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State legislatures with term limits

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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
Minority and coalition control of state legislative chambers, 1994-Present
Veto overrides in state legislatures
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Term Limits
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Local
Local term limits
Elections and campaigns
Local voting laws

In16 state legislatures,state legislators are subject toterm 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 are1,973 state senate seats and5,413 state house seats. Of the 1,973 senate seats, 609 seats (30.9%) are subject to term limits. Of the 5,413 house seats, 1,460 seats (27.0%) are subject to term limits. Of the total 7,386 state legislative seats, 2,069 (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 areArizona,Arkansas,Colorado,Florida,Louisiana,Maine,Montana,Nebraska,Ohio, andSouth 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 areCalifornia,Michigan,Missouri,Nevada,North Dakota, andOklahoma. 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.[1][2]

States with legislative limits

States with legislative limits
LegislatureLimits in effect Year limits imposedYear limits took effect
Arizona LegislatureH: 4 terms (8 years)
S: 4 terms (8 years)		1992H: 2000
S: 2000
Arkansas Legislature12 consecutive years; can return after a four-year break1992,2014, modified2020H: 1998
S: 2000
California Legislature12 year cumulative total, in either or both1990, modified2012A: 1996
S: 1998
Colorado LegislatureH: 4 terms (8 years)
S: 2 terms (8 years)		1990H: 1998
S: 1998
Florida LegislatureH: 4 terms (8 years)
S: 2 terms (8 years)		1992H: 2000
S: 2000
Louisiana LegislatureH: 3 terms (12 years)
S: 3 terms (12 years)		1995H: 2007
S: 2007
Maine LegislatureH: 4 terms (8 years)
S: 4 terms (8 years)		1993H: 1996
S: 1996
Michigan Legislature12 year cumulative total, in either or both1992, modified2022H: 1998
S: 2002
Missouri LegislatureH: 4 terms (8 years)
S: 2 terms (8 years)		Amendment 13 (1992)
(also see:Amendment 3 (2002)		H: 2002
S: 2002
Montana LegislatureH: 4 terms (8 years)
S: 2 terms (8 years)		1992H: 2000
S: 2000
Nebraska UnicameralS: 2 terms (8 years)2000S: 2008
Nevada LegislatureA: 6 terms (12 years)
S: 3 terms (12 years)		Initiative passed in1996, took effect with those elected in 1998A: 2010
S: 2010
North Dakota LegislatureH: 2 terms (8 years)
S: 2 terms (8 years)		2022H: 2023
S: 2023
Ohio LegislatureH: 4 terms (8 years)
S: 2 terms (8 years)		1992H: 2000
S: 2000
Oklahoma Legislature12 year cumulative total, in either or both1990H: 2004
S: 2004
South Dakota LegislatureH: 4 terms (8 years)
S: 4 terms (8 years)		1992H: 2000
S: 2000

Limits overturned

By legislature

By courts

Impact of term limits on state legislative elections

Overview
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010

The table below shows term-limited state legislators by year from 2010 to 2025. Between those years, 2,125 state legislators were term-limited. Republicans had 294 more term-limited legislators than Democrats.

  • Democratic legislators term-limited: 875
  • Republican legislators term-limited: 1,169
  • Nonpartisan legislators term-limited: 81
Term-limited state legislators by year
YearDemocratic Party Dem. senatorsRepublican Party Rep. senatorsIndependent Nonpartisan sentatorsDemocratic Party Dem. representativesRepublican Party Rep. representativesIndependent Nonpartisan representativesTotal term-limited
2025-------
202427371339630179
2023250411022
2022284711581080252
2021-------
20202133661891211
201941201317147
201828626581152271
2017-------
2016292612841020253
201534077021
201422241773870223
2013-------
20123540887850255
201151054116
2010546611281242375
Total2583577461781272,125

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑National Conference of State Legislatures, "The Term-Limited States," accessed Jan. 17, 2023
  2. ↑U.S. Term Limits, "U.S Term Limits Praises North Dakota Voters for Passing Term Limits Amendment for State Offices," Nov. 9, 2022
  3. ↑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.
  4. ↑Google Spreadsheet, "Post-election term limits results, 2018," accessed April 25, 2019
  5. ↑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.
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