Some lawmakers think the state legislature needs longer term limits, and they want all of South Dakota to decide.
State Representative Charlie Hoffman says he and Senator Dan Lederman plan to hold cracker barrels and campaign for the extension. He says voters have addressed eliminating term limits before, but they haven’t weighed in on whether to extend a lawmaker’s time from eight years to twelve. Hoffman says the law now doesn’t allow enough time to acclimate in Pierre.
"When you come into the House or Senate and you are a freshman, it’s a straight-up learning jump. You don’t have a curve; you have to get it right off the bat," Hoffman says. "You have to learn how to do process. You have to learn how to be a good committee member. You have to learn the rules in either house that you’re on. "
Hoffman says lawmakers running for a fourth term could be eligible for two more in the future, but people at current term limits couldn’t extend their time in the legislature.
The Senate State Affairs committee supports the resolution to encourage voters to consider a term limit change. The non-binding House Joint Resolution 1002 moves to the full Senate.