COLUMBUS — If Ohio lawmakers insist on trying to weaken legislative term limits, it could spark a counteroffensive to ask voters to make the limits even stricter.
“If we have to fight this fight, it’s just as easy for us to offer a very popular [counter] amendment,” said Maurice Thompson, executive director of the 1851 Center for Constitutional Law and one of the opponents of a proposal to lengthen the time lawmakers are allowed to serve.
The General Assembly created the Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission, consisting of legislators and nonlegislators, nearly three years ago. It is weighing a proposal to ask voters to ease the term-limit restrictions that voters overwhelmingly passed in 1992.
State legislators may serve eight elected years — four two-year terms in the House and two four-year terms in the Senate. Lawmakers may seek to return to the same chamber after sitting out four years.
Some, however, have found a way to stay in Columbus by moving to the opposite chamber, restarting the eight-year clock each time. If they keep switching, they can stay in the legislature indefinitely.
The proposal before the commission asks voters to raise the limit to 12 years.
“I suspect we’ll see something happen,” said Mark Wagoner, an Ottawa Hills lawyer and commission member. He served in the Ohio House and Senate, leaving both before running out his term-limit clock.
“Everybody recognizes that having a healthy debate over term limits is a good thing,” he said. “I don’t see any situation where term limits would be done away with, but there may be consensus to go from 8 to 12 years.
“The reason for that is, in a way, term limits take away voters’ choice,” he said. “If they want to keep electing somebody who has done a good job, why should there be an artificial restriction on doing that? After a while, it makes sense to get new blood in there, but you need to have that balance.”
Mr. Thompson said opponents’ proposed constitutional amendment could call for a lifetime limit on serving in the General Assembly or could seek to prohibit legislators from proposing constitutional amendments affecting their own term limits or pay.
The commission had been set to discuss its proposal on Thursday, but the meeting was canceled.
Restriction opponents argue that they can lead to a decrease in institutional knowledge among the legislators while raising the influence of legislative staff and lobbyists.
“The only argument for making [term limits] longer is that the people they’re imposed on want them to be longer …,” said Philip Blumel, president of U.S. Term Limits and the 1851 Center’s client. “When you look around the country, eight is the norm at all levels of government. It has proven itself to be a working number.”
Contact Jim Provance at: jprovance@theblade.com or 614-221-0496.
First Published May 15, 2015, 4:00 a.m.
