Commentary: Push For Longer Term Limits Buried In Overly Complicated Amendment

Tim Jacob, chairman of Arkansas Term Limits, opposes the measure for Arkansas term limits on the November ballot.

That may seem like a non sequitur, but Jacob would say it's the ballot proposal that's the non sequitur.

Arkansas voters in 1992 approved Amendment 73 to the Arkansas Constitution. The measure limits those who get elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives to three two-year terms, for a total of six years. State senators are limited two four-year terms, or eight years. If a candidate manages to get elected to the 100-member House and the 35-member Senate, the candidate can serve a total of 14 years in the Arkansas General Assembly.

Members of the 89th General Assembly voted last year to place a proposed amendment to change term limits on this November's ballot .

The Senate vote was 23-4, with eight members not voting. One member later filed a letter saying he was not in the chamber and his vote should have been listed as "not voting."

In the House, the vote was 76-3, with 20 members listed as not voting and one voting "present."

Gov. Mike Beebe signed the measure, which does more than set the parameters of the state's term limits. It would prohibit state lawmakers and constitutional officers from accepting gifts from lobbyists; prohibit members of General Assembly from setting their own salaries and the salaries of constitutional officers, justices and judges, establishing an independent seven member committee to do that; prohibit contributions by corporations to candidates for public office; prevent members of General Assembly from registering as a lobbyist until two years after the end of his term.

And, the measure says it's "establishing term limits for members of the General Assembly."

The amendment is titled as "The Arkansas Elected Officials Ethics, Transparency and Financial Reform Amendment of 2014."

Last week, Jacob reminded a meeting of Republican women in Garland County last week that Arkansas already has term limits far more strict than those state lawmakers have asked voters to approve. Under the new proposal, someone elected can serve a total of 16 years in either chamber of the General Assembly, or any combination of the two. After 16 years, they're out.

"I'm not anti-Legislature and have enormous respect for the legislators, but I don't respect this," The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs reported Jacob as saying. "This is a deception and an attempt to deceive the voters and they have done it on purpose. The Legislature knows the only way to overturn term limits is through a constitutional amendment because term limits are in the Constitution."

A measure that looks like it's establishing term limits -- a generally popular move -- is really making them weaker. That's a fair complaint.

I've never been a fan of term limits. The Legislature is a challenging environment. Lawmakers meet a few two or three months a year. State government is hard to fully understand. About the time the legislators start to get a pretty good grasp of things -- knowledge that can help them make significant proposals and decisions to improve state government and state laws -- they're ousted.

A little longevity helps institutions like the General Assembly to be less erratic and more contemplative. And I've always had faith that voters will throw out a bum when one deserves it.

But Arkansans said they like limiting their own power to elect whoever they want. Even when they find a gem of a candidate, they're OK with being forced to find someone else in fairly short order.

Entrenched lawmakers have made stupid, sometimes event criminal, decisions, corrupted by their time in office. But many others have served with respect to the institution and the people of Arkansas.

I like the idea of lengthening term limits.

But it's hard to argue with Jacob's point that the Legislature buried this attempt to expand their eligibility to serve in a complex amendment that attempts to do too much. If it came to a simple vote to extend term limits, I'd probably support it. But lawmakers muddied the waters with deceptive language and a bill most Arkansans will never read.

Arkansas lawmakers tend sometimes to make their constitutional amendments far too complicated, and this may very well be a case in which Arkansas voters need to remind them it's best to keep it simple, clear and above board.

GREG HARTON IS OPINION PAGE EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA.

Commentary on 07/21/2014

Upcoming Events