SF789

Purpose

• To proposedly amend the Minnesota Constitution so legislators face lifetime term limits.
• Specifically, it would limit how long a person can serve in each house of the Legislature (Senate and House of Representatives).

Main Provisions

• Term limits by chamber:
  • A person may serve no more than 10 years in the Senate over their lifetime.
  • A person may serve no more than 10 years in the House of Representatives over their lifetime.
• House and Senate terms:
  • House members are elected to 2-year terms.
  • Senators are elected to 4-year terms, with exceptions for vacancies, and an “entire new election” of all senators would occur at the first election of representatives after each legislative apportionment.
• Vacancy rules:
  • The governor would call elections to fill vacancies in either chamber.
• Eligibility based on the limit:
  • A person must not be elected or appointed to the Senate or House if, by the end of the term they would serve, they will have already reached the 10-year limit in that chamber.
• Counting of current terms:
  • Terms ending in 2027 or earlier must not be counted toward the term limits.

How it would change current law

• Establishes constitutional caps on legislative service that are not currently in the Minnesota Constitution.
• Creates per-chamber lifetime limits (10 years in the Senate, 10 years in the House) instead of a possible unlimited tenure.
• Alters how long districts can keep incumbents before forced term changes, and introduces a mechanism (via apportionment and vacancies) tied to refreshing the Senate with a new election after each apportionment.

Election and Implementation Details

• Submission to voters:
  • The amendment would be put to a statewide vote at the 2026 general election.
  • The official ballot question would read: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to place term limits on individuals elected to the legislature so that a person can serve no more than ten years in the Senate and ten years in the House of Representatives.”
  • The ballot title for the submission would be “Legislative term limits.”
• Current terms not counting:
  • Legislative terms ending in 2027 or before are not counted toward these new limits.

Potential Impacts (high level)

• Could change the timing and turnover of legislators, especially long-serving members.
• Might affect how districts plan elections around apportionment cycles.
• Establishes a long-term framework for limiting legislative service, with implementation dependent on voter approval.

Relevant Terms - term limits - Legislature - Senate - House of Representatives - lifetime limit - ten years - two-year terms - four-year terms - vacancies - apportionment - entire new election - governor - submission to voters - 2026 general election - constitutional amendment - legislative term limits (Ballot title)