Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 1 and 2 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 3 MRSA §21-A, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 403, §1 and affected by §3, is amended to read:
A person may not serve as President of the Senate for more than 3 8 consecutive legislative bienniums years. Service in that capacity before December 2, 1992 2014 is not included in the calculation of years served. The President of the Senate is determined at the beginning of the first regular session and again at the beginning of the next odd-numbered regular session of the Legislature.
Sec. 2. 3 MRSA §41-A, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 403, §2 and affected by §3, is amended to read:
A person may not serve as Speaker of the House of Representatives for more than 3 8 consecutive legislative bienniums years. Service in that capacity before December 2, 1992 2014 is not included in the calculation of years served. The Speaker of the House of Representatives is determined at the beginning of the first regular session and again at the beginning of the next odd-numbered regular session of the Legislature.’
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 5 and 6 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §553, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A. State Legislators. Beginning with terms of office that begin on or after December 2, 2014, a person may not serve: A. More than 2 consecutive terms as a State Senator; or
B. More than 2 consecutive terms as a member of the House of Representatives.
Sec. 6. Contingent effective date. This Act takes effect only if a resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Maine takes effect to increase terms for Senators and members of the House of Representatives from 2 years to 4 years beginning with the general election held in 2014.’
summary
This amendment amends the term limit laws to maintain the current maximum of 8 years in each chamber rather than the 16 years proposed by the bill. Like the bill, this amendment is contingent upon a constitutional amendment's being adopted and ratified at referendum to increase the number of years for a legislative term from 2 years to 4 years and would not take effect until the 2014 general election. The amendment also requires the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House to be reelected by their respective chambers at the beginning of the next odd-numbered regular session of the Legislature, which, if the constitutional amendment increasing the length of a legislative term is ratified, would be the third regular session.