In 1968, voters okayed a constitutional amendment declaring a mandatory retirement age of seventy. But now, there's a push to raise the age cut-off to seventy-five. Republican State senator Bill Seitz is sponsoring a proposed ballot issue to pose that question to voters. In an interview with statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen, Seitz gives the arguments in favor of raising the age limit.
State senator Bill Seitz figures that next year, the new Republican-controlled legislature will approve the plan to raise the retirement age for judges and put it onto the ballot for voters to have the final say. THIS legislative session, there appeared to be general support for the idea, but partisan differences have caused a stalemate. Democrats who dominate the House insisted on an amendment that would attach party labels to judicial candidates on the general election ballot. Republicans who dominate the Senate oppose that idea. They say the retirement age should be the only topic of a ballot issue.