Montana Terms of Office Increase, Measure C-42 (2004)

From Ballotpedia

(Redirected from Montana C-42 (2004))
Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

Montana C-2, also known as Constitutional Amendment 42 was on the November 2, 2004 ballot in Montana as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment, where it was defeated.[1]

  • Yes: 136,931 (31.4%)
  • No: 299,162 (68.6) Defeated

Measure impact

Montana's Constitutional Amendment 42 (or C-42) is a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment from 2004. It would amend the Montana Constitution to increase the permissable terms of office for legislators from 8-years in any 16-year period to 12-years in any 24-year period.

Support

The proponent argument was prepared by Senator Bob Keenan and Rep. Monica Lindeen.[2] They argued that extending term limits is in the best interest of the people of Montana, claiming that experience is critical to the state legislature and that the learning curve of a legislator "takes time."

They also argued that due to the limited ammount of permissable terms, newly elected legislators feel compelled to seek leadership positions before they have the opportunity to observe, learn and reflect on the legislative process. "The result has been uneven leadership and a clear tilt in power to the Senate in what the framers envisioned was a co-equal House and Senate."[3]

Opposition

The opponent argument was prepared by Senator Jerry O'Neil, Rep. Larry Jent, and Trevis Butcher of Montanans in Action.[4] They argued that 8-years was a sufficient amount of time for legislators to learn their job, reminding voters that the President of the United States is also limited to just 8-years.

They also argued that term limits guarantee "new and innovative thinking as long time incumbents are moved out and replaced by people who are influenced more by their neighbors than by power brokers and lobbyists who wine and dine them."

They also argued that it's wrong to claim that the Senate lacks experienced members under the current term limits, since many Senators have years of previous experience from the House of Representatives.

They also accused the proponents of dishonesty over their statement that they don't want to "kill term limits," stating: "Don't be fooled. They know they can't convicne Montanans to kill term limits all at once, so they are opting for the gradual approach."[5]

Campaign financing

No On 42/Keep Montanas 8 Year Term Limits, a group who opposed the measure, spent $88,543 towards the campaign against the amendment.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Montana 2004 General State Election Results (PDF)p. 4
  2. ↑ 2004 Montana Voter Information Pamphlet (PDF) p. 18
  3. ↑ 2004 Montana Voter Information Pamphlet (PDF) p. 19
  4. ↑ 2004 Montana Voter Information Pamphlet (PDF) p. 18
  5. ↑ 2004 Montana Voter Information Pamphlet (PDF) p. 20
  6. ↑ Follow The Money, Montana C-42 Amendment Donations

External links

You can improve this article by adding information about campaign spending and donors    
Retrieved from "http://www.ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Montana_Terms_of_Office_Increase,_Measure_C-42_(2004)"
Personal tools