For immediate release February 19th, 2014 Contact: Nick Tomboulides Phone: (561) 578-8636

U.S. Term Limits urges Minnesota Legislators to Support More Effective Term Limits

Palm Beach, FL-- U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the nation’s oldest and largest term limits organization, has sent a letter to seven members of the , asking that they jettison their current 14-year term limits proposal in favor of more effective, eight-year term limits.

The missives went to representatives David Hancock, , Jason Rarick, Joshua Heintzeman, , Steve Green and . The decision to reach out to legislators comes after the group of House Republicans introduced HF902.

In the letter, USTL President Philip Blumel makes the case that 14-year limits aren’t very different from having no term limits at all.

“Experience shows that longer (than 8 years) limits do not deliver the full benefits of this popular reform,” Blumel writes. “While longer limits often feel ‘reasonable’ to people close to the political playpen, from the citizens’ point of view they are weak and unexciting and make it difficult to inspire the interests of activists and contributors.”

Blumel stresses that 14-year limits are a more politician-friendly twist on the nation’s time-tested eight year limits, which apply to the presidency and 10 state legislatures.

“Longer limits are commonly chosen by politicians to try to prevent citizens from imposing genuine limits,” he said. “Since most members don’t serve 14 years anyway, this term limit is more of a gimmick than a substantive reform.”

Of the 15 states with legislative term limits, 93 percent (14 or 15) have term limits shorter than 14 years.

Complete letter to legislators: https://termlimits.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Minnesota- Letter1.pdf

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