term limits Archives - Missourinet

Bob Priddy: Term limits are on the Nov. 3 ballot, breaking with prior practices

October 29, 2020 By Missourinet Contributor

by Bob Priddy for Missourinet

A proposal on the November 3 ballot further limits Missourians’ abilities to vote for incumbents they like.

Amendment 1 extends the two-term limit for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and State auditor. The governor and the state treasurer already are term-limited.

But history shows Missourians might have a hypocritical streak on this issue.

When given a chance to vote for more terms for candidates, Missouri voters have a propensity to do it. It’s how Peter Kinder served three terms as lieutenant governor; Jay Nixon served sixteen as state attorney general; Forest Smith served four terms as state auditor. One of his successors, Haskell Holman, served 18 years.

Missourians limited their opportunities to vote when they supported term limits in 1992, with limits kicking in with the 1994 election—at which time many legislators who already had served eight or more years were elected for even more.

November ballot measure would impose two-term restriction on all Missouri statewide elected officials

September 29, 2020 By Brian Hauswirth

Missourians will be heading to the polls in November, to cast ballots on a measure imposing term limits on all statewide elected officials.

You’ll be voting in November on Amendment One, which would amend the Missouri Constitution to extend the two-term restriction that currently applies to the governor and treasurer to the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and state auditor.

A “yes” vote would amend the Missouri Constitution to impose a two-term restriction on all statewide elected officials. A “no” vote would leave the terms that statewide elected officials may serve unchanged.

The Secretary of State’s fair ballot language says that if passed, Amendment One will have no impact on taxes. State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, sponsored the legislation in the Missouri General Assembly.

Members of both major parties have previously served more than two terms in Missouri statewide office, in recent history.

Democrat James Kirkpatrick served five terms as secretary of state, from 1965 to 1985. Kirkpatrick, who died in 1997, established Missouri’s current record for tenure of an elected statewide officeholder. Democrat Jay Nixon served four terms as attorney general, serving from 1993-2009, when he was sworn-in as governor.

Republican Peter Kinder served three terms as lieutenant governor, from 2005-2016. And Republican Margaret Kelly, who was appointed as state auditor by Governor Kit Bond in 1984, was elected to a full term in 1986 and was re-elected auditor in 1990 and in 1994. She retired in January 1999.

Jones hints at run at Attorney General

July 2, 2013 By Mike Lear

It sounds like Missouri’s House Speaker wants to move across the street when term limits take him out of the House at the end of 2014.

House Speaker Tim Jones

Tim Jones (R-Eureka) has previously said he is considering several state offices for a 2016 run. He says one is beginning to stand out.

“I’m being greatly encouraged by many others to look at Attorney General. As a former prosecuting attorney, it’s somethinig that’s interested me. It’s also a working office, very much like the Speaker’s office, and we’re taking a very hard look at that because I’m getting encouragement from all across the state to do so.”

Jones says a formal announcement of a campaign won’t be made for a while.

Plan to restructure legislative term limits passed by House committee

February 11, 2013 By Mike Lear

A proposal to restructure term limits in the state legislature has cleared a House committee.

Representative Myron Neth (photo courtesy; Missouri House Communications)

The idea found this year in HJR 4 has been proposed several times in recent sessions. It would let people serve up to 16 years in the state legislature in any combination between the House and Senate, rather than the current limit of 8 years per chamber.

Its sponsor, Representative Myron Neth (R-Liberty), says he doesn’t see this as an attempt to extend term limits.

“There’s a large percentage of people who go from House to Senate or back and forth who end up doing a total of 16 years anyway, so I just think this is a more effective way to do term limits … I’m very for keeping them intact, I’m very much for the 16 years. I think that’s a very good amount of time for somebody to get in and get a good feel for things, do a lot of good but then hey, your time’s up kind of thing.”

Neth says he sees irony in one of the original arguments for term limits: that they would lessen the impact of lobbyists in the Capitol.

“I think it has gone the opposite direction because they have become the institutional knowledge in the building, not the legislators, and in my opinion so much more powerful than what they were at one time, in many ways.”

The House Elections Committee approved the plan unanimously. If passed by the legislature, it would go before voters.