Term Limits in Nebraska: A Timeline

1992

Passed an initiative constitutional amendment limiting legislators and statewide officials to two consecutive terms, U.S. Representatives to four consecutive terms, and U.S. Senators to two consecutive terms.

1994

Nebraska Supreme Court throws out the initiative passed in 1992 on the grounds that Nebraskans for Term Limits did not submit enough signatures to properly place the initiative on the 1992 ballot. A conflict in the constitution caused the confusion - one section says that the number of signatures required is equal to 10% of the votes cast for governor, and a newer section says that the number is equal to 10% of the registered voters. The Secretary of State told proponents to use the number equal to 10% of votes cast for governor because it is too difficult to determine the number of registered voters in the state at any one time. The Supreme Court opinion said that the number equal to 10% of the registered voters was the number that should have been used.

1994

Measure #408 (initiated constitutional amendment) passed, limiting legislators and statewide officials to two consecutive terms, certain local officials, U.S. Representatives to three consecutive terms, and U.S. Senators to two consecutive terms.

1995

U.S. Supreme Court rules in U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton that individual states may not limit the terms of members of Congress, rendering part of 1994's Measure #408 unconstitutional.

1996

Nebraska Supreme Court rules in Duggan v. Beerman that since part of Measure #408 was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the remaining portions of the measure were "so intertwined with the unconstitutional amendment that they, too, must be declared void." The entire measure is now unconstitutional.

1996

Measure #409 (initiated constitutional amendment) passed, instructing Nebraska's members of Congress and state legislators to support passage and ratification of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution limiting the terms of members of Congress, informing voters of candidates' position on those limits, and instructing the Nebraska legislature to apply to Congress to convene an Article V Convention to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to limit Congressional terms (a.k.a. "instruct and inform law" or "scarlet letter law").

1997

U.S. Supreme Court declines to review an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling holding Arkansas's "scarlet letter law" unconstitutional (Donovan v. Priest). All state scarlet letter laws are thus unconstitutional.

1998

Passed Amendment No. 5, Part A (Legislative Constitutional Referendum) in the primary election, requiring initiative measures to contain only one subject per initiative. Prior to the passage of this referendum, Nebraskans for Term Limits had been collecting signatures for an initiative to limit the terms of members of the state legislative and executive branches and of Congress. Since this violated the new single-subject rule, term limits didn't make it to the 1998 general election ballot.

2000

Voters passed Initiative Measure 415, imposing a limit of no more than two consecutive terms for state legislators. The limits apply to service after January 1, 2001, so the first election when legislators will be unable to run due to term limits will be in 2006.