Legislation Clinic 2002 Conference

Early Returns on Legislative Term Limits

February 21, 2002
Ohio Statehouse and Vern Riffe Center
Columbus, Ohio

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Conference Overview

This one-day conference in downtown Columbus provided a stimulating look at what life under legislative term limits is actually like.

In the Fall of 2000, members of the Ohio General Assembly were, for the first time, precluded from seeking reelection to their legislative seats by the Ohio Constitution's "term limits" amendment.

The Ohio General Assembly is one of a number of state legislatures that are experiencing a variety of changes, both dramatic and subtle, as a result of legislative term limits adopted or enacted in the 1990s.

The Honorable Jo Ann Davidson, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1995 to 2000, was the conference's keynote luncheon speaker.

In addition, a series of panels before and after lunch probed issues regarding the composition of term-limited state legislatures, the external relationships of such legislatures with interest groups and executive branch participants in the legislative process, and the internal dynamics of a term-limited legislature.

Honorable Charles Perricone, former Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, provided a concluding address.

Panelists included former and current legislators, lobbyists, journalists, and academics. In addition to Speaker Davidson and Speaker Perricone, presenters included:

• The Honorable Doug White, Ohio Senate President Pro Tempore
• The Honorable Mark L. Mallory, Ohio Senate Assistant Minority Whip
• The Honorable Merle Grace Kearns, Ohio House of Representatives
• The Honorable Stanley J. Aronoff, former Ohio Senate President
• Joyce Garver Keller, Executive Director, Ohio Jewish Communities, Inc.
• Paul Ryder, Communications Director, Ohio Citizen Action
• Professor Jack Wright, Department of Political Science, The Ohio State University
• Professor John Carey, Department of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis
• Professor Steven Huefner, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University

Sponsors Included:

• The Michael E. Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University
• The Legislation Clinic at the Moritz College of Law
• The Center for Law, Policy, and Social Science at the Moritz College of Law