State legislatures with term limits

State Legislatures with Term Limits

Lifetime versus consecutive States with legislative limits Limits overturned Impact on elections

Features of State Legislatures

Length of terms: Representatives • Senators How vacancies are filled in state legislatures States with a full-time legislature Legislatures with multi-member districts Comparison of state legislative salaries When legislators assume office? State constitutions State legislative sessions Candidate requirements by state Resign-to-run laws Unique chamber leadership arrangements in state legislatures, 1994-Present Veto overrides in state legislatures

Voting on Term Limits
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State legislative term limits
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Local Local term limits Elections and campaigns Local voting laws

In 16 state legislatures, state legislators are subject to term limits. Voters in six additional states voted to have term limits, only to have those votes nullified. In two cases, the state legislature voted to nullify the limits imposed by voters, while in four other states, courts nullified the voter-imposed limits, primarily for technical reasons.

In the United States, there are 1,973 state senate seats and 5,413 state house seats. 609 of the 1,973 state senate seats, or 30.9%, come with a limit. 1,462 of the 5,413 state house seats, or 27.0%, come with a limit. Of the total of 7,386 state legislative seats, 2,071 (28.0%) are limited.

Lifetime versus consecutive

Legislative term limits can be either lifetime or consecutive. In the ten states where the limits are consecutive, once a state legislator has served the maximum number of terms in office, he or she, if eligible, can run for office for the state's other legislative chamber, or leave the legislature. These states are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, and South Dakota. After a period of time no longer in office in a particular legislative chamber, however, the legislator is allowed to run again for office in that legislative chamber. The period of time that a legislator must be out of office before being able to run again is usually two years.

In six of the 16 states with limits on state legislators, the limit is a lifetime limit. These states are California, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, and Oklahoma. In these states, once a legislator has served the maximum allowable number of terms in a particular legislative chamber, they may never again run for or hold office in that particular chamber.

States with legislative limits

States with legislative limits
Legislature	Limits in effect	Year limits imposed	Year limits took effect
Arizona Legislature	H: 4 terms (8 years) S: 4 terms (8 years)	1992	H: 2000 S: 2000
Arkansas Legislature	12 consecutive years; can return after a four-year break	1992, 2014, modified 2020	H: 1998 S: 2000
California Legislature	12 year cumulative total, in either or both	1990, modified 2012	A: 1996 S: 1998
Colorado Legislature	H: 4 terms (8 years) S: 2 terms (8 years)	1990	H: 1998 S: 1998
Florida Legislature	H: 4 terms (8 years) S: 2 terms (8 years)	1992	H: 2000 S: 2000
Louisiana Legislature	H: 3 terms (12 years) S: 3 terms (12 years)	1995	H: 2007 S: 2007
Maine Legislature	H: 4 terms (8 years) S: 4 terms (8 years)	1993	H: 1996 S: 1996
Michigan Legislature	12 year cumulative total, in either or both	1992, modified 2022	H: 1998 S: 2002
Missouri Legislature	H: 4 terms (8 years) S: 2 terms (8 years)	Amendment 13 (1992) (also see: Amendment 3 (2002)	H: 2002 S: 2002
Montana Legislature	H: 4 terms (8 years) S: 2 terms (8 years)	1992	H: 2000 S: 2000
Nebraska Unicameral	S: 2 terms (8 years)	2000	S: 2008
Nevada Legislature	A: 6 terms (12 years) S: 3 terms (12 years)	Initiative passed in 1996, took effect with those elected in 1998	A: 2010 S: 2010
North Dakota Legislature	H: 2 terms (8 years) S: 2 terms (8 years)	2022	H: 2030 S: 2030
Ohio Legislature	H: 4 terms (8 years) S: 2 terms (8 years)	1992	H: 2000 S: 2000
Oklahoma Legislature	12 year cumulative total, in either or both	1990	H: 2004 S: 2004
South Dakota Legislature	H: 4 terms (8 years) S: 4 terms (8 years)	1992	H: 2000 S: 2000

Limits overturned

By legislature

• The Idaho State Legislature repealed its own term limits in 2002.
• The Utah State Legislature repealed its own term limits in 2003.

