August 17, 2006

NCSL: Term Limits Shift Budget Power To Executive Branch

NASHVILLE - A report on term limits released yesterday by the National Conference of State Legislatures, which is holding its annual convention in Nashville, says term limits on state legislators in 15 states has produced a "decline in the influence of the legislative branch of state government in relation to the executive branch" that is "most visible in the budget process."

The NCSL annual meeting - reported to have drawn the attendance of some 1,000 state legislators and 2,000 lobbyists - was the backdrop for the release of Coping With Term Limits, A Practical Guide, a 36-page report produced by the NCSL, the Council of State Governments, the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Joint Project on Term Limits. The report is designed to provide ammunition to opponents of term limits seeking to repeal them in the 15 states where they exist for state legislators or fighting their imposition in the 35 states that don't have them.

Regarding the shift of power from legislative to executive branch, the report says...

During the period of study, the balance of power between the executive branch and the legislative branch in the control states - those without term limits - did not change. However, in all but one of the study's states with term limits (Ohio is the exception), influence over state spending, both in broad terms and in the details, has shifted to the executive branch.

A study of four term-limited legislatures, for instance, revealed that legislative adjustments to governors' budget proposals have declined significantly in all four states since term limits took effect. This shift in power reflects the key problem term limits creates: inexperience. Inexperienced legislators do not always know the questions to ask of experienced executive branch administrators and agency directors. Legislatures that lack veteran leadership may hesitate to challenge the governor's budget.

On the other hand, the quality of the policy enacted by term-limited legislatures has not changed measurably under term limits. JPTL interviews reveal that more bills are designed to build a legislator's resume for re-election (termed "brochure bills" by a Colorado observer), and more bills reintroduce old ideas. However, the study did not reveal evidence that the policy produced in term-limited legislatures in any way differs from or is of poorer quality than that produced in non-term-limited legislatures.

This may change over the long-term as term-limited legislatures lose their "policy champions," what one Colorado observer called legislators who are specialists in an issue area. They spend years studying the issue, introducing legislation but losing, refining their ideas, educating colleagues and building coalitions. The process takes years, but the result is well-crafted public policy. It has become more difficult under term limits to find legislators who champion policies and this sort of policymaking. They simply do not have the time necessary to achieve such results.

Previous coverage of the NCSL annual meeting:
NCSL Says Term Limits May Boost Power Of Lobbyists
NCSL Agrees To Let Blogger Cover Session on Blogs
NCSL's Report Belies Its Press Release
Newsflash: Association of Legislators Doesn't Like Term Limits