Utah House votes to repeal legislative term limits, 46-28

The Utah House of Representatives on Feb. 11, 1999, passed House Bill 105, a measure to repeal the state's legislative term limits, by a vote of 46 to 28 and referred the bill to the Utah Senate.

Representative Yer, who moved HB105 to the top of the third-reading calendar so former Representative Jack Arrington could attend, argued supporters were responding to concerns that term limits had eroded institutional memory and shifted influence to lobbyists and career staff. "Term limitations is a is a wrong thing. It takes the voice away from the people," Yer said during summation.

Supporters including Representative Arrington, Representative Butters and Representative Swallow told colleagues they had seen problems in other states where short legislative tenures left policy expertise with lobbyists and agencies rather than elected lawmakers. Representative Swallow said the change would help the House develop leaders and preserve institutional knowledge.

Opponents argued the House made a prior promise to voters when it backed term limits and that reversing that pledge so soon would damage public trust. Representative Jones said he opposed immediate repeal on the grounds that the original initiative reflected a direct public choice and suggested waiting (for example, 12 years) before revisiting the policy.

The House ended debate with a successful previous-question motion and then opened the roll call. After votes were tallied, the Clerk announced HB105 passed 46–28 and would be transmitted to the Senate for further action.

The next step is Senate consideration; the House record shows the bill will be forwarded to the Senate for its committee and floor process.