Hauppauge, N.Y. – On July 12th, Legislator Stephanie Bontempi (R-18th L.D.) joined with her colleagues in government to participate in a special resolution signing ceremony for her term limit legislation at the H. Lee Dennison Building. This event was a significant milestone, not only for the legislation itself, but also for Bontempi, as it marks her first sponsored piece of legislation to be signed by the County Executive.
Bontempi’s resolution, 462-2022 (co-sponsored by Legislator Jim Mazzarella), was passed back in June of this year with unanimous bi-partisan support. Essentially, the changes to the existing term limit law will make it abundantly clear that one cannot hold the office of county executive, legislator or comptroller more than a total of twelve years, regardless of whether the years were consecutive or not.
“Our laws need to advance good government and be easy to understand by all,” said Bontempi. “By clarifying the language and limiting the amount of time one can hold a particular office, we are making it possible for new people with fresh ideas to enter service.”
Support for term limits at all levels of government has received tremendous support from the public in recent years. The trend favoring additional limitations on government only seems to be increasing, thus legislation akin to Bontempi’s is timely to say the least.
“There is also a strong public policy component to this legislation that really makes sense when you think about it. For example, these term limitations will ultimately incentivize productivity, as elected officials will only have so much time to deliver the results they have promised to their constituents,” added Bontempi.
Now that the resolution has been signed by the County Executive, the matter will appear on the ballot this coming November, empowering voters to decide whether the changes should be put into effect.