The Beverly Hills City Council decided in a tense hearing to place term limits for Council members on the ballot on June 7, 2022. If approved by a majority of voters, the initiative would limit those holding city elected positions (Councilmembers and City Treasurer) to three terms. But the initiative contains a legally problematic provision that would apply the limits retroactively, including to the Council members currently serving in office. In a memo to the City Council, City Attorney Laurence Wiener expressed ambivalence over whether that provision would stand legal muster. Nonetheless, a majority of the Council voted to place the initiative on the ballot as written, with Mirisch and Vice Mayor Robert Wunderlich casting no votes.
While term limits exist throughout different levels of government, they are not required in most cases. At the highest level of government, the President of the United States has been limited to two terms since the ratification of the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution.
