What are the effects of term limits on state legislatures?
It is difficult to draw general conclusions about the effects of term limits, because there is significant variation not only among the types of legislatures that have term limits, but also among the limits themselves. For instance, the way term limits affect a large, professionalized legislature like California is very different from the way they affect a smaller, part-time legislature like Arkansas. More restrictive limits, like California’s lifetime limit of 6 years in the Assembly and 8 in the senate, tend to produce more dramatic results than less restrictive limits, like Colorado’s consecutive limit of 8 years in each chamber. NCSL, in cooperation with the Council of State Governments, the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, and a group of legislative scholars from around the country, is currently engaged in a major study of the effects of term limits. Results of the study will be published in late 2004. For information on the study, visit the home page of the Joint Project on
