.
JacobsonGary C.2002. “Partisan and Ideological Polarization in the California Electorate.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly4: 113–39.
13.
KousserJ. Morgan. 1997. “Redistricting: California 1971-2001.” In Governing California: Politics, Government, and Public Policy in the Golden State, eds. LubenowGerald C.CainBruce E.. Berkeley, CA: Institute of Governmental Studies Press.
14.
KousserThad. 2005. Term Limits and the Dismantling of State Legislative Professionalism. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
15.
KrehbielKeith. 1991. Information and Legislative Organization. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
16.
KristolWilliam. 1995. “Term Limitations: Breaking Up the Iron Triangle.” Excerpted in Election Laws: Cases and Materials, ed. Hays LowensteinDaniel. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
17.
MaassArthur. 1983. Congress and the Common Good. New York: Basic Books.
18.
Maine Reviser of Statutes. Various years. Laws of Maine. Augusta, ME: J.S. McCarthy and Company.
19.
National Conference of State Legislatures. 1999. Members Termed Out, 1996-2000. Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.
New Mexico Department of Finance. Various years. Session laws made available to the author at the Department of Finance office, December 21, 2001.
22.
OsborneNathan. 2004. “California's Termed-Out Legislators—Where Do They Go?” Unpublished manuscript. Department of Political Science, University of California, San Diego.
23.
PowellRichard J.2003. “The Unintended Effects of Term Limits on Career Paths of State Legislators.” In The Test of Time: Coping with Legislative Term Limits, eds. FarmerRickDavid RauschJohnJr.GreenJohn C.. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
24.
PowellRichard J.JonesRich. 2004. “Maine: Final Report for the Joint Project on Term Limits.” Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.
25.
SquirePeverill. 1992. “Legislative Professionalization and Membership Diversity in State Legislatures.” Legislative Studies Quarterly17: 69–79.
26.
of IllinoisState. Various years. Laws of the State of Illinois: Passed by the … General Assembly at their … Sessions. Vandalia, IL: State Printers.
27.
of OregonState. Various years. Laws of the State of Oregon: Enacted During the … Session of the Legislative Assembly, begun … concluded…. Salem, OR: A. Bush, State Printer.
28.
StraayerJohn A.2004. “Colorado's Legislative Term Limits: Final Report for the Joint Project on Term Limits.” Denver, CO: National Conference of State Legislatures.
29.
TotheroRebecca A.2000. “The Effect of Term Limits on Legislative Behavior in Michigan and Ohio: Roll-Call Voting and the Last Term of Office.” Presented at the Coping with Term Limits: Ohio and the Nation Conference, Columbus, OH.
30.
WillGeorge F.1992. Restoration: Congress, Term Limits, and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy. New York: Free Press.
