Massachusetts Senate to consider eliminating term limits for Senate president

State senators on Beacon Hill may do away with a rule that limits the Senate president to an eight-year term in office.

If approved, it would mean current Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) could remain in the chamber's top job indefinitely.

The rule has been in place since the 1990's following William Bulger's 18-year reign as Senate president.

Senate Ways and Means Chairman Mike Rodrigues (D-Westport) said he's offering an amendment to eliminate the term limit rule. In a statement, Rodrigues said he's presenting the amendment after discussions with state Senate colleagues and Spilka.

"The Governor’s office has no such limitation, the House removed term limits for the Speaker’s office almost 10 years ago, and both minority leaders in the House and Senate are not subject to any limit on their term in office," Rodrigues said in the statement. He added there are de-facto term limits in place as any candidate for Senate president must win re-election by their peers.

Spilka has held the chamber's top job since July of 2018; the 70-year-old would not hit the eight-year limit for another three years.

Senators will discuss the proposed change when they debate the chamber's rules for the 2023-2024 session on Thursday.