Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-1-2004
Abstract
This paper studies the effect of term limits and the professionalism of legislatures on four states and concludes that term limits appear to have a negative effect on the ability of legislators to navigate the legislative process on behalf of their constituents, and that the professionalism of the legislature may compound this effect. Partisanship within the legislature, unity of government and the strength of the governor are seen as factors in legislative performance. Effectiveness is measured by enactment of legislation and the management of the budget process. This is an exploratory study into the effects of term limits and professionalism on four states representing the possible combinations of these factors: with and without term limits and fulltime and part-time legislatures. This study is based on the perceptions of legislative actors as reported in a series of interviews. Further study is recommended to extend this study to most of the states and to add a dimension of time to the examination.
Keywords
term limits (public office)--United States--States, legislative bodies--United States--States
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Waters, Susan B., "The Effect of Term Limits on State Legislative Effectiveness" (2004). Student Scholarship. 442.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/442