The Veterans are All Gone: Evaluating Term Limits after Implementation

57 Pages Posted: 24 Aug 2011

See all articles by Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson

Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson

Wayne State University

Lyke Thompson

Wayne State University

Charles Elder

Wayne State University

Abstract

After nearly 13 years of research and more than 400 interviews with state legislators in Michigan’s State House and State Senate, the authors present an initial look at the impact of term limits on Michigan’s state legislature. In Michigan legislators expelled from lower chambers often ran for a seat in the upper chamber. So for many years after term limits were initially implemented, the upper chamber in Michigan continued to be dominated by veterans who, although new to that chamber, had served for decades in the lower chamber. Now veteran legislators have been purged from both chambers in Michigan. And only now, we argue, can one evaluate the full impact of legislative term limits on state government. We found that there were more changes in the pre- and post-term-limits State Senate than there were in the pre- and post-term-limits House, to our surprise. Additionally we found that term limits interact in some unexpected and puzzling ways with political party, opposition party status, legislative chamber and sharing the Governor’s party.

Suggested Citation

Sarbaugh-Thompson, Marjorie and Thompson, Lyke and Elder, Charles, The Veterans are All Gone: Evaluating Term Limits after Implementation. APSA 2011 Annual Meeting Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1916417 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1916417

Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson (Contact Author)

Wayne State University ( email )

Department of Physiology, Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202
United States

Lyke Thompson

Wayne State University ( email )

Department of Physiology, Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202
United States

Charles Elder

Wayne State University ( email )

Department of Physiology, Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202
United States

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