More on Term Limits...

Well, it seems like great minds think alike! Today, Taegan Goddard of Political Wire links to a story by the Associated Press on a report which argues that term limits have not diversified the ranks of elected officials and have also not increased the effectiveness of state legislatures.

"No systematic differences exist in the number of racial and ethnic minorities in the term-limited legislatures versus non-limited legislatures," the report states.

[...]

Twenty-one states imposed term limits between 1990 and 2000. But courts in Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming later overturned those limits, and lawmakers in Utah and Idaho repealed theirs. A ballot measure to reinstate limits in Oregon is headed for a vote in November.

[...]

By 2004, term limits in 13 states forced 1,200 lawmakers out of office, the study found. But many have returned in their assembly's other chamber, or have run for local office.

Turnover in term-limited House chambers was 11.5 percent higher in the 1990s than in the previous decade, leading to a shortage of seasoned lawmakers in statehouses.

"The difference under term limits is that these legislatures no longer have a small group of long-serving members whose leadership and expertise can guide a largely inexperienced legislature," says the report.

MadProfessah heartily endorses the conclusions of the report. It's interesting whether the report considered the increase in openly gay and lesbian members of state legislatures, but I think that result is not primarily due to term limits.

In addition, the rumored legislative deal in California to swap relaxed term limits with an end to partisan redistricting that I blogged about yesterday failed to come to fruition and will not be considered until after the November 2006 election.