South Carolina Democrat proposes term limits

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina Democrat wants voters to decide whether legislators should be limited to 16 years in their chamber.

Rep. Bakari Sellers introduced a measure Tuesday that would limit the number of times House and Senate members could be re-elected, starting with those elected in 2014.

The idea would require amending the state constitution. Sellers’ measure would put two questions on November’s ballot.

His proposed constitutional amendments would ask voters if House members should be limited to eight full terms and senators to four.

Sellers says it’s time for legislators to seriously discuss term limits. The 27-year-old Denmark Democrat in his third term says Republicans often talk about it without truly pursuing it.

A Republican senator introduced a similar measure the opening day of the 2011 session. It’s gone nowhere.