COLUMBUS (TDB) -- Last winter there was a very brief discussion among Statehouse power brokers that Ohio's term limits on lawmakers should be eased. Today a similar move in Michigan gained steam with a push from that state's Chamber of Commerce. The business group compared term limits to Prohibition, calling it a noble experiment that has failed.
The move to ease term limitations would allow lawmakers in Ohio's neighboring state to serve up to 12 years max, an extension but not an outright repeal.
In Ohio, lawmakers can serve eight years in the House, or eight years in the Senate. Then they are out. However, they are allowed to remain in the General Assembly for another eight years if they can win election to the other chamber. So senators sometimes switch to the House, and House members become senators -- it is a way to get around the eight-year limit.
There's more on the developments in Michigan here. The Chamber is an influential business group and the back story is that it is maneuvering to benefit Republicans who stand to benefit if term limits are eased. Something similar could surface in Ohio -- where the GOP appears close to losing the House in 2008 after 14 years in control.
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