Florida term limits are popular, but meaningless

If 100 volunteers could make the constitutional amendments proposed to a proposal calling for the frontlines of the House and Senate Visitors Gallery, they would pass the 76% order “8 is sufficient” term edict received in 1992 in the month of lawmakers elected on the first day of all legislative sessions.

That’s what the term “limit” actually comes from – the public da show for powerful politicians. Americans love to see high and powerful insults. That’s why three stoges comedy haughty rich women get a pie in their face.

If Florida law has improved since the time limits came into effect in 2000, then notify the political science department and law schools of your area. And make sure you show some cause and effect between your years of experience at the Capitol or at the Senate and the quality of the law and the quality of the law.

Still, we love showing our superiors, leaders who want their new faces to mean new ideas and better solutions. Therefore, Florida will never abolish that term limit.

But as the situation develops, there are ways around them, such as members who travel between the House and the Senate.

In a political scenario worthy of an afternoon melodrama, that’s what veteran MP Debbie Mayfield is trying to do. She worked at home for eight years, then moved to the Senate for another eight years, then returned to the home last November.

Brevard County neighboring lawmaker Randefine also restricted his term in the House last year, winning a former Senate seat in Mayfield. But now, as he is running for Congress in a special election, Mayfield wants her old job again in the Senate.

Perhaps you think it violates the spirit, if not a time limit letter. Governor Ron Desantis clearly thought so because he rejected Mayfield’s qualifying documents for the Senate special election, as Secretary of State Cord Byrd was there. In short, Mayfield sued and won unanimously by the Florida Supreme Court.

There was a bit of a personal subplot that included Republican politics and the calm of good old scores (did I mention melodrama?). Mayfield didn’t support DeSantis for the President last year, but ah, isn’t the governor just as fucked and vindictive enough to punish her?

Did the bear get hair?

“He weaponized the State Department (Florida) just as Biden weaponized the Justice Department against President Trump,” Mayfield said. “The law is by my side.”

The same is true too. Former Senate Speaker Don Gotz, R-Niceville, was appointed by the Senate in 2016 and has now returned after sitting for a while. The Broward County Democrat Lauren book, appointed by the Senate in November, submitted for it to run again in 2028.

The keyword in the period limit law is “continuous.” You will need to time out (or change the chamber) before you run again for your old work.

At the upcoming legislative meeting, Senators Blaze Ingoglia and Michael Owen want to clarify the limit on the 16-year lifetime limit deadline in Congress, whether consecutive or not. It has up to eight in the House and eight in the Senate, with a bit of wiggling room for the Senate serving a two-year truncated term for rezoning.

“Let’s stop practicing people who run continuously for the same office and travel between chambers,” Ingoglia said of the proposed constitutional amendment (SJR 536). “Service to the people of Florida should be a privilege and an honor, not a career.”

Why is it not good? The Marlins’ pitching and algebra education are also an honorable effort, but no one will quit just because time has passed. If they are good at it and their members are happy, why should the law assume that lawmakers will become toxic after a while? If they’re not good at it, vote them faster.

But it requires us to know the names of our lawmakers and how they vote on the issue. It’s easier to vote on social media topics about TV ads and candidates.

The Ingoglia revision is appealing only as an opportunity to kick the shins of a powerful politician once more. But if it doesn’t pass, it may not be too fast to throw away the thoughts of the month.

Bill Cottel is a retired Capitol Reporter for United Press International and the Tallahassee Democrats.

©2025 Florida News Service.