HISTORY OF PROPOSALS TO LENGTHEN

You asked for a history of legislation proposing longer terms of office for members of the Connecticut General Assembly. You wanted a brief summary of each proposal, including where it died, and arguments for and against lengthening terms.

We conducted a 10-year review of legislation and found 12 resolutions and one bill, all introduced between 1995 and 2000, proposing longer terms of office for state legislators. The majority increased terms from two to four years for all General Assembly members. One, House Joint Resolution 20 (1995), increased only senatorial terms. Three proposals prohibited state senators and state representatives from serving more than three consecutive terms and four staggered their terms. One proposal made legislators’ terms coterminous with those of the state’s constitutional officers. Another made the terms of legislators representing even-numbered districts coterminous with that of the governor and the terms of those representing odd-numbered districts coterminous with that of the president. Finally, Senate Joint Resolution 8 (1999) established a pilot program to lengthen the legislative term for one state senator.

The bill and all but two resolutions died in committee. Senate Joint Resolution 30 (1997) died on the Senate Calendar and Substitute Senate Joint Resolution 13 (2000) died on the House Calendar.

We reviewed public hearing testimony for the 13 pieces of legislation and looked at relevant secondary research. Both sources reveal that proponents argued longer terms lead to (1) better policy because legislators have more time to learn the issues, (2) decreased spending on elections, and (3) more time governing and less time campaigning. Opponents argued longer terms (1) decrease officials’ accountability to the public, (2) drive up the base cost of campaigns, and (3) deprive the legislature of new people and new ideas.


HB 5845	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Four-Year Terms and Term Limits for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The bill amended the state constitution to (1) lengthen legislative terms from two to four years and (2) prohibit state senators and state representatives from serving more than three consecutive terms.
Result: Died in the GAE Committee without a public hearing


HJR 1	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Four-Year Terms for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to lengthen legislative terms from two to four years, making them coterminous with the constitutional officers.
Result: Died in the GAE Committee after a public hearing

HJR 15	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Four-Year Terms and Term Limits for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to (1) lengthen legislative terms from two to four years and (2) prohibit state senators and state representatives from serving more than three consecutive terms.
Result: Died in the GAE Committee after a public hearing

SJR 12	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Four-Year Terms for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to lengthen legislative terms from two to four years.
Result: Died in the GAE Committee after a public hearing

SJR 30	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Staggered Four-Year Terms for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to stagger and lengthen legislative terms. Beginning in 2002, members of the General Assembly would serve four-year terms except that members elected in 2002 representing even-numbered districts and members elected in 2010 representing odd-numbered districts, and every fifth election thereafter, would serve two-year terms.
Result: Died on the floor of the Senate


sSJR 4	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Staggered Four-Year Terms for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to stagger and lengthen legislative terms. Beginning in 2002, members of the General Assembly would serve four-year terms except that members elected in 2002 representing even-numbered districts and members elected in 2010 representing odd-numbered districts, and every fifth election thereafter, would serve two-year terms.
Result: Senate recommitted to the GAE Committee, where it died


HJR 5	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Four-Year Terms for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to lengthen legislative terms from two to four years, with members representing even-numbered districts elected in gubernatorial election years and those representing odd-numbered districts elected in presidential election years.
Result: Died in the GAE Committee without a public hearing

SJR 8	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning a Pilot Program of Four-Year Terms for a Member of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to establish a pilot program to lengthen the legislative term of the state senator from the 34^th district, Senator McDermott, from two to four years.
Result: Died in the GAE Committee without a public hearing

SJR 9	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Four-Year Terms for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to lengthen legislative terms from two to four years.
Result: Died in the GAE Committee without a public hearing

SJR 15	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Term Limits for the Governor and Members of the General Assembly and Increasing the Term Length for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to (1) lengthen legislative terms from two to four years and (2) prohibit the governor and members of the General Assembly from serving more than three terms in those offices.
Result: Died in the GAE Committee without a public hearing


sSJR 13	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Four-Year Terms for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to lengthen legislative terms. Beginning in 2002, members of the General Assembly would serve four-year terms except that members elected in 2010, and every fifth election thereafter, would serve two-year terms.
Result: Died on the floor of the House

1. longer terms create stability within the legislature, while shorter terms result in rapid turnover and large numbers of freshmen legislators who are not knowledgeable about the intricacies of the legislative process;

2. new legislators’ lack of experience can result in an inability to deal with complex and difficult issues that involve some amount of history;

3. four-year terms lead to better policy by helping to retain institutional memory and giving legislators more time to learn the multi-faceted issues over which they have jurisdiction;

4. as government responsibility devolves from the federal to the state level, the significance of state law-makers increases, emphasizing the need for them to be policy experts;

5. when legislators are more efficient, the General Assembly’s ability to accomplish its work as a part-time body increases; and

6. two-year terms force legislators to engage in constant campaigning and do not allow enough time for governing.

1. moving from two- to four-year terms reduces the frequency of elections and therefore cuts spending on them in half, and

2. more time between elections frees incumbent legislators from constant fundraising, increasing their ability to focus on important constituent issues. (This is especially true if a system prohibits incumbents from fundraising until the last 12 months before an election—a recommendation several legislators who testified in favor of the proposals made. )

2. voters’ have fewer opportunities to remove elected officials with whose performance they are unhappy when those officials serve four-year terms;

3. with two-year terms, leaders aggressively pursue agendas that matter to their constituents because they are less insulated from the public; and

4. shorter terms bring new people and new ideas to the legislature and therefore accelerate debate on important and timely issues; this ensures that policy, not politics, is the focus of government.

1. when elections occur every four years, candidates spend more money on their campaigns since they have more time to fundraise, and

2. longer terms drive up the base cost of running for office, making it prohibitive for many would-be candidates.


January 23, 2006		2005-R-0862 (Revised)
HISTORY OF PROPOSALS TO LENGTHEN LEGISLATIVE TERMS OF OFFICE

By: Kristin Sullivan, Research Analyst


HJR 20	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning the Terms for Members of the State Senate
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution so that during each ten-year period between legislative redistrictings, state senators would serve two four-year terms and one two-year term on a staggered basis.
Result: Died in the Government Administration and Elections (GAE) Committee after a public hearing


sSJR 11	Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the State Constitution Concerning Four-Year Terms for Members of the General Assembly
Summary: The resolution amended the state constitution to lengthen legislative terms from two to four years beginning with the 2000 general election.
Result: Died in the Committee on Legislative Management