In a citizen led initiative, the Michigan State Office Amendment, known as Proposal B, was placed on the ballot in 1992, and passed by a vote of 58.7% to 41.3%. Currently, a legislator may serve a total of three terms, or six years in the House and two terms or eight years in the Senate. In a study conducted by Public Sector Consultants, Inc., published on June 4, 1993, "There was no clear-cut and overriding reason why voters supported or opposed Proposal B."  According to the report, "Yes voters reasoned that limits would

• bring new ideas and people to state government;

• cause politicians to do what is right rather than what is popular;
• control interest group influence;
• keep politicians more in touch with the citizenry; and/or
• shake up the system.

No voters reasoned that term limits were a bad idea because they would
• undermine the voters' ultimate right to keep or oust an official;
• disrupt an electoral system that was working fine; or
• cause a loss of clout (i.e., the ability to bring home the bacon) in Washington, D.C., or Lansing."

Between 2000 and 2011, over fifty pieces of legislation attempting to repeal, extend, or otherwise alter term limits, were introduced both in the House or Senate. None of this legislation was passed in committee, and since 2011, there has been no legislation introduced. Recently, leaders on both sides of the aisle have spoken positively in regards to altering term limits.

Proposals to limit the terms of state legislators have been the subject of much public policy debate since 1990. Michigan is one of fifteen states that have term limits, and one of six that have a lifetime ban on serving in the legislature once the respective term limit is reached. According to the Michigan Constitution of 1963, Article IV Section 54 states that, "No person shall be elected to the office of state representative more than three times. No person shall be elected to the office of state senate more than two times." Term limits - the only ballot issue in 1992 approved by the electorate - was a significant issue for many of Michigan residents. While there is no current legislation- and hasn't been since 2011- legislators on both sides of the aisle have positively discussed potential changes for Michigan's legislative term limits.

Arguments

In 1992, 58.7% of the electorate approved Proposal B, officially writing term limits into the state constitution. In the Spring of 2009, Michigan State University's Institute for Public Policy and Social Research conducted it's "Michigan State of the State" survey. Two questions regarding changes to term limits were asked to the 1,036 eligible voters. The first question asked if term limits should be kept at 14 years, but to allow an individual to divide the years between the House and Senate in any way; 53.7% of respondents found this favorable, 41.7% of respondents opposed the change, and 4.7% of those surveyed chose not to respond. The second question asked the favorability of changing term limitations from lifetime term limits to limits on the number of consecutive years in office, after a set time the legislator could run again; 61.8% of respondents found this favorable, 35.8% of respondents opposed this change, and 2.4% of those surveyed chose not to respond.

Supporters of term limits believe that elected officials begin to treat their position as a permanent career, rather than a public service, resulting in professional politicians. This arguably leads to politicians being out of touch with citizens and becoming more representative of special interests. Supporters argue that legislative turnover has created opportunities for participation by groups that historically had not had access to the political process, as well as, bringing in fresh ideas and minds into the legislature.

Opponents assert that the intricacy of legislation and public policy requires considerable experience and professionalism. Opponents argue that with so many new legislators arriving at the capital, special interests gain influence, and the knowledge about policy and processes will be from lobbyists, rather than elected officials. As a result, opponents argue that collegiality among legislators has decreased, as has relationships with other party legislators decreasing bipartisanship. Opponents question if term limits violate democracy's basic ideals, voters have the power to select who represents them.

Alternatives

Michigan's Constitutional term limits are among the most restrictive in the nation. According to the Michigan Society of Association Executives in a report complied in 2012, term limits have forced a large number of legislators out of office, and there has been little change in the type of candidates being elected to office. Also, according to YUDU, "term limits may have shifted power away from legislators towards legislative staff who have longer institutional memories and greater experiences." As quoted in MIRS, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville (R-Monroe) called term limits a "mixed bag," in the past, and has since stated that he would like the (97th) legislature to take another look at term limits. As quoted in MIRS, Senate Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer (D-East Lansing) stated, "I think term limits stink," and when asked about eliminating term limits, she said "I have to explore that."Eliminating term limits has been proposed and consistently shot down. The Michigan electorate as a whole has shown to not be supportive of total elimination. Instead, there are two prominent alternatives for changing term limitations. Even with bipartisan legislative support, any change to Michigan's term limits would require a constitutional amendment and thus citizen approval.

The first option for changing Michigan's Constitutional term limits is restructuring the current law. Currently, the legislator can serve a total of six years in the House and eight years in the Senate for a combined total of fourteen years. Restructuring would allow the legislator to serve a combined total of amount of time in either the House or Senate. House Joint Resolution C in 2011, proposed similar changes; allowing a legislator to serve a combined total of fourteen years in either the House or Senate. However, the resolution was not taken up in the Committee on Redistricting and Elections. Additionally, changing the combined total of time allowed to serve to twelve years rather than fourteen years coincides with the election cycle. This would allow the legislator to serve up to six terms in the House, three terms in the Senate, a combination of both, or the combined time in one chamber.

The second option for changing Michigan's Constitutional term limits is replacing the current lifetime ban with a consecutive ban. This would keep Michigan's current term limits, but after a legislator is termed out, he or she could run again after a set period of time. Nine of the fifteen states with term limits have this type of ban, with a waiting period of two or four years. No legislation has been introduced with changing the lifetime ban to a consecutive ban.

Sources:

Ruff, C., & Rustem, W. (1993, June 4). Term Limits and New Political Realities .Public Sector Consultants, Inc. Retrieved February 18, 2013, from www.pscinc.com/Portals/0/Publications/PSR/MI_Commentary/1993/060493.pdf

Michigan Term Limits Amendment, Proposal B (1992). (n.d.). Ballotpedia. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Michigan_Term_Limits_Amendment,_Proposal_B_(1992)

Michigan State of the State 52. (2009, July 16). Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. Retrieved February 19, 2013, from ippsr.msu.edu/soss/SOSSArchive/Codebooks/SOSS52wt_CBK.pdf

The Effects of a Term Limited Legislature in Michigan. (n.d.). Yudu - Your Digital editions. Retrieved February 20, 2013, from content.yudu.com/Library/A1vrde/TheEffectsofaTermLim/resources/index.htm

MIRS. (2013, January 29). MIRS Capitol Capsule, Tuesday, January 29, 2013.MIRS. Retrieved February 20, 2013, from www.mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=4010#34236

MIRS. (2012, October 18). MIRS Capitol Capsule, Thursday, October 18, 2012.MIRS. Retrieved February 20, 2013, from www.mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=3944#33135

Term Limits Legislation Database. (n.d.).NCSL Home. Retrieved February 22, 2013, from http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/legisdata/term-limits-legislation-database.aspx

Term Limits Legislation Database. (n.d.).NCSL Home. Retrieved February 22, 2013, from http://www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/legisdata/term-limits-legislation-database.aspx