By courts

• In 1997, the Massachusetts Supreme Court overturned term limits on the Massachusetts General Court in 1997.
• In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court overturned the state's term limits on the grounds that the initiative voters approved the imposed term limits had more than one subject.
• The Washington Supreme Court voided state term limits in 1998.
• In 2004, the Wyoming Supreme Court overturned term limits imposed by the state's voters.

Overview

The table below shows term-limited state legislators by year from 2010 to 2024. Between those years, 2,126 state legislators were term-limited. Republicans had 295 more term-limited legislators than Democrats.

• Democratic legislators term-limited: 875
• Republican legislators term-limited: 1,170
• Nonpartisan legislators term-limited: 81

Term-limited state legislators by year
Year	Dem. senators	Rep. senators	Nonpartisan sentators	Dem. representatives	Rep. representatives	Nonpartisan representatives	Total term-limited
2024	27	39	13	39	62	0	180
2023	2	5	0	4	11	0	22
2022	28	47	11	58	108	0	252
2021	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2020	21	33	6	61	89	1	211
2019	4	12	0	13	17	1	47
2018	28	62	6	58	115	2	271
2017	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2016	29	26	12	84	102	0	253
2015	3	4	0	7	7	0	21
2014	22	24	17	73	87	0	223
2013	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2012	35	40	8	87	85	0	255
2011	5	1	0	5	4	1	16
2010	54	66	1	128	124	2	375
Total	258	359	74	613	811	7	2,126

2024

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2024

In 2024, 181 state legislators are ineligible to run for office because of term limits. A total of 77 state senators are term-limited in 2024. A total of 104 state representatives are termed out in 2024.

Incumbents

The following table shows the number of term-limited state legislators in 2024 broken down by party and chamber.

2024 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	26	40	66
Republican	38	64	102
Independent/Nonpartisan	13	0	13
Total	77	104	181

2023

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2023

In 2023, 22 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. A total of seven state senators were term-limited in 2023. A total of 15 state representatives were termed out in 2023. Louisiana was the only state holding elections for a term-limited legislature in 2023.

Incumbents

The following table shows the number of term-limited state legislators in 2023 broken down by party and chamber.

2023 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	2	4	6
Republican	5	11	16
Total	7	15	22

2022

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2022

In 2022, 252 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. A total of 86 state senators were term-limited in 2022. A total of 166 state representatives were termed out in 2022.

Incumbents

The following table shows the number of term-limited state legislators in 2022 broken down by party and chamber.

2022 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	28	58	86
Republican	47	108	155
Independent/Nonpartisan	11	0	11
Total	86	166	252

2021

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2021

No states with term limits held elections in 2021.

2020

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2020

In 2020, 211 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. A total of 60 state senators were term-limited in 2020. A total of 151 state representatives were termed out in 2020.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2020 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2020 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	21	61	82
Republican	33	89	122
Independent/Nonpartisan	6	1	7
Total	60	151	211

2019

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2019

In 2019, 47 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. Louisiana was the only state holding elections for a term-limited legislature in 2019.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2019 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2019 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	4	13	17
Republican	12	17	29
Independent	0	1	1
Total	16	31	47

2018

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2018

In 2018, 271 state legislators were termed out in state senates and state houses combined. A total of 96 state senators were term-limited in 2018. A total of 175 state representatives were termed out in 2018.

As a result of term limits in the 2018 state legislative elections, more Republican legislators were ineligible to run than Democratic legislators.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2018 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2018 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	28	58	86
Republican	62	115	177
Minor Party/ Nonpartisan	6	2	8
Total	96	175	271

Chambers

The following table detailed the number of chambers where one party lost more incumbents due to term limits in 2018.

2018 chambers with the most losses
Party	Senates with most losses	Houses with most losses	Total
Democratic	1	4	5
Republican	8	8	16
Equal D/R losses (or nonpartisan chamber)	5	1	6
Total	14	13	27

Post-election results

Thirty-five of the 271 term-limited seats (12.9%) changed partisan control in the 2018 elections. Democrats had a net gain of 15 seats and Republicans had a net loss of 13 seats. Ten seats switched from Democrat to Republican, 23 seats flipped from Republican to Democrat, and two seats changed from independent to Democrat.

Nebraska senators are officially nonpartisan. Five Nebraska senators term-limited in 2018 were affiliated with the Republican Party, while the other was affiliated with the Democratic Party. The Nebraska senators were counted as major party incumbents in the post-election results.

