Missouri voters love term limits. In 1965, more than 72% of Missourians approved term limits for the governor, and term limits for state legislators passed by an even greater margin in 1992.
This year, they鈥檒l vote on Amendment 1, a proposed that would limit the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and state auditor to two terms in office. Currently, the governor and state treasurer are the only statewide positions subject to these limits.
Those in support of the proposed amendment say it鈥檚 important to have consistency and that term limits help eliminate career politicians, while others wonder if the question in front of voters is a solution to a nonexistent problem.
Republican State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer from Parkville sponsored the amendment.
鈥淣ow every statewide elected official, if it passes, will be treated the same way and will be subject to the same eight-year term limit,鈥� Luetkemeyer said.
But other lawmakers, such as fellow Republican Sen. Ed Emery, said the limits take away from the value of the office.
鈥淭here are some offices that are very well run, and that the voters would really prefer to keep someone in there with the experience,鈥� said Emery, who terms out at the end of the year. 鈥淲hen you term limit them, you鈥檙e imposing potentially an inexperienced person into a place where someone is doing an excellent job.鈥�
Considering how popular term limits have been in the state, many Missourians don鈥檛 believe politicians are doing an excellent job, said University of Central Missouri political scientist Robynn Kuhlmann.
鈥淭his is an ongoing populist sentiment that exists in the state of Missouri where there鈥檚 an overarching concern about career politicians and how they may be tainted by lobbyists,鈥� Kuhlmann said.
In general, Kuhlmann said, term limits sound like a surefire way to weaken the connection between politicians and lobbyists. But research shows term limits often make this connection stronger.
Newer legislative members 鈥渁ren鈥檛 informed as to the legislative process. They lack institutional experience, and some of them may rely more on the information that lobbyists give,鈥� Kuhlmann explained.
鈥淟obbyists don鈥檛 go away," she added. "What does go away is some of the institutional knowledge representatives have when they鈥檙e termed out.鈥�
Emery agrees, recalling an eye-opening conversation he had with a lobbyist.
鈥淗e said, 鈥楨d, before term limits, a senator would鈥檝e never asked me about that issue, because they always knew more about the issues than I did,鈥� Emery said. 鈥淏ut he said since term limits, I get questions all the time about that because those of us in the legislature now simply don鈥檛 have the depth of experience.鈥欌��
But Luetkemeyer, who is in just his second year of office, said a motivated lawmaker can get things done regardless of term limits.
鈥淚f you have a legislator who鈥檚 very driven, somebody who works hard at the process and is really in tune with what their constituents want, you鈥檙e able to accomplish things really early on in your time in the legislature without having to be there for 20-30 years,鈥� he said.
But this proposed constitutional amendment applies only to statewide executives, who are typically more experienced and don鈥檛 actually write legislation. That鈥檚 why Emery doesn鈥檛 see much benefit to term-limiting these positions.
鈥淚 have a hard time envisioning any specific value other than getting voters to know every eight years they鈥檙e going to have to have a new slate of people to vote on,鈥� Emery said.
Kuhlmann is also skeptical. Going through the history of Missouri鈥檚 statewide executives, she noted it鈥檚 rare for people to serve more than two terms. For example, of the state鈥檚 past 15 lieutenant governors, only one has served beyond that.
鈥淚t seems to me as if this amendment is on the ballot without any prevailing problem associated with it,鈥� Kuhlmann said.
But Luetkemeyer pointed to former Gov. Jay Nixon as an example of why this amendment is needed.
鈥淗e served as the state attorney general for 16 years. He served four separate terms,鈥� Luetkemeyer said, 鈥淪o certainly in very recent history we鈥檝e had somebody serve as attorney general for a very lengthy period of time.鈥�
The Secretary of State, which is one of the offices up for term limits, runs the state鈥檚 elections. The office says requests for mail-in ballots must be made by Oct. 21.
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