The Impact of Term Limits on Feminist Policy in Ohio

Abstract

The possible implications of term limits have been widely studied by political scientists. However, specific policy preferences have been left out of this research. I hypothesize that lawmakers first elected to the state legislature after the implementation of term limits in Ohio (newcomers) are more likely to propose anti-feminist bills than those legislators first elected to the state legislature before the implementation of term limits (old-timers). I investigate this problem by analyzing all bills proposed in the 124th General Assembly of Ohio. I test the hypothesis that newcomers and old-timers propose different kinds of bills when it comes to feminist and anti-feminist policy. I use logistic regression and linear regression to analyze the relationship between sponsorship and co-sponsorship of feminist or anti-feminist bills with the legislators’ newcomer or old-timer status, while controlling for party, sex, total number of bills sponsored (or co-sponsored), and district type. I find that a significant relationship exists between sponsorship and co-sponsorship of anti-feminist bills and newcomer status. In other words, newcomers are more likely than old-timers to sponsor and co-sponsor anti-feminist legislation when other variables are controlled. I conclude that term limits in Ohio have allowed for the election of legislators who are more hostile to feminist issues.