2018 post-election results
Party	Pre-election	Post-election
Democratic	87	102
Republican	182	169
Minor Party/Nonpartisan	2	0

Post-election partisan change of term-limited seats
Name	Party	Office	District	2018 election winner	Party
Joseph Schiavoni	Democratic	Ohio State Senate	District 33	Michael Rulli	Republican
Randy Bass	Democratic	Oklahoma State Senate	District 32	John Montgomery	Republican
Billie Sutton	Democratic	South Dakota State Senate	District 21	Rocky Blare	Republican
Anthony Cannella	Republican	California State Senate	District 12	Anna Caballero	Democratic
Brian Langley	Republican	Maine State Senate	District 7	Louis Luchini	Democratic
Michael Thibodeau	Republican	Maine State Senate	District 11	Erin Herbig	Democratic
Dave Hildenbrand	Republican	Michigan State Senate	District 29	Winnie Brinks	Democratic
James Marleau	Republican	Michigan State Senate	District 12	Rosemary Bayer	Democratic
Patrick Colbeck	Republican	Michigan State Senate	District 7	Dayna Polehanki	Democratic
Edward Buttrey	Republican	Montana State Senate	District 11	Tom Jacobson	Democratic
Bob Krist	Republican	Nebraska State Senate	District 10	Wendy DeBoer	Democratic
Kevin Bacon	Republican	Ohio State Senate	District 3	Tina Maharath	Democratic
J.D. Mesnard	Republican	Arizona House of Representatives	District 17	Jennifer Pawlik	Democratic
Wayne Parry	Republican	Maine House of Representatives	District 10	Henry Ingwersen	Democratic
Ralph Chapman	Independent	Maine House of Representatives	District 133	Sarah Pebworth	Democratic
Heather Sirocki	Republican	Maine House of Representatives	District 28	Christopher Caiazzo	Democratic
Denise Harlow	Independent	Maine House of Representatives	District 36	Michael Brennan	Democratic
Deborah Sanderson	Republican	Maine House of Representatives	District 88	Chloe Maxmin	Democratic
James Gillway	Republican	Maine House of Representatives	District 98	Scott Cuddy	Democratic
Michael McCready	Republican	Michigan House of Representatives	District 40	Mari Manoogian	Democratic
Martin Howrylak	Republican	Michigan House of Representatives	District 41	Padma Kuppa	Democratic
Gary Cross	Republican	Missouri House of Representatives	District 35	Keri Ingle	Democratic
Anne Gonzales	Republican	Ohio House of Representatives	District 19	Mary Lightbody	Democratic
Mike Duffey	Republican	Ohio House of Representatives	District 21	Beth Liston	Democratic
Kristina Daley Roegner	Republican	Ohio House of Representatives	District 37	Casey Weinstein	Democratic
Marlene Anielski	Republican	Ohio House of Representatives	District 6	Phil Robinson	Democratic
Weldon Watson	Republican	Oklahoma House of Representatives	District 79	Melissa Provenzano	Democratic
Randy McDaniel	Republican	Oklahoma House of Representatives	District 83	Chelsey Branham	Democratic
Scott Dianda	Democratic	Michigan House of Representatives	District 110	Gregory Markkanen	Republican
Pat Conway	Democratic	Missouri House of Representatives	District 10	Bill Falkner	Republican
Ben Harris	Democratic	Missouri House of Representatives	District 118	Mike McGirl	Republican
Ed Cannaday	Democratic	Oklahoma House of Representatives	District 15	Randy Randleman	Republican
Brian Renegar	Democratic	Oklahoma House of Representatives	District 17	Jim Grego	Republican
Spencer Hawley	Democratic	South Dakota House of Representatives	District 7	Doug Post	Republican
Chuck Hoskin	Democratic	Oklahoma House of Representatives	District 6	Rusty Cornwell	Republican

2017

No states with term limits held elections in 2017.

2016

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2016

In 2016, 253 state legislators were termed out in state senates and state houses combined. A total of 67 state senators were termed out in 2016. This represented 20.2 percent of the 331 total state senate seats up for election in the 13 term-limited state senates with elections in November 2016. A total of 186 state representatives were termed out. This represented 14.8 percent of the 1,261 total seats up for election in the 13 term-limited state houses with elections in November 2016.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2016 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2016 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	29	84	113
Republican	26	102	128
Nonpartisan	12	0	12
Total	67	186	253

Chambers

The following table detailed the number of chambers where one party lost more incumbents due to term limits in 2016.

