Of the 15 states with legislative term limits, Arkansas sits alone at the top in terms of how many consecutive years a Senator or Representative can serve in the same office.
| Senators | Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | *16 | Arkansas | 16 | |
| California | 12 | California | 12 | |
| Louisiana | 12 | Louisiana | 12 | |
| Nevada | 12 | Nevada | 12 | |
| Oklahoma | 12 | Oklahoma | 12 | |
| Arizona | 8 | Arizona | 8 | |
| Colorado | 8 | Colorado | 8 | |
| Florida | 8 | Florida | 8 | |
| Maine | 8 | Maine | 8 | |
| Missouri | 8 | Missouri | 8 | |
| Montana | 8 | Montana | 8 | |
| Nebraska | 8 | Nebraska | 8 | |
| Ohio | 8 | Ohio | 8 | |
| South Dakota | 8 | South Dakota | 8 | |
| Michigan | 8 | Michigan | 6 |
* Doesn't take into account 2 year terms causes by reapportionment. Senators can serve up to 22 years.
Source: Ballotpedia State legislatures with term limits
NOTE: Before the Arkansas Legislature gutted citizen-sponsored term limits in 2014, Arkansas' term limits were the same as Michigan. The Legislators took us from the strongest term limits in the nation to the weakest.
While Arkansas Representatives are limited to 16 years, Senators can serve up to 22 years because two years terms caused by reapportionment are not counted for term limits.
The Senate is reapportioned every 10 years in conjunction with the national census. Terms of Senators must be staggered so that not all Senators terms end at the same time (except prior to reapportionment). This means that after reapportionment Senators draw for terms so that approximately half receive a 4 year term and approximately half receive a 2 year term.
See: "16 Year Term Limits Proposal Actually Gives Senators 18 To 22 Years"