Term Limits Could Raze House Legislators Make Contingency Plans While Justices Weigh 1992 Initiative

Term limits could turn the coming legislative session into the swan song for the most powerful members of the state House of Representatives.

Unless the state Supreme Court says otherwise, the 1992 initiative is going to issue a pink slip to chairmen of a dozen committees and the leaders of both caucuses.

“It will leave a pretty big hole,” said state Rep. Larry Sheahan, R-Spokane, one of 29 legislators who can’t have his name on the ballot next fall if the term limits law is upheld.

Sheahan and many of the others have been waiting anxiously for about three months while the state’s highest court ponders whether the voters had the power to place limits on some state offices through Initiative 573.

The first to be caught in the term limits net are longtime members of the state House, which has a six-year time clock.

State senators, the governor and lieutenant governor are limited to two four-year terms.

After that, incumbents can run as write-ins, without having their names on the ballot. That barrier is daunting enough to make most legislators look for another job.

Voters certainly have the right to set such rational restrictions, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jim Pharris argued when he defended the initiative before the court.

Opponents, including several legislators, said they don’t - at least not the way this was accomplished.

Term limits needed a constitutional amendment, not a simple initiative, they argued.

While the court deliberates, legislators are making contingency plans.

If the court says term limits require a constitutional amendment and strikes down the current law, the Legislature will try to get such an amendment on the ballot.

Whether it can muster the two-thirds majority in each chamber needed to send an amendment to voters is difficult to predict.

And the new version could be different from the plan voters approved in 1992.

“If the law is overturned, we will look at running a 12-year limit, (as) a constitutional amendment, to the people,” said House Speaker Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee.

Ballard’s Democratic counterpart, Minority Leader Marlin Applewick of Seattle, also favors setting the overall limit for members of the House and Senate at 12 years.

That change would allow a legislator to serve the entire period in one chamber, or switch part way through the span.

The current system encourages House members to challenge incumbent senators after a term or two, because the time available in the House is so short, an aide to Applewick said.

Applewick is a plaintiff in the suit that seeks to overturn term limits, and was a vocal opponent of the initiative.

But he and other opponents acknowledge that the voters deserve another shot at the issue if the court strikes term limits down on constitutional grounds.

What the Legislature would do if the court upholds term limits is a bigger question.

If the court agrees the initiative was proper, it would, in effect, be saying term limits can be changed or even removed the same way - by a simple law passed either by the public or approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor.

The Legislature would then be free to try any changes it wants - if it dares.

Many would be reluctant to tinker with a plan that was approved by voters and upheld by the court.

“If term limits are upheld, we won’t be doing anything,” Ballard said.

He’ll be out of office if the court upholds the initiative, and he thinks Eastern Washington will lose much of its clout thanks to lost committee chairmanships.

But the voters will have spoken, Ballard said.

Applewick would like to vote on a law similar to the constitutional amendment being considered, a 12-year limit on total service.

State Rep. Dave Schmidt, R-Bothell, thinks a more reasonable approach might be to set the House limit at eight years, making it equal to the total years that a senator, governor or lieutenant governor can serve.

“I don’t know a corporation in America that would replace its board of directors and CEO every six years,” said Schmidt, who could see such a proposal come before the House Government Operations Committee, which he heads.

Schmidt favors putting that eight-year limit on all statewide offices.

“There’s a question of the balance of powers,” he said. House members are at a distinct disadvantage with only six years.

Even that plan should be sent to the voters for their approval, Schmidt said.

But voters couldn’t approve that change until November, which would be too late for those representatives who have reached their limit.

The Legislature might consider a law that would give them a one-time exemption for another term while voters consider the change, Schmidt said.

The biggest fear among some legislators is that the court will not decide, at least not before this year’s 60-day session has run its course.

Eight of the nine justices heard the case - one recused himself citing a conflict of interest - and the court could split 4-4 and order another round of arguments.

That would leave contingency plans in limbo, the 29 legislators off the ballot, and the 1999 session to be controlled by representatives who have, at most, four years experience.

Schmidt said there’s a contingency plan for that, too: Send voters a proposal to extend term limits to the Supreme Court.

“They know if they don’t make a decision, we’re going to put (term limits) on the ballot to include them,” he said.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: 29 HOUSE MEMBERS IN JEOPARDY Here are the state House members - and their top assignments - who wouldn’t be on the ballot this year if the term limits initiative remains intact: Larry Sheahan, R-Spokane, chairman Law and Justice Committee. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, chairman Joint Administrative Rules Review Committee. Brian Thomas, R-Lake Kathleen, chairman Finance Committee. Phil Dyer, R-Issaquah, chairman Health Care Committee. Barry Sehlin, R-Oak Harbor, chairman Capital Budget Committee. Velma Veloria, D-Seattle, ranking minority member Trade and Economic Development Committee. Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee, House speaker, chairman Rules Committee. Gary Chandler, R-Moses Lake, chairman Agriculture and Ecology Committee. Barb Lisk, R-Zillah, majority leader. Dave Mastin, R-Walla Walla, chairman Salmon Recovery Task Force. Bill Grant, D-Walla Walla, minority caucus chairman. Sandra Romero, D-Olympia, ranking minority member Government Reform and Land Use Committee. Cathy Wolfe, D-Olympia, ranking minority member Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee. Karen Schmidt, R-Bainbridge Island, chairwoman Transportation Policy and Budget Committee. Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, minority whip. Ruth Fisher, D-Tacoma, ranking minority member Transportation Policy and Budget Committee. Gigi Talcott, R-University Place, majority whip. Grace Cole, D-Shoreline, ranking minority member Education Committee. Tim Sheldon, D-Hoodsport, assistant ranking minority member Trade and Economic Development Committee. Helen Sommers, D-Seattle, ranking minority member Appropriations Committee. Patricia Scott, D-Everett, ranking minority member, Goverment Operations Committee. Dave Quall, D-Mount Vernon, ranking minority member Criminal Justice Committee. Ida Ballasiotes, R-Mercer Island, chairwoman Criminal Justice Committee. Marlin Applewick, D-Seattle, minority leader. Suzette Cooke, R-Kent, chairwoman Children and Family Services Committee. Bill Reams, R-Bellevue, chairman Government Reform and Land Use Committee. Steve Van Luven, R-Bellevue, chairman Trade and Economic Development Committee. Don Carlson, R-Vancouver, chairman Higher Education Committee. Val Ogden, D-Vancouver, ranking minority member Capital Budget Committee.