2016 chambers with the most losses
Party	Senates with most losses	Houses with most losses	Total
Democratic	5	4	9
Republican	5	8	13
Equal D/R losses (or nonpartisan chamber)	3	1	4
Total	13	13	26

2015

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2015

In 2015, 21 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. Louisiana was the only state holding elections for a term-limited legislature in 2015.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2015 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2015 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	3	7	10
Republican	4	7	11
Total	7	14	21

2014

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2014

In 2014, a total of 223 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. This was 14 percent of the 1,592 state legislative seats up for election in the 14 term-limited states with 2014 elections, and 3.7 percent of the 6,047 state legislative seats that were up for election altogether in 2014, including the non-term-limited states.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2014 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2014 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	22	73	95
Republican	24	87	111
Nonpartisan	17	0	17
Total	63	160	223

Chambers

The following table detailed the number of chambers where one party lost more incumbents due to term limits in 2014.

2014 chambers with the most losses
Party	Senates with most losses	Houses with most losses	Total
Democratic	6	4	10
Republican	5	9	14
Equal D/R losses (or nonpartisan chamber)	2	0	2
Total	13	13	26

2013

No states with term limits held elections in 2013.

2012

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2012

In 2012, 255 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. This was 14.3 percent of the 1,786 state legislative seats up for election in the 14 term-limited states with 2012 elections, and about 4 percent of the 6,015 state legislative seats that were up for election altogether in 2012, including the non-term-limited states.

In 2012, the last election cycle in which the same seats were up for election as 2016, Republicans had a marginal disadvantage in terms of the number incumbents lost to term limits as well as the number of chambers in which each party saw more members lost to term limits. However, Democrats lost one more state representative than Republicans did during this cycle.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2012 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2012 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	35	87	122
Republican	40	85	125
Nonpartisan	8	0	8
Total	83	172	255

Chambers

The following table detailed the number of chambers where one party lost more incumbents due to term limits in 2012.

2012 chambers with the most losses
Party	Senates with most losses	Houses with most losses	Total
Democratic	4	6	10
Republican	5	7	12
Equal D/R losses (or nonpartisan chamber)	4	0	4
Total	13	13	26

2011

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2011

In 2011, 16 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. Louisiana was the only state with term limits that held an election in 2011. The 16 state legislators termed-out in 2011 made up 10.4 percent of the total legislative seats up for election in Louisiana.

There were six state senators termed-out in 2011, making up 15.4 percent of the 39 state senate seats up for election in 2011. There were ten state representatives termed-out in 2011, making up 9.5 percent of the 105 state representative seats up for election in 2011.

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2011 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2011 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	5	5	10
Republican	1	4	5
Minor Party/ Nonpartisan	0	1	1
Total	6	10	16

2010

See also: Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2010

In 2010, 375 state legislators were ineligible to run for office because of term limits. This was 23 percent of the 1,600 state legislative seats up for election in the 14 term-limited states with 2010 elections.

The Republican Party had more members impacted by term limits in the 2010 state legislative elections than the Democratic Party, both in terms of how many individual incumbent legislators the Republican Party lost (190, versus 182 for the Democratic Party) and in terms of how many state legislative chambers lost more Republicans (13, versus 10 for the Democratic Party).

Incumbents

The following table detailed the number of state legislators unable to run for re-election in 2010 due to term limits broken down by party and chamber.

2010 term-limited incumbents
Party	# of termed senators	# of termed representatives	Total
Democratic	54	128	182
Republican	66	124	190
Nonpartisan	1	2	3
Total	121	254	375

Chambers

The following table detailed the number of chambers where one party lost more incumbents due to term limits in 2010.

2010 chambers with the most losses
Party	Senates with most losses	Houses with most losses	Total
Democratic	4	6	10
Republican	7	6	13
Equal D/R losses	2	1	3
Total	13	13	26

See also

• States with gubernatorial term limits
• Length of terms of state representatives
• Length of terms of state senators
• States with a full-time legislature
• Comparison of state legislative salaries
• Term limits on the ballot