LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ten years after term limits started booting Nebraska senators out of office, the Legislature has changed dramatically and debate still rages over how long they should be able to serve.
Critics say lawmakers spend more time reinventing the wheel and less time developing a long-term agenda or reaching compromises on state policy. Supporters say they helped break a good old boy system in Lincoln that gave too much power to entrenched senior senators.
Voters approved term limits in 2000 with a constitutional amendment that went into effect in 2006, restricting senators to two consecutive four-year terms. Because Nebraska has a one-house Legislature, lawmakers can't run for office in another chamber as their counterparts in other states do.
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