Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Whenever things get bad in our government, term limits seem like a good idea. But There are two sides. On one hand, political leaders understand the process, and carry important institutional knowledge. In a way, term limits are already here. They're called elections. However, when incumbents amass power and money, they're difficult to unseat. Our Founding Fathers believed in a citizen legislature and never meant us to have a professional political class. Once a politician becomes entrenched, campaign donations flow to them and that alone deters challengers. This is what's frustrating to so many. That's why Rep. Jim DuPlessis proposed a constitutional amendment to limit state reps to six terms and state Senators to four terms.  In order to become law, it must first pass the Kentucky legislature. Then it will go on the ballot this fall. Stay tuned.