ARKANSAS
TERM LIMITS:
MORE
WOMEN IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Second
in a multi-part series on term limits, approved by the people in 1992 and 2004.
(March
2014) The number of female General Assembly members has nearly tripled since
the people of Arkansas approved term limits in 1992.1
Amendment
73 to the state Constitution limits Arkansas constitutional officers2 to two four-year
terms. The amendment limits state
senators to two four-year terms. The
amendment limits state representatives to three two-year terms.
The
people of Arkansas defeated a proposal to overturn term limits in 2004. The unsuccessful measure was referred by the
General Assembly, which has placed another proposal to overturn term limits on
the November 2014 ballot.
The Effect of Term Limits: Women
Only 9
women served in the General Assembly in 1992 when voters approved term limits.3 The 82nd General Assembly
was the first to be seated (1999) after term limits took effect in 1998. Records show no female senators in the
35-member Senate, and 20 representatives in the
100-member House that session.4 The 89th General Assembly, seated in 2013,
includes 6 female senators and 17 representatives.5
In
sum, the number of women serving in the General Assembly since term limits was
approved has nearly tripled from 9 to 23 legislators.
--Greg
Kaza
1 Sixty percent (60%)
of the people approved term limits in 1992.
Greenberg, Dan. "The Dangers of Diluting Term
Limits." Policy Foundation report (January 2005)
2 Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Auditor, Attorney General
and Commissioner of State Lands.
3 (Senate, 1992)Charlie
Cole Chaffin; (House) Irma Hunter Brown; Christene
Brownlee; Myra Lee Jones; Wanda Northcutt; Carolyn Pollan;
Jacqueline Roberts; Charlotte Schexnayder; and Judy
Smith.
4 (Senate, 1999) none; (House) Sarah Agee; Evelyn Ammons; Cecile Bledsoe; Pat Bond; Ann Bush; Jo Carson; Joyce
Dees; Lisa Ferrell; Mary Beth Green; Brenda Gullett; Rita
Hale; Barbara Horn; Janice Judy; Barbara King; Becky Lynn; Sue Madison; Sandra
Rodgers; Mary Anne Salmon; Martha Shoffner; and Wilma
Walker.
5 (Senate, 2013) Cecile
Bledsoe; Linda Chesterfield; Joyce Elliott; Jane English; Stephanie Flowers;
Missy Irvin; (House) Mary Broadaway; Ann Clemmer; Jody Dickinson; Charlotte Douglas; Deborah
Ferguson; Charlene Fite; Fonda Hawthorne;
"Prissy' Hickerson;; Debra Hobbs; Karen Hopper;
Patti Julian; Sheilla Lampkin;
Andrea Lea; Stephanie Malone; Betty Overbey; Sue
Scott; and Mary Slinkard.
Sources: Legislative Directory, Arkansas Legislative Digest