25 years of ‘unintended consequences’: Tallahassee players look back on a quarter century of term limits

After 25 years of term limits in the Florida Legislature, the takeaway from at least four people who understand The Process is simple: Beware of unintended consequences.

Speaking during a Tampa Tiger Bay luncheon, neither former Senate President Tom Lee, current Sen. Darryl Rouson, Hillsborough County Property Appraiser and former state Rep. Bob Henriquez, nor lobbyist Ron Pierce said directly that term limits should be eliminated, but each offered some pitfalls.

Pierce, President and CEO of RSA Consulting, lamented that term limits have “completely empowered senior staff and lobbyists because we’re the ones walking around with all the institutional knowledge.”

– Janelle Irwin, Florida Politics