Term limits in state legislatures are linked to more powerful speakers

Fifteen US states have introduced some form of term limit on state legislators which prevents them from running for office for more than set number of times. While some past research has suggested that term limits can lead to weaker state legislatures, new research from Laine P. Shay suggests that they can empower the party in power’s Speaker. He finds that compared to states without term limits, a state with the most stringent term limit law is associated with an 11 percent increase in tools delegated to the Speaker’s position.