A Florida Republican lawmaker proposed a state constitutional amendment that would limit county commissioners and school board members to eight years of office. The proposed amendments, if passed by legislative council and approved by voters, will affect longtime officials such as Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor. Proctor, who has been working for 29 years, believes local voters should decide on term limits for commissioners.
Republican lawmakers are now aiming to become county commissioners and district school board members with a passionate enthusiasm to bring more time limits to Florida.
The law filed this week (SB 802, HB 679) creates a state constitutional amendment that will limit these local officials to eight years.
It hits near the home of Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor, one of Florida’s longest-serving county commissioners. For Proctor, who was first elected in 1996 to represent the county’s Southern District 1, serving in an elected office is not about power or life expectancy.
It’s about love.
“It’s easy to fall in love with public services,” he said in a phone interview. “It embraces your heart to think you’re done at age 8.”
At the same time, he added, “I play whatever the rules, whatever.” “We can’t go beyond the law.”
According to the Florida County Association, Proctor is the length of Willie Spires of Jackson County, tied up during his tenure among commissioners currently on duty, both of which finished 29 at the end of 2025.
The pre-session committee will close and the regular session will begin on March 4th, with state Sens. Blaze Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill and R-Pensacola Rep. Michelle Saltzmann making the same bill on Tuesday. I’ve submitted it.
“Service in government should be an honor, not a career,” Ingoglia said in a statement. “Our ancestors believed that service in government should be short. I have a creepy suspicion that the majority of Florida believe it.”
Salzmann added: “For a long time, some county commissioners have been in office for decades, with stagnation and limited accountability. Forward.”
Florida now limits state legislators to eight years, but some have been in and out of Congress for many years, as the law doesn’t prevent people from serving in one room and bounce back into another room.
Board of Education members were limited to a total of 12 years in 2022. A similar invoice was submitted last year, but not through regular sessions.
So Proctor is a pastor, a political science instructor at Florida A&M University, and a graduate of law school, but he doubts the latest laws will go anywhere.
What’s more, he said local voters should be able to decide whether to limit the service of commissioners: “We are local officials, so why does Congress impose (we)?” I can’t understand.”
After all, public services are “like fine wine” and only improve over time as commissioners develop their knowledge, experience and capabilities, Proctor said.
As of the second half of Tuesday, the bill had not yet been assigned to the committee.
Ariana Otero is a Trend and Broken News Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrats. Contact her by email at aotero @tallahassee.com and follow her at x @ari_v_otero.
