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Mounds View Charter Commission June 28 , 1994 Page Two qualifications for local government office. The language of Article XII, Section 3 on its face seems clear. The Amendment gives the State Legislature the right to provide qualifications for local office. While this Constitutional Amendment may give the Legislature the authority to grant to individual municipalities the right to set qualifications for local office, there is no statute, in my opinion, which could be interpreted as attempting to convey such authority. There is a recent case in which the Appellate Court reviewed the Legislature's authority to place limitations on eligibility for county sheriffs positions. In Elbers v. Grow, 502 N.W. 2d 310 (Minn. App. 1993) the Appellate Court was asked to rule on the ability of the State Legislature to place limitations on -- individuals for two separate county sheriffs positions. The Court held that the "plain language" of Minnesota's Constitution, Article XII, Section 3 , clearly authorizes the Legislature to change qualifications for local office. While the Elbers Court did not address the issue of local regulations of local offices, it very clearly concluded that the State Legislature under Article XII , Section 3 , was the body authorized to place qualifications on local offices. In the State Legislature last year there was a proposed Bill which called for term limits. The Bill which would have sent the issue of term limits to the voters failed in a Senate Committee and was never acted upon. I am enclosing a copy of a portion of a House Research Department position paper on term limits for elected offices, dated November of 1993 . In that memo the Hcuse Research Department indicated that local government offices can be subject to statutory term limits . This Opinion is consistent with the Elbers Opinion, as well as the Attorney General' s Opinion that th_e_Stat_e_Legi_slatur_e s the body which has—the authority to .lace limitations on holding .local office. Based upon my research I find no authority for a charter amendment creating term limits .