Term limits for Nebraska lawmakers have given lobbyists, political parties and executive-branch officials an upper hand in shaping state policy, a state senator said Wednesday.
Holdrege Sen. Tom Carlson told the Legislature's Executive Board that he supports term limits but questioned whether two back-to-back terms are enough to adequately serve Nebraskans.
Carlson has introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to serve up to three consecutive terms, for a total of 12 years in office. Nebraska's term limits for lawmakers went into effect in 2006, after voters approved them in 2000.
"I have no desire to eliminate term limits," Carlson said. "This is simply an adjustment — I think an appropriate adjustment — and I think this is an appropriate time to talk about it."
The proposal has drawn support from the Nebraska Farm Bureau, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry and ACLU Nebraska.
Sen. Mark Christensen of Imperial said Nebraska voters might question whether lawmakers have given the term limits enough time to measure their impact.
"I think that we have, and that's always going to be a question," Carlson said. "If it wasn't now, but four years from now, the same question would be asked. Have we had enough time? I don't think it really matters when you revisit it."
Many conservative lawmakers have said they support term limits, but some described a struggle to learn all of the public policy nuances that accumulate with years of experience.
Five standing committees are slated to lose their chairmen or chairwoman after this year because of term limits, and Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood is serving his final year.
Unlike other states with term limits, Nebraska lawmakers can't run for office in another legislative chamber. Since 1937, it has stood as the nation's only state with a one-house Legislature.
Nebraska voters enacted term limits in 2000, and they went into effect in 2006. It was the fourth time the issue appeared on the ballot, but past efforts were struck down in court. Advocates for term limits said they prevent lawmakers from becoming career politicians and guarantee a steady supply of fresh faces and new ideas. The law bars senators from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms, but they can return after sitting out one term.
Scholars who have studied Nebraska's political history say term limits have prompted less-experienced lawmakers to apply for committee chairmanships earlier, and cost the Legislature some of its institutional memory. Advocates for term limits say the new lawmakers have adapted to their jobs quickly.
No one testified against the proposal on Wednesday. But Flood, who serves on the Executive Board, has said he has no concerns about lawmakers' ability to handle the job with the current limits.
Republican Gov. Dave Heineman has said he opposes efforts to extend term limits, and pointed to Flood as an example of a respected leader in the Legislature who assumed his role after two years as a senator. Flood took office in 2005, and was elected Speaker in 2007.
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The proposal is LR358CA.
