Senate Panel Hears Term Limits Testimony DEARBORN, MICH. (Michigan Radio) - A Wayne State University professor told a state Senate panel today that term limits have not lived up to the promises of the idea's proponents.

Marjorie Sarbaugh Thompson teaches political science at Wayne. She told the Campaign and Election Oversight Committee that term limits have led to costlier, less competitive elections in Michigan.

And she says many new lawmakers don't believe it's the Legislature's responsibility to monitor state agencies.

"We literally have people tell us: that's not our job. The executive branch monitors state agencies,"Sarbaugh-Thompson told the committee. "And it almost takes my breath away in terms of democratic political theory. Because the Legislature is absolutely supposed to be a check on the power of the executive branch."

Supporters of term limits say they lead to more accountable and more democratic representation.

The committee is expected to issue a report recommending a series of election reforms this fall.
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