TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Proposed amendments in Florida aim to add term limits for state lawmakers, county commissioners, and school board members to the state’s Constitution.
Under current rules, state lawmakers are prohibited from reelection if they have served in their role for eight consecutive years. However, that doesn’t stop lawmakers from serving eight years in one house of the Legislature before running for the other house.
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As such, one of these proposals (SJR 536) would make term limits for state lawmakers cumulative instead, meaning that lawmakers could only serve in their role for up to eight years total — a maximum of two full terms in the Senate and four full terms in the House.
In a Senate committee meeting on Monday afternoon, the legislation’s sponsor, Blaise Ingoglia, R-11, said the amendment would stop the “ping-ponging” of state lawmakers between the two houses of the Legislature.
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During the meeting, state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-6, said she understood the aim of the bill but voiced concerns that a “lifetime ban” may be too much.
“If you serve, and years later you want to come back and be able to serve your community, I think that’s the most American thing you can do,” she said.
“I have no problems seeing if we can fit something into the language for a time certain,” Ingoglia stated in turn. “I am more than willing to work with you, work with staff to see if there’s something we can do that can tighten that.”
Meanwhile, another of Ingoglia’s bills (SJR 802) aims to implement eight-year term limits for county commissioners and school board members across the state.
The limits for county commissioners would begin on Nov. 3, 2026. Meanwhile, the limits for school board members would apply to terms that began after Nov. 8, 2022.
School board members are already under an eight-year term limit thanks to a similar law passed in 2023. However, this proposal would make the limit a part of the state’s Constitution, making it tougher to change those rules in the future.
However, county commissioners don’t currently have state-mandated term limits.
Jeff Scala, who works with the Florida Association of Counties, voiced his opposition to the legislation, saying that counties already have the option to implement term limits if residents so choose.
“There is already 58% of the state that has term limits, and they’ll be voting to impose term limits on the voters and citizens of the other counties,” he said. “And for those reasons, we feel that this is a one-size-fits-all approach.”
Regardless, committee members ultimately approved both proposals on Monday by a vote of 6-2.
In addition, both proposals seek to amend the state’s Constitution in order to implement these changes.
As a result, if these proposals are approved by lawmakers, the amendments would then go on the ballot during the general election in November 2026. The amendments would need to garner 60% of the vote to take effect.