Changing Members The Maine Legislature in the Era of Term Limits

by Moen, Matthew C.; Palmer, Kenneth T.; Powell, Richard J.

• ISBN13: 9780739109298
• ISBN10: 0739109294
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-12-10
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

Since the early 1990s, whether elected representatives at the state and national levels should be limited to a specific term of office has been a contentious public policy question. Changing Members examines the case of Maine, which in 1996 became the first state in the entire nation where legislative term limits took effect in both chambers. Authors Matthew C. Moen, Kenneth T. Palmer, and Richard J. Powell have combined original survey data collected from Maine's legislators, several dozen interviews with legislators and other political elites, and participant observation of committee and floor proceedings to provide a complete picture of the new term limits' effects. Challenging conventional thinking on term limits and offering predictions of their likely impact in other states with citizens' legislatures, Changing Members is an essential source for citizens, elected officials and government workers, and scholars of political science.

Table of Contents

Illustrations	ix
Preface	xi
Term Limits and American Politics	1	(13)
Voter Unrest in the Pine Tree State	14	(22)
Term Limits as a Solution	36	(27)
The Changing Maine Legislature	63	(40)
Many Players, Fewer Rules	103	(19)
Term Limits and Citizen Legislatures	122	(13)
Appendix: Special Interviews	135	(4)
References	139	(10)
Index	149	(8)
About the Authors	157