In 2020, the Arkansas legislature placed a misleading initiative on the ballot and prevented the people’s term limits initiative from getting a vote. They deceptively titled the measure as an ethics and transparency amendment, but it was not clear to the voter that passing the law would eliminate lifetime term limits. The original law implementing term limits for 3 terms (6 years) in the House and 2 terms (12 years) in the Senate, passed in 1998 with 60% of the vote.

Oregon voters passed term limits on their legislature and statewide officeholders in 1992 by 70% of the vote. Two termed out legislators sued the voters of Oregon in a case that made its way to the Oregon State Supreme Court. In December 2001, the court ruled that the term limits law violated single amendment requirements and threw the law out.

Idaho voters passed term limits on their legislature, statewide officeholders and local officeholders in 1994 by 59% of the vote. In 1998, the legislature placed an “advisory” question on the ballot, asking voters to reaffirm their support of term limits. Voters did so. In 2001, state and local office holders sued Idaho voters in a case that made its way to the Idaho Supreme Court, where the court ruled term limits constitutional. In February 2002, the Idaho Legislature ignored the vote of the people and became the first state in the nation to repeal their term limits law.

In an effort to block stricter legislative limits, Utah’s legislature placed 12-year limits on its members, a law that was to go into effect in 2006. In March 2003, the legislature repealed their limits. Like, Idaho, Maine, and Wyoming, Utah is a statute-only state, where voters cannot pass constitutional amendments.