Term Limits
A Calvin College professor of political science will take part in a two-day forum on term limits next week in Columbus, Ohio.
Dr. James Penning (left), a Calvin professor since 1975, will be part of a panel discussion called "Coping With Term Limits: The Experience of Other States." That panel will include papers on the term limits experiences of California, Colorado, Maine and Michigan.
Penning will present a paper called "Michigan: The End Is Near." "Ohio is just starting to implement term limits," Penning says, "so they're quite interested in the experiences of other states. We (Michigan) have the benefit now of several years under term limits and the people in Ohio are interested in what we have to say."
Penning did a wide variety of research for the paper, including a survey of all Michigan legislators. Interestingly, that survey was a repeat of one that Penning did in 1994, before term limits directly affected any legislator. In 1994 he had a 42 percent response rate and in 1999 a 61 percent response rate, so much of his paper includes the perspective of lawmakers, those directly impacted by term limits.
Penning believes term limits have been a "mixed bag" for Michigan.
"They (term limits) have brought in new blood," he says, "and that's one of the things proponents hoped would happen. But we've lost good, experienced leaders and although we're gaining good people it takes time for them to learn the ropes. We didn't fully recognize all of the implications of term limits and I'm not sure we do yet. Term limits are still playing themselves out."
Term limits go back to the founding fathers, Penning says, but the latest wave, which began in the early 1990s, has been the most significant in U.S. political history. Of the 21 states which passed term limits in the last decade, 18 still have those limits (three were overturned by their state Supreme Courts).
Penning notes that limits vary from state to state and that limits had different impacts in different states. "In Michigan," he says, "stringent term limits were imposed on a professional legislature with career politicians. Thus, they are having a very significant impact."
Penning notes that Michigan's limits are, in fact, the most stringent in the nation, allowing members of the Michigan House to a maximum of three two-year terms and members of the Michigan Senate to a maximum of two four-year terms. In addition the limits are for a lifetime.
"You serve your six years (in the House)," Penning says, "and you can't serve (in the House) again." Penning believes that term limits can serve Michigan well, saying that elections in Michigan generally favor incumbents and lead to little or no turnover in the House and the Senate.
But he believes the limits need to be lengthened, saying that the present rate of turnover leads to a slew of problems, including lack of experience in key leadership positions; strained institutional relations with the governor, lobbyists and staff; and lack of collegiality in the House and Senate.
In 1999-2000, after term limits had kicked in, the mean years of service in the Michigan House was 2.19 years. In 1989-1990, before term limits, the mean was 9.01 years of service. The Speaker of the House used to have 11 years of experience prior to becoming Speaker; now, with a six-year maximum term for House members, Speakers assume the speakership with, at most, four years experience.
"Legislators from both parties," says Penning, "today tend to have far less legislative experience than did their predecessors."
Governor John Engler, who endorsed the 1992 ballot proposal, recognizes the dangers of such trends, noting that: "It's a bit disconcerting to see members who've never served a day in the Legislature already plotting their campaigns to become Speaker."
Penning is not hopeful that, despite the proddings of such political heavy hitters as Engler, change will come anytime soon. "It will take a constitutional amendment to change term limits," he says, "and that needs a two-thirds vote in both houses. It then has to be approved by a majority of the voters."
Penning's survey of lawmakers shows that in 1999, 58% of the responding Representatives and 52% of the responding Senators opposed term limits.
"The votes to overturn term limits," says Penning, "aren't there."
He notes, however, that in 2002 the Michigan Senate will become "fully termed," adding that that turn of events could serve as an impetus for a new look at term limits. "Until then," he says, "we'll be living with limits."