From time to time it’s suggested to impose term limits on Oregon’s legislators. If the problem that term limits are supposed to solve is that legislators get captured by lobbyists, then maybe the answer is to impose term limits on the lobbyists. They can have eight years in Salem, then two years away, though not perhaps in Maui.
Term limits in Salem: a different idea
From time to time it’s suggested to impose term limits on Oregon’s legislators. If the problem that term limits are supposed to solve is that legislators get captured by lobbyists,…
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If you think it is a good thing to make lobbyists less effective, then that is an excellent idea. Just is there can be limitations on how long a bureaucrat must wait before becoming a lobbyist, you could put a cap on the aggregate number of years an individual could work for government and then lobbying government.
Term limits for lobbyists would run into first amendment problems.
However, term limits for legislators act as term limits for lobbyists. Every time a lobbyist loses a relationship with a paid-off legislator, the lobbyist has to start from scratch.
That’s why lobbyists are the #1 opponents to term limits on legislators. Regular turnover in the legislature is “chaos” to them.
Their opposition to term limits is not out of the goodness of their hearts.