Term limits in Oregon
Encyclopedia
Term limits legislation – term limit
s for state and federal office-holders – has been a recurring political issue in the U.S. state
of Oregon since 1992. In that year's general election
, Oregon
voters approved Ballot Measure 3, an initiative
that enacted term limits for representatives in both houses of the United States Congress
and the Oregon Legislative Assembly
, and statewide officeholders. It has been described as the strictest term limits law in the country.
A 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling rendered the federal limits null and void, and in 2002 the Oregon Supreme Court
upheld lower state court rulings striking down the remaining provisions of the law on procedural grounds. Measure 48 of 1996 would have instructed the Legislature to enact term limits for Congressional races, but the measure did not pass.
U.S. Term Limits
, an Illinois
-based group that backs term limits in numerous states, backed Measure 3, and also backed efforts in 2002 and 2006 to reinstate term limits in Oregon.
to limit the terms of state legislators to six years in the house, eight in the senate, and twelve-year combined lifetime total, and similarly restrict Oregon's representatives in the U.S. Congress and Senate to six and twelve years respectively.
The initiative also placed a limit of two terms (eight years) on the statewide elective offices of Governor
, Secretary of State
, Treasurer
, Superintendent of Public Instruction
, and Labor Commissioner, as well as making various modifications, either explicitly or implicitly, to other sections of the state Constitution relating to qualifications of voters and candidates for office.
As national voter sentiment favoring such limits gained strength, the Oregon Legislative Assembly
considered broader imposition of term limits in 1991, the Senate and House passing competing measures, but was unable to resolve the differences between the two bills, and rejected limiting congressional terms outright.
Before the 1991 legislature even adjourned, a campaign was begun to place on the ballot by initiative petition Measure 3, which include stricter limits than either the bill passed in the house or the senate, and despite the publicly announced opposition of then-Governor Barbara Roberts
,
it faced little organized resistance. Oregon voters approved the measure by a margin of more than two to one, casting 1,003,706 votes in favor and only 439,694 against enactment.
The Oregonian
summarized the arguments in favor and against the Measure put forth in the campaign,
as outlined below:
Bill Markham, a Republican
, filed suit in the U.S. District Court alleging the law was unconstitutional on the grounds it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment voting and association rights of incumbents and voters. On December 16, 1997, Judge Magistrate Thomas Coffin ruled in favor of Markham, but later reversed himself in accordance with a December 19, 1997, Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding California’s term limits law, concluding voters understood the lifetime ban such initiatives imposed.
to enact term limits for Congress
, but the measure lost with 48% of the vote.
31.4% of the 113,000 signatures collected on a 2002 petition to restore Measure 3's term limits were ruled invalid, so the drive failed to meet the requirement of 89,048 valid signatures to appear on that year's general election ballot.
In 2006, a similar initiative, Oregon Ballot Measure 45 (2006) was defeated 555,016 to 788,895.
Measure 45 was placed on Oregon's 2006 general election ballot by initiative petition. It would have added a section to the Oregon Constitution
prohibiting any person from serving more than six years in the Oregon House of Representatives
, eight years in the Oregon State Senate
, or a total of more than 14 years in the Oregon Legislative Assembly
, and included language granting standing to individuals and nonprofit entities in any lawsuit arising from enforcement of its provisions. In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court
struck down on procedural grounds similar term limits which had been enacted by passage of Oregon Ballot Measure 3 (1992) by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Voters in 2006, however, rejected this initiative by 555,016 to 788,895.
. The $85,000 raised to oppose it came from Oregon-based lobbyists and labor groups.
Term limit
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method to curb the potential for monopoly, where a leader effectively becomes "president for...
s for state and federal office-holders – has been a recurring political issue in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oregon since 1992. In that year's general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
voters approved Ballot Measure 3, an initiative
Initiative
In political science, an initiative is a means by which a petition signed by a certain minimum number of registered voters can force a public vote...
that enacted term limits for representatives in both houses of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
, and statewide officeholders. It has been described as the strictest term limits law in the country.
