Florida State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, filed a proposed constitutional amendment Thursday that would restrict Florida lawmakers to a total of 16 years in the Legislature, with no more than eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate.
The measure, SJR 536, aims to address what Ingoglia calls a “ludicrous” practice of legislators circumventing term limits by switching chambers.
The proposal comes amid a heated dispute over Florida’s existing term-limits law, which has recently sparked legal and political controversy.
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Under the current system, legislators are limited to eight consecutive years in either the House or the Senate, but they can run for the other chamber after terming out. Ingoglia’s amendment would cap total legislative service at 16 years, regardless of whether the service is consecutive or nonconsecutive.
“Today, I filed a proposed constitutional amendment (SJR 536). It’s a term limits bill that limits members of the Florida Legislature to 16 years TOTAL: 8 years max in the House 8 years max in the Senate Let’s stop the practice of people continually running for the same office and bouncing back and forth between chambers,” wrote Ignolia on X. “Serving the people of Florida should be a privilege, and an honor, not a career.”
The proposal follows a recent decision by the Florida Division of Elections to block Rep. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, from running in a special election for Senate District 19. Mayfield, who was forced to leave the Senate in November due to term limits, sought to run again after her successor, Sen. Randy Fine, R-Brevard County, resigned to pursue a congressional bid.
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Mayfield, who was elected to the House in November, filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, arguing that elections officials overstepped their authority by disqualifying her from the special election.
If approved by the Legislature, the proposed constitutional amendment would go before Florida voters in the 2026 general election. It would require at least 60% support to pass.
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