Term limits

[bmw]

I'm curious as to everyone's opinion on term limits? Is this one topic we can have bi-partisan agreement on in here?

My thoughts are as follows:

12 years for the US House (6x 2-year terms)
12 years for the US Senate (2x 6-year terms)
25 years for Supreme Court Justices (a quarter of a century seems good to me).

As an aside, I would have no problem with every person who currently holds an office or a Supreme Court seat have their term start from scratch the day any such law would be enacted.

[Matt]

I'm curious as to everyone's opinion on term limits? Is this one topic we can have bi-partisan agreement on in here?

My thoughts are as follows:

12 years for the US House (6x 2-year terms)
12 years for the US Senate (2x 6-year terms)
25 years for Supreme Court Justices (a quarter of a century seems good to me).

As an aside, I would have no problem with every person who currently holds an office or a Supreme Court seat have their term start from scratch the day any such law would be enacted.

Terrible idea - term limits, while good in theory have had negative impacts in Michigan. Also, the SCOTUS proposal could result in ALL 9 theoretically being replaced at once.

[MWmetalhead]

I agree with Matt. I used to be a fan of term limits for legislative seats and agree with him that it has not worked well for Michigan.

There is a definite learning curve that applies to analyzing and approving state or federal budgets, evaluating and approving appropriations, conducting committee hearings, drafting legislation, etc.

People generally get better at their jobs with seniority, and I believe the same likely holds true with those who serve in the government, whether in a civil service or elected role.

The problem with imposition of term limits on a new institution is the amount of turnover that would occur all at once. It would be akin to a hospital losing a high percentage of its experienced doctors and nurses and replacing them with recent graduates.

Where I am OK with term limits is the highest executive offices in state and federal government. In legislative and multi-member judicial bodies, power is dispersed. In the Oval Office and in the Governor's Office, power is highly concentrated, and it is easier for such power to be abused. Loss of institutional knowledge isn't as big of a risk at the highest echelons of the executive office, either, as it is fairly common for high ranking cabinet officials to serve in multiple administrations.

[km1125]

Definitely has merit. The only reason Michigan had negative impacts was because of the long-term folks we had there, who had worked themselves into some high-profile positions. Seems like there should be term-limits for all the various committees too. No one should hold absolute power, as in say being the chair of the Appropriations or Armed Services committees.

The rules could be phased-in, so that you don't have a wholesale changeout all at once.

[Circle Seven]

Here in Michigan, some elected officials tend to favor limits. Do two years as a state rep, two years as a state senator. Two different pensions. Then get elected to Washington. Or with the clout they picked up in Lansing, get an appointed gig or two that pay a pension for doing it a few years
Make out pretty good come retirement time.

[MotorCityRadioFreak]

I'm curious as to everyone's opinion on term limits? Is this one topic we can have bi-partisan agreement on in here?

My thoughts are as follows:

12 years for the US House (6x 2-year terms)
12 years for the US Senate (2x 6-year terms)
25 years for Supreme Court Justices (a quarter of a century seems good to me).

As an aside, I would have no problem with every person who currently holds an office or a Supreme Court seat have their term start from scratch the day any such law would be enacted.

I agree with 18 year limits for Congress and the Senate.

I do not agree with the current Michigan state house and senate arrangement on term limits.

I am fine with a 25 year term limit for the Supreme Court, but the main thing that pisses me off is the stall tactics on voting for them by Congress. There should be a vote on Supreme Court candidates within 10 weeks of a Presidential nomination. No more double standards.

[tapeisrolling]

The easiest method of term limits is called VOTING.

I like a concept of the Supreme Court that the limit is something like 17 years on a rotating basis so each Prez term nominates 1 for the bench. Then you don't end up with Judges that are ruling on newer high tech things that they know little or nothing about.

An example was a few years ago on a case before the court dealing with smart phones and texting. Question.. If a person is texting can they receive a phone call?

[G G]

I'm curious as to everyone's opinion on term limits? Is this one topic we can have bi-partisan agreement on in here?

My thoughts are as follows:

12 years for the US House (6x 2-year terms)
12 years for the US Senate (2x 6-year terms)
25 years for Supreme Court Justices (a quarter of a century seems good to me).

As an aside, I would have no problem with every person who currently holds an office or a Supreme Court seat have their term start from scratch the day any such law would be enacted.

I agree with 18 year limits for Congress and the Senate.

I do not agree with the current Michigan state house and senate arrangement on term limits.

I am fine with a 25 year term limit for the Supreme Court, but the main thing that pisses me off is the stall tactics on voting for them by Congress. There should be a vote on Supreme Court candidates within 10 weeks of a Presidential nomination. No more double standards.

I am certainly not surprised that you are not a fan of anyone with more than 18 years of experience.

[Matt]

The easiest method of term limits is called VOTING.

I like a concept of the Supreme Court that the limit is something like 17 years on a rotating basis so each Prez term nominates 1 for the bench. Then you don't end up with Judges that are ruling on newer high tech things that they know little or nothing about.

An example was a few years ago on a case before the court dealing with smart phones and texting. Question.. If a person is texting can they receive a phone call?

Justices typically ask clarifying questions, sometimes just to get an answer on record. I don't think we should nitpick that closely.

[paul8539]

As an example, with term limits, nearly all of the Michigan Senate gets replaced at the same time. There are a few holdovers, but they are replaced at the following election.

I say get rid of term limits.