A 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling rendered the federal limits null and void, and in 2002 the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
upheld lower state court rulings striking down the remaining provisions of the law on procedural grounds. Measure 48 of 1996 would have instructed the Legislature to enact term limits for Congressional races, but the measure did not pass.
U.S. Term Limits
U.S. Term Limits
U.S. Term Limits is a non-profit organization that lobbies for term limits for elected officials at every level of government in the United States. Among other activities, USTL supports ballot initiatives in numerous states. The organization was established in 1992, and is one of several led by...
, an Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
-based group that backs term limits in numerous states, backed Measure 3, and also backed efforts in 2002 and 2006 to reinstate term limits in Oregon.
Substance of Measure 3
Measure 3 amended Articles 19 and 20 of Article II of the Oregon ConstitutionOregon Constitution
The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights. This contains most of the rights and privileges granted in the United States Bill of...
to limit the terms of state legislators to six years in the house, eight in the senate, and twelve-year combined lifetime total, and similarly restrict Oregon's representatives in the U.S. Congress and Senate to six and twelve years respectively.
The initiative also placed a limit of two terms (eight years) on the statewide elective offices of Governor
Governor of Oregon
The Governor of Oregon is the top executive of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. territorial governments....
, Secretary of State
Oregon Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the Governor. The duties of office are: auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public...
, Treasurer
Oregon State Treasurer
The Oregon State Treasurer is a constitutional officer within the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon, elected by statewide vote to serve a four year term. As chief financial officer for the state, the office holder heads the Oregon State Treasury, and with the Governor...
, Superintendent of Public Instruction
Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction
The Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes referred to as the State Superintendent of Schools, is a constitutional office within the executive branch of the Oregon state government, and acts as administrative officer of the State Board of Education and executive head of the Department of...
, and Labor Commissioner, as well as making various modifications, either explicitly or implicitly, to other sections of the state Constitution relating to qualifications of voters and candidates for office.
Political history
Although Oregon's Constitution already provided limits on the terms of office of its statewide officeholders of eight years in any twelve-year period, these limits are found among the qualifications for the respective offices, and had never previously been extended to members of the legislature.As national voter sentiment favoring such limits gained strength, the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
considered broader imposition of term limits in 1991, the Senate and House passing competing measures, but was unable to resolve the differences between the two bills, and rejected limiting congressional terms outright.
Before the 1991 legislature even adjourned, a campaign was begun to place on the ballot by initiative petition Measure 3, which include stricter limits than either the bill passed in the house or the senate, and despite the publicly announced opposition of then-Governor Barbara Roberts
Barbara Roberts
Barbara Kay Roberts is an American politician from the state of Oregon. A native of the state, she served as the 34th Governor of Oregon from 1991 to 1995. She is the first and, to date, only woman to be elected to that office. A Democrat, Roberts was also the first woman to serve as majority...
,
it faced little organized resistance. Oregon voters approved the measure by a margin of more than two to one, casting 1,003,706 votes in favor and only 439,694 against enactment.
The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
summarized the arguments in favor and against the Measure put forth in the campaign,
as outlined below:
Arguments of proponents
- Refresh the political system, removing legislators who had become career politicians and grown out of touch with their constituents.
- Reduce the excessive time and attention spent on getting re-elected, and dependence of lawmakers on special interests for re-election campaign funds.
- Incumbents have too great an electoral advantage.
- Lawmakers are in gridlock because of becoming locked into entrenched positions over time.
- Freed from political considerations related to re-election, lawmakers would be more free to vote on the merits.
- The state and federal constitutions already limit terms in other offices.
Arguments of opponents
- Voters can already remove politicians through regular elections or by recall.
- Term limits don't distinguish between good and bad legislators.
- The measure doesn't deal with the root problems of election finance and ethics reform.
- New lawmakers are more vulnerable to power wielded by lobbyists, staff, bureaucracy, and the media.
