The Limited Impact of Term Limits: Contingent Effects on the Complexity and Breadth of Laws

In: State politics & policy quarterly: the official journal of the State Politics and Policy Section of the American Political Science Association, Band 6, Heft 4, S. 410-429

Abstract

Do term limits constrain a legislature's ability to produce complex & broad policy? I investigate this question by examining patterns of policymaking in six states before & after term limits went into effect in four of them. I find that term limits reduced policy complexity in three hybrid & citizen legislatures, while laws became increasingly intricate in the highly professional California legislature. I conclude that both the institutional context & experience of the term-limited legislators condition the effects of this reform on policymaking. In particular, a legislator's experience -- in either state or local government -- allows him or her to write broad & complex bills, & in legislatures that provide little staff support to compensate for the inexperience of their new members, term limits can reduce overall legislative policy knowledge, thus reducing the complexity of legislation. Tables, Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.