An Interview with Representative Ron Reagan on Term Limits

BRADENTON – Term limits have been a hot-buttoned issue since the citizens of Florida passed them with overwhelming support in 1992. In 1999, the State Supreme Court upheld their constitutionality and state legislators backed off the issue in 2005 and 2009, when polls showed that voters were wildly opposed to expanding the limit to 12 years.

Some legislators claim that term limits deprive the House and Senate of experienced leadership, while empowering special interests. But the people of Florida remain uncomfortable with making it easier for lawmakers to get more deeply entrenched in Tallahassee.

Next year, Manatee County will experience a unique residual effect, losing both of its House members to term limits, including the House's number two Republican, Speaker Pro Tempore, Ron Reagan. I spoke with Representative Reagan recently to get his insight on the policy and how it impacts the way Tallahassee works.

TBT: Now that you've been through the eight-year process, risen to a leadership position, and will be termed out, what is your impression of term limits and how they impact our state?

Reagan: Well, first I'm a supporter of term limits. I've never had a problem with having them, but I think term limits work best for the administrative type positions, like a CFO, where they have a tremendous amount of power. A state representative is just one of a 120 people, so until they're in leadership, their influence is really spread out. It takes four or five years to get in a position to make major decisions and then maybe the last two you're in leadership and then you're gone. I think states like Louisiana have gotten it right with 12 year term limits.

TBT: What do you see as the big negative, that results from such a scenario?

Speaker Pro Tempore Ron Reagan

Reagan: Well you lose a lot of experience, but it also makes lobbyists and entrenched bureaucrats much more influential, the people who have been there for much longer.

TBT: How does that affect the process?

Reagan: Well let me say first, that it's been my experience that the vast majority of bureaucrats in Tallahassee are fine individuals and work very hard at their jobs, but I do think that the influence shifts a bit when you have legislators who are term limited and bureaucrats and more so lobbyists, who have been there so long.

TBT: So you're saying that the power still gets consolidated, but with the term limits in place, it changes who consolidates it?

Reagan: Well not power, the power to act is with the legislature and always will be, but I think the influence of these interests grows.

TBT: You mentioned the idea that it takes legislators too long to be able to make important decisions. Wouldn't it make more sense to do a four-year limit, maybe even a single four-year term to ensure that there is a more widespread distribution of influence? Wouldn't that do a better job of achieving what term limits are there for in the first place, rather than expanding the time?

Reagan: Well, the only thing I see with that is the fight for leadership, which would be changing almost every year, so I don 't know that you'd get the consistency in leadership. Like I said, it's taken me until my last two years to get in a position of leadership and this area now has two experienced leaders in the house with myself and Representative Galvano (who also terms out). We've been kind of side by side on many things and I think the area has benefited from us being able to get a lot of things done for our districts, but next year both of those districts will kind of start over at the same time. So that's another consequence that I think is unintended, where certain areas wind up with all new representatives with less influence for while.

TBT: Have you decided what comes next in your career?

Reagan: I'm still weighing things out. I'll probably make a decision close to the end of this year as far as what direction I'll be going.