- Term limits won't affect gridlock, being a quick-fix that ignores complicated problems.
- Limiting terms deprives voters of the right to choose whom they want in office.
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton
In 1995, the Supreme Court of the United States rendered section 20 of Measure 3, relating to the terms of members of both houses of Congress, invalid under the federal Constitution, ruling that states lacked authority to impose restrictions on the qualifications for federal office. It was silent on the broader issue of the constitutionality of term limits, nor did it address the matter of state offices, and thus the remaining provisions of Measure 3's amendment of the state Constitution were left in place.Markham v. Keisling
In September, 1997, State RepresentativeOregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
Bill Markham, a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, filed suit in the U.S. District Court alleging the law was unconstitutional on the grounds it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendment voting and association rights of incumbents and voters. On December 16, 1997, Judge Magistrate Thomas Coffin ruled in favor of Markham, but later reversed himself in accordance with a December 19, 1997, Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding California’s term limits law, concluding voters understood the lifetime ban such initiatives imposed.
Lehman v. Bradbury
On January 11, 2002, upholding a decision by Oregon Circuit Court Judge Richard D. Barber, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that enactment of Measure 3 had violated Article XVII, section 1, of the Oregon Constitution which prohibits multiple constitutional amendments combined in a single measure. Again, the court refrained from addressing the broader issue of term limits themselves, confining itself to the matter of their having been enacted in violation of the "separate vote" provision of Oregon's constitution.Attempts to restore term limits
Measure 48 in 1996 sought to instruct the Oregon Legislative AssemblyOregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
to enact term limits for Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, but the measure lost with 48% of the vote.
31.4% of the 113,000 signatures collected on a 2002 petition to restore Measure 3's term limits were ruled invalid, so the drive failed to meet the requirement of 89,048 valid signatures to appear on that year's general election ballot.
In 2006, a similar initiative, Oregon Ballot Measure 45 (2006) was defeated 555,016 to 788,895.
Measure 45 was placed on Oregon's 2006 general election ballot by initiative petition. It would have added a section to the Oregon Constitution
Oregon Constitution
The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights. This contains most of the rights and privileges granted in the United States Bill of...
prohibiting any person from serving more than six years in the Oregon House of Representatives
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
, eight years in the Oregon State Senate
Oregon State Senate
The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the state-wide legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the State Senate, representing 30 districts across the state,...
, or a total of more than 14 years in the Oregon Legislative Assembly
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
, and included language granting standing to individuals and nonprofit entities in any lawsuit arising from enforcement of its provisions. In 2002, the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon Supreme Court
The Oregon Supreme Court is the highest state court in the U.S. state of Oregon. The only court that may reverse or modify a decision of the Oregon Supreme Court is the Supreme Court of the United States. The OSC holds court at the Oregon Supreme Court Building in Salem, Oregon, near the capitol...
struck down on procedural grounds similar term limits which had been enacted by passage of Oregon Ballot Measure 3 (1992) by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Voters in 2006, however, rejected this initiative by 555,016 to 788,895.
Measure 45 supporters and opponents
Nearly all of the $1.25 million raised in support of Measure 45 came from the Illinois-based organization U.S. Term LimitsU.S. Term Limits
U.S. Term Limits is a non-profit organization that lobbies for term limits for elected officials at every level of government in the United States. Among other activities, USTL supports ballot initiatives in numerous states. The organization was established in 1992, and is one of several led by...
. The $85,000 raised to oppose it came from Oregon-based lobbyists and labor groups.
See also
- Term limits
- Term limits in the United StatesTerm limits in the United StatesTerm limits in the United States apply to many offices at both the federal and state level, and date back to the American Revolution.-Pre-constitution:...
- U.S. Term LimitsU.S. Term LimitsU.S. Term Limits is a non-profit organization that lobbies for term limits for elected officials at every level of government in the United States. Among other activities, USTL supports ballot initiatives in numerous states. The organization was established in 1992, and is one of several led by...
- List of Oregon